Announcement!

After many very long years of waiting, we have finally decided to move forward with our plans to adopt a child! We are so incredibly excited. We are putting our application in this week, and the timeline will be anywhere from 18 to 24 months before we actually travel... to Ethiopia! We have prayed about this for so long, and it has been on our hearts since we became engaged. We never imagined that we would be blessed so richly with the children that we have, but our desire has not waivered to welcome an orphan to our family as well. We really do appreciate your prayers as we start this journey. :)

My Sweet Jaden

Jaden has been such a huge help lately! He has taken a big burden off of me by "walking" Aubrey around. They do it all the time, it's all Aubrey wants to do. He can't quite walk on his own, but with Jaden's help he cruises all around the house. Now, I can cook dinner while Jaden entertains Aubrey. :) He is such an awesome big brother!

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's

We took a bunch of our friends up to Grandma and Grandpa's house while they were on vacation in Hawaii. We had a blast! The kids ran around and played and had a picnic and the adults got to hang out and chat and play some ping pong. So much fun! =)

Quote of the Week

Measure not God’s love and favour by your own feeling. The sun shines as clearly in the darkest day as it does in the brightest. The difference is not in the sun, but in some clouds which hinder the manifestation of the light thereof.

Richard Sibbes

No, he's not my favorite, but...

He's just so darn cute. :)

The end of a long day...

The wonder of a balloon!

She won the hair lottery!

If she only had a mom who knew how to do anything but a ponytail...

Happy Birthday Aubrey!

My precious boy turned one on Friday! Tonight, we had a party for him with his family and a couple of friends. He is such an amazing little baby. I just love everything about him. He is such a mommy's boy. He loves to play and has such fun with his brother and sister. He says several words, most recently "woof woof" for dog. So cute! He is a little lover, always willing to snuggle and recently started giving baby kisses. (Open mouth, over and over) Nothing is better than that. =) I love my little guy, but I can't believe he is already a year old. They are all growing up way too fast!

The aftermath.

First Day of School!

Homeschool, that is. We are doing a little preschool with some of our friends this year to get our feet wet with homeschooling. I really should have posted this on our homeschool blog, but I'll just link over to it. I'll be putting anything school related over there so it doesn't overwhelm this blog!

The kids did great. We split them up into three groups. Jaden and Luke are 4, so they did big boy things. Jaden learned how to write some of his numbers and letters. Baylee, Reese and Matt are in the "second oldest group" so as not to refer to them as the "middle group". =) They did some shapes and colors and basic line drawing and dot to dot. The little ones, I was in charge of. They just hung out and watched me be silly in order to keep their attention. (And to keep them away from their mommies, who were trying to teach the others.) We will be switching off every month with who's house we are at, and who is teaching which group.

In between their little lessons, they had playtimes, art and snacks. I was in charge of a little bible story and went over the story of Hannah, which they had learned in Sunday school. They also did a little coloring page with a memory verse, that hopefully they will all have memorized by next week. "God is my help." We got a few funny variations of it at the beginning.

We even had cupcakes for Aubrey's birthday. (Thanks, Anne!) He got to wear the blue birthday hat, and we sang to him. :)

Quote of the Week

Of whom shall I be afraid? One with God is a majority.

Martin Luther

Getaway!

If anyone has missed me lately, I'm sorry I've been so slack with the blogging. Of course, I still blog more than (most) of my dear friends combined, but that being said, I still have been neglecting my blog quite a bit lately.

The truth is, I've been so busy that I started to get a little overwhelmed with life. My sweet husband took the opportunity to prove how wonderful he truly is and sent me to the beach for a couple of days, by myself, to relax.

It was a wonderful break! Much appreciated. I mostly just read. I love to read, but it just doesn't happen as much as I'd like being a mom of 3. It was just wonderful to be alone and to listen to the silence! I sat on the beach and read for hours. It was foggy and cool, but the sand was warm... absolutely perfect. This was my view when I looked up from my book.

I also found a wonderful cemetery. Anyone who knows me well knows my strange habit of finding old cemeteries wherever I go. This one was quite beautiful, and so old and peaceful.

I love spending time at cemeteries reflecting on the brevity of life, my priorities and my future in heaven. It always brings such peace to my soul to meditate on that! On the other hand, standing in a cemetery always brings a certain amount of sadness. And listening to "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" on my drive over only intensified my thoughts as I considered what some of those souls might be experiencing at that very moment.

I like to walk through and examine the headstones and imagine the kind of person that they were. Usually there aren't many clues. Occasionally you might see a bible verse, which gives hope. However, you just have no idea. Standing in a sea of crosses, it becomes clear that most people (or most people's relatives) cling to the cross in death. However, you wonder if they really did the same in life. Then I wonder, if I'm really doing it in my life. Another thought I have is that life is so short.

I was looking at this woman's headstone and thinking about this. All it says is "Mother". You know that she was a mother. You know that she lived until 60. That's really all. Maybe somewhere there is someone that knows who this headstone belongs to, and the life story of the woman lying there, but the fact that it is so old just makes me think that it is probably forgotten.

Sixty is a lot of years to live. Think of all of the events and concerns that took place in her life over those 60 years. Childhood, Marriage, Children, Grandchildren and everything that goes along with all of those things. Yet, her life has been over now for 120 years. Twice as long as she lived. In all likelihood, not a soul on this earth knows who she is, and certainly no one that she knew is still alive. Her whole life, everyone in it, is gone. None of us will escape that. I love to think about the fact that in a certain number of years, no one will remember me either. Nothing will matter but what I did for Christ. Not the clothes I wore or the car I drove, not the everyday concerns of my life. It is all so silly. Yet, it consumes me at times.

Well, there is a little glimpse into my mind, in case anyone was interested at all what goes on in there. :) On the lighter side, while at the cemetery contemplating all of these lofty things, I spotted a tiny lizzard out of the corner of my eye. I always have to catch them if I see them. It is something my dad and I always did when I was young. At this point, I typically use the excuse that it amuses the children, but of course they weren't there yesterday. It was just me running around in a graveyard chasing the little guy. But I must say, I caught him pretty quickly and didn't make too much of a spectacle. He was quick, but this is kind of a hidden talent of mine. (One of those things that no one will ever know or care about after I'm dead... except through the magical world of blogging.) And of course I took a picture to brag. Here he is. :) So that was my trip. Not too exciting, but so refreshing and nourishing to my soul. I am so thankful to have such a kind and selfless husband! I really don't deserve him.