Lazy Days of Summer

I woke today to the regime of homeschooling and chores, most days of which I'm most thankful for. And, don't get me wrong, I'm still thankful for homeschooling. Still thankful for a home and children to care for. But...

I'm also so ready for the lazy days of summer.


Relaxing a little longer in the morning.
Serving up homemade popsicles to cool the kids off in the afternoon.
Summer salads at night because it's too hot to heat the house with the stove.
Ice tea.
Ice Cream.


Ice cold air conditioning that hits your face as you come inside from the scorching summer sun.
Swimsuits.
Waves.



But most of all, I just want to be still.
During our homeschool days there is very little being-still.
I long today to just be still.

Here comes the rain!

When it rains, it pours. And the outpouring of the Lord is something I can get used to. He's blessed me 4 times with sweet wonderful children through the miracle of adoption and today, this day, he has blessed me again.

Today, after months of waiting for the formal okay, a little girl from around the world was matched by China to be our daughter. And I could not be more humbled that God chose me to be her mom.




Within the next 12 weeks I should be boarding a plane to bring this sweet girl home to us, her forever family.

Thank you Lord for this day. For the Referral. For the updated photos. For the miracle of adoption.

A Thank You to My Loves

My sweet loves, all 5 of them, decorated the house for my birthday while I was at Bible Study. The next day they woke me up to lots of handmade gifts and cards, that night they cooked me a wonderful meal and cleaned it up while I read a book an relaxed. I couldn't ask for a sweeter family.







I am blessed.

Heart. Mind and Soul. And so-not-a-Stepford-wife.

The ladies in my life. They are fabulous. Lovely. God-fearing. Supportive. Encouraging. And yet each of them has something I want. One goes on lots of vacations.~ Another has kids in public school and she has free time to get her nails done and have coffee with friends.~ Yet another has a house that is not only immaculate but she also has a house keeper. ~ And let's not forget the one who has a nice career and a get away with her husband each year. None of these things are wrong. But what is wrong is this....Part of me wants to be part of each of them.

I am a stay home mom. I homeschool my kids. I rarely get my nails done. My house is rarely immaculate and vacations, although we take them, are done on a dime. At times I escape my reality and mentally enter my friends realities. I go on a trip down "Wishful Thinking". I dream of that vacation alone with my husband, getting my nails done while my kids are at school, laughing over coffee with a friend and then going home to a quiet house that is immaculate because kids aren't there all day to mess it up. And when I do this, I miss the point of my life. I miss who I am. I miss who I was created to be. I miss the blessing.

One day, I had the chance to have coffee with a friend. It was the middle of the day. Her kids were in school. My kids were at home with my servant-leader-husband. This friend talked about her days. I dreamed of what it would be like in her shoes. I left the coffee time knowing my heart was in the wrong place. I sat quietly in my car, head down, asking the Lord to reveal to me what was missing in my heart at that moment. Something, something didn't feel right. Only He could point out what it was.

Then it happened. I saw a miniature movie flash before me. A movie of a ladies life. She was devoted to her Savior. She had been called and set aside by the Creator of the Universe for a special work. He had entrusted her with much. He never gave her the desire to carry a child but had given her the desire to love the orphan. As a matter of fact, he had brought to her life 4 orphans that were now her children and another was on the way. He gave her The Fatherless. He gave her his own. She worked tirelessly at this calling. Teaching them. Raising them. Rearing them in academics and to honor the Lord their God. Her life would be fully devoted to this calling. She would be the mother of many. She would stand out among the crowds. Some would snicker at her. Some would praise her unjustifiably. Some would recognize the calling. She was set apart. She was the Lord's hands and feet. She was, well, she was....me.

I didn't need to be them. I needed to be....me. I fell in love that day with the life the Lord flashed before me. I fell in love that day with my calling.

Don't get me wrong. I have always loved my calling. But I have led a double-life. Loving what I have. Wishing for more.

Let us not wish for more than the Lord's call upon our life. Let us not grow weary in the work of our hands. Let us honor the Lord our God with all our *hearts*, *minds* and *souls*. Let us love what the Lord is doing in our life. What has he put in front of you? Whatever it is, it's from Him. It's His calling in your life. Grab it with both hands and love it more than a fudge-covered-chocolate-brownie. Love it more than you love your neighbors life. Love your calling because it's the gift of your life the Lord has given you. Don't be afraid to blend in if that's what God has called. Don't be afraid to stand out like a freak-show if that is what God has called. Don't be afraid. Let go. Let God. And while we are at it, let's encourage one another to be different from each other. Let's encourage each other in our uniqueness and let's see how far from the Stepford Wives we can possibly get.



“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Luke 10:27


"A capable, intelligent and virtuous woman, who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far ABOVE RUBIES or pearls." ~Proverbs 31:10

Christmastime

Ah!!! The holidays are among us and what's the holidays without a trip to your local Apple Store?! So while I and my girls went googly over all things starting with 'i', our budget was a constant reminder that we must remain thankful for what we do have. And so in the spirit of frugal thankfulness, I simply downloaded a new free-app to my old-already-paid-for phone. And what was that app? ~ the free blogger interface ~ I figured with my upcoming China trip, I should figure out how to post blogger updates from this phone. So here's my free-frugal-thankful-post while at the mall and on my iPhone.

Merry Frugal Christmas

7 years of EXTRAVAGANT love

When God gives you a special gift and that gift changes your life for the better and brings you immense joy for 7 years, then that day is quite special. And as we contemplated celebrating Kya's 7th Gotcha Day, we wondered "How can we make each child's Gotcha Day anniversaries just a little more special? A little more memorable?"

Flowers from Dad for his tiny sweetheart are a must every year.


And then we took her to Pandora. Because a girls first fine jewelry really should be from Dad.

It's a little extravagent for us at this time in our life, but so is our love for this child, for all our children.

EXTRAVAGANT LOVE
There is always a reason not to splurge on the ones you love but sometimes you must push those reasons aside and just do it. This was one of those moments. We didn't want to wait another year to start this special tradition.


And so she picked out her first charm. And next year she can pick out another charm. And every year on her special day (and all our girls special days), they can pick out a charm for their Adoption bracelets.


We hope this tiny memento in the form of a bracelet will outlast even their parents. When they look at it, they will remember the moments, the love, the bond we shared as a family formed through the miracle of adoption.

Fall is all around us

Living up here in Maryland has been fabulous to see the seasons change. Fall is one of our most favorite times of year. You begin to eat warm food again instead of summer salads, hot teas instead of iced tea, the leaves are colorful, the air is crisp and the fireplace is cozy and life seems a little more romantic.

We have a family tradition of having a Family Fall Party here at home. This year we actually found a family that is also free on October 31st every year to join our celebration, so we picked them up off the street and invited them over. No, really, these are our dear-dear friends that have become our Maryland family and we are so blessed to have them in our lives.


All dressed up and ready for some fun.

Wrestling with Uncle Kenny.

Working hard on pumpkin carving.



Showing off their hard work.


Givin' some love.