We are diving in!

Today I made our first phone call to get Joseph assessed for early intervention services. I realized when I hung up the phone that I have very mixed emotions about this. I want him to get all the services he needs in order to reach his full potential, but part of me wants to pretend like everything is fine(denial runs strong in my family!) It is also a little intimidating to jump into this pool! It is such a big, scary and unknown world...the world of speech therapists, preschools and whatever else. I am confident, however, that God has Joseph and his future in His hands!

Albertine

Please turn off the music player before playing this video!

I heard this song and I was so moved. I think it perfectly describes the way a place and a people can get inside you. I think this is the way Kenya has gotten inside Brian.

Rescue the perishing; don't hesitate to step in and help. If you say, "Hey, that's none of my business," will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know— Someone not impressed with weak excuses. Proverbs 24:12 (The Message)

Finnally Forever!

The best day of 2009!

Joseph's adoption day!

It was so great to finally sign the papers that made Joseph a legal member of our family. He has, of course, been a part of our family in our hearts since he was placed with us! What a great day! We had brunch at the Tower Cafe(Where we have eaten to celebrate every adoption!), and then headed off to the courthouse. Brian and I signed papers, we took pictures and whoo-hoo, Joseph is ours FOREVER!

Joseph's Adoption Hearing!

Praise God!!

We have adoption hearing date for Joseph! Although there has been no reason to believe his adoption wouldn't go through, it is always such a relief to finalize the adoption. We all love Joseph so much, and are so glad to finally be his forever family! It is times like these when the goodness of God is simply unquestionable!

A fortune cookie revelation!

"A great pleasure in life is doing what others say you can't."

Last week we decided to get Panda Express and eat dinner watching a movie (the kids love getting to eat dinner at the coffee table!) When we finished our meals, we all opened our fortune cookies and read them to the rest of the family. We always laugh at the silly, sometimes coincidental messages. Usually they say things like, "Good fortune will smile on you Tuesday." We don't put any stock into what they say, we just find them funny, until Brian read Camille's fortune. Sometimes things are too close for comfort! Her fortune read, "A great pleasure in life is doing things others say you can't." That is our little Camille to a tee right now. She takes great pleasure in doing the things Brian and I say she can't. I am sure the quote was meant to be uplifting, but in the context of Camille, it is a clear picture of our human nature. Don't we all want to do things our own way, especially when someone else(or God) tells us not to! So, my solution for Camille has been to plant the seeds of God's Word in her heart and mind. She has recently memorized Colossians 3:20 "You children must always obey your parents, for this is what pleases the Lord." It is good to be reminded that when we do the right thing it pleases the Lord, and it is a better pleasure to please the Lord than to do things our own way! (God always uses my kids to teach me about my own heart!!)

No Excuses!

I was driving to church last week, on my way to Bible study. We are doing a Precept study on the book of John. As many of you know the precept studies are awesome, but a lot of work! Well, I didn't finish my study and I was thinking about all the reasons I was too busy to get it done. When the Lord spoke very clearly to me. He said,"Having five kids is no excuse for poor character." Wow! Let me be clear, this was not a criticism, it is the truth. God is not in the business of condemning us, but correcting us. I knew what he was saying was right and I was very convicted.
It is funny how many times I hear, "Five kids, how do you do it? I can barely manage two!" Or, if I share I had a hard time getting something done, "Well, you have so many kids around all the time, it's understandable!" So, it was easy to allow myself the same excuses other people are willing to offer me.
So, as I was driving, I realized that, yes, I have been allowing my five kids to become an excuse for poor character in some areas of my life. Completing my Bible Study for example. Of course, I could have made the time to get it done. I didn't last week, but I did this week. It was good to spend the time in God's word studying, better than anything else I could have found to keep myself too busy!

Homeschooling Perfection!

What a perfect homeschool moment! All of the kids at the table, working on age appropriate activities, happily learning together! Even the baby is coloring with his homemade toddler crayons! I should really just leave my post with this, but then I would be denying the reader the reality of the moment. Yes, it is true that in this brief moment the kids were being angels, but this didn't last long!


The true story is that we had been having a particularly hard morning. (Joseph is into everything and has made me rethink my school schedule for Isaac and Camille. They now do most of their school while Joseph is napping!) I was, however, determined that I could make this work. And I did, for a couple of minutes!


I do love homeschooling, and I am glad that we made the decision to walk down this road. I am also learning about flexibility, and what schooling two kids, raising a family, keeping a house and all of the other responsibilities I have looks like. It does look different than I expected, but it has been a great adventure so far! (And, yes, I did make the toddler crayons!!)