Calling all Prayer Warriors!

I was taking a shower yesterday praying for the boys and God grabbed a hold me and said, "Plan a prayer meeting!"

me: really? You want me to have people over to my house to pray for a court date and that we would be able to bring them home soon? Oh - God I have never done anything like this. This is really outside my comfort zone.

God: I don't care...just do it!

So, now I bring you the details that came from my conversation with God

This Thursday night - August 6th at 8:00pm
Our home: 1720 6th Ave N - St. Cloud
320-292-3766
We will start praying at 8:15 and ending at 8:45 with fellowship after.

So are you passionate for adoption, prayer, our family or do you have a desire to be? Then come on over and let's pray! Do you live far from us? Then set your clocks and pray with us!

Leave a comment if you want to pray with us! I would be greatly encouraged!

Thoughts

Honestly, these past couple of weeks have been hard waiting for a court date. I feel the spiritual battle raging because Satan hates the word "FAMILY." He does not want us to feel belonged, loved, chosen, wanted, cherished, and adopted. He thrives on keeping us distracted, busy, overwhelmed, and unsatisfied.

I have been praying for our boys night and day. One night, it felt like I was up more than I was sleeping, but it was the best opportunity to plead with the Father to bring our boys home.

This morning I sat at my desk and I had nothing to say God. I couldn't even put words into a prayer. When I feel like this, I open my bible to the Psalms because there are always words that I feel and that I can say to God. This morning my eyes fell to Psalm 61 verse 1 and 2.

Hear my cry, O God listen to my prayer;
From the end of the earth
I call to you when my heart is faint.

Just after I read those verses I had a verse come to mind about waiting for the Lord...Be strong! I had to bible reference it because I could only remember that it was at the end of a psalm. (My bible is relatively new and so I don't have all the underlines and highlights in it like my old one does.) But I found it. Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord;
be Strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!

I stand in full confidence that God hears my cry, He wants to grow our family with our boys. I am rest in peace knowing God's timing is perfect. Today I am going to Be strong and wait for the LORD!

The Forgotten 500

I just finished the book, "The Forgotten 500" by Gregory Freeman.

This is the true story of 500 service men who were stranded in the mountains of Yugoslavia during WWII and the dramatic rescue of them. And how communist moles infiltrated in the higher ranks of the US and British forces during the war and were the catalyst for the Cold War that followed.

This is an excellent book if you like history or want to learn from history. I gained a great respect for the people of Yugoslavia and the service men of WWII. It also got me thinking about the current administration and how President Obama is appointing known supporters of communism into his Czar positions and how catastrophic that could and will be. When you appoint people to power who have no one to hold them accountable expect the president himself, and who do not believe whole heartily in democracy there are huge consequences to pay. You will read about it in the book and if you study history...you know it repeats itself.

Hosanna

Hosanna lyrics
Songwriters: Fraser, Brooke
Refrain:
Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest

I see the King of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes

I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

(Refrain)

I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

(Refrain)

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause As I walk from earth into eternity

(Refrain)

I have been thinking about this song for the past couple of weeks. The last verse has been the one on my mind. Read what I put in bold. The third line where it says, "Break my heart for what breaks yours," has been really working on me lately. If I truly say that and believe it, my life will become messy. You can't turn your back on the depressed, lost, orphaned, widowed, single mother etc. There is nothing neat and tidy about living a life where you surrender your life for the kingdom's cause.

What does this look like for me when soon I will have a house full of children all under 6. How do I live my life to the glory of God while staying on the home front with my children all the while showing them how to love like Jesus in this broken and fallen world?

Now that is a good question for me today.

Go out and buy this song off of itunes if you haven't heard it...it is worth 99 cents!

Horseback Riding

We had the privileged of going to getting to know a great family in our church yesterday.

They had horses to ride and my girls have been riding cloud nine since we left.

I wish you could see Grace's face...Sheer glee


Adie was so happy to be on the horse. It was the first thing she talked about this morning. She was actually using 5 word sentences to tell me about it!





Adie riding bare back...notice her pink boots!





We might have found her new love.


Lydia had a great time too!

Blessings from today.

I love homemade bouquets - Nothing smells as sweet and looks as nice!

I am very very sad tonight.

It looks like the Ethiopian courts might close the end of Aug through Sept. Since we don't have a court date that means we will be lucky if we have the boys home by Thanksgiving.

That bit of news breaks my heart tonight.

This is the bible verse God just gave me.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Trying to be joyful while I trust. I am still praying we travel in September. I believe God can and will move mountains to bring our boys home. And if you personally know my family, then you know why it is important that we travel soon. Keep praying!

Freed to visit the orphan

One more thing

Please pray for my headaches. I am going on day 8 with one and it is draining. I think I jaw clench at night because every morning I wake to a killer headache. Sometimes it will get better during the day but never completely goes away. I am praying God would give me relief.

PS: I have tried sleeping with a mouthguard but it makes me gag uncontrolably and I just can't do it.

Thursday came and went

Thursday's are the day when court dates are posted in Ethiopia.

We have seen another one come and go and it is such a bummer!

This means we wait another week to see if finally can get a court date. Be in prayer for our agency because things are not moving.

God's timing is perfect but sometimes the wait is hard!

Joseph and the Amazing Tecnicolor Dreamcoat

Yesterday we had the privileged of going to the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre with Grandpa, Grandma and the cousins with their parents. Hannah was picked to an extra child on stage during the whole performance. All the kids felt her joy when she was picked!
(The 4 youngest stayed home with 2 babysitters:)




Lydia and Dad



Mommy and Grace

50 lbs of Blueberries

UPDATE: I did NOT pick these. They were picked in Michigan and I paid for them. (I love the all in one day philosophy...get it done and over with!)


Just in case you were wondering what 50 lbs of blueberries looked like...I took a few pictures.
(Every picture is of a different batch) We washed them all and now they will dry overnight and then we can bag and freeze them. Yummy eating this winter!






Of course Adie ate her fair share while I washed.

Meal planning Ideas

First make lists of meals your family likes to eat and put them into categories: Type it out and save it because then you can add more to your list once you try new recipes! This step will take a little time but will save you oodles of time later! Trust me! Plus ask your kids and husband what their favorites are and make sure they make the list. (It is easy for me to skip over making the things that I don't like, but if the rest of family likes it...it should make the list. I make my kids eat things they don't like...just ask Grace and Lydia)

Chicken
Hamburger
Breakfast - yes we eat breakfast for supper
Quick meals
Noodle meals
Grilled
Random don't fit into any category
Etc

Then it makes putting the menu together quite easy because you can pick from the list. I try to do chicken, hamburger, Italian, breakfast and grilled each week night.

This week:
Monday - Homemade vegetable soup
Tuesday - Chicken, rice and brocoli - it is an all in one meal
Wednesday - French toast and smoothies
Thursday - Stroganoff and green beans
Friday - BLT
Saturday - Roast Ham, Potatoes and peas

Meal planning and a Birthday

This morning I was able to get three weeks worth of meals planned...lunch and supper. Oh that feels so good to not have to plan! You should try it sometime. I take a blank calendar and fill it in with pencil so that way you can switch things around. I also circle the dates that we actually don't eat those meals because then I can add them to my next menu. Grocery shopping will be easy for the next couple of weeks!

Side note:
My girls are telling the Fed-Ex man that we are adopting two boys and showing him all of Adie's silly tricks. I don't think he was planning on all that information on this stop.

Back to today...We had a Birthday party for my mom this noon. Decorations are all over the house. There was great effort put into them this morning. We had a great meal with chocolate cake. Now we had to send her back to the ranch. We will miss seeing her so often!

Double dates

On Thursday night we went out for dinner with a dear couple and had a hoot.

My mom was here to babysit so I was able to truly enjoy the evening without thinking of the babysitter ticker going...12 dollars, 24 dollars...50 dollars...

It was one of those evenings where the fellowship and food were simply amazing. We went out to a different restuarnt for dessert and then sat in the car and talked for 45 minutes before we dropped them off for the evening. (I kind of felt like we were in high school)

If you haven't gone a double date recently, I would highly suggest it!

Last night we had a couple over for dinner. Usually I have the meal all prepared and we just sit down and eat, but last night we were all cooking something at the same time. Fajitas, chips, guacamole, salsa ...all made fresh! Then we went and made a fire in the backyard to make s'mores (Carl's new favorite thing is to add peanut butter...I don't know if I am sold on it yet.)

Last night

Last night I was feeling a little overwhelmed with what God is calling us to...you know life in general. Nothing earth shattering, but I was letting my mind wander too far.

I started reading and came to Psalm 16...vs 5

"Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful in inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life."

I felt so much better! and I love how God counsels me with his Word.

On a mission...

To get things done around here...

Completed:
1 bathroom...one to go
ordered pictures of the boys
sent money into World Vision to help those in Sudan (Did you know right now they are able to multiply your gift by 15 times with government grants and other donors)
cleaned off my desk


I would like to sort all the toys today! Huge goal, but I am at least going to start! Girls have so many trinkets, thing-a-ma-do's, hairclips, and stuff, stuff, stuff!

So - Here I go!

"To live is to suffer. To love is to suffer more. And to trust Jesus is to hear: This works a weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17)."

- John Piper

Pictures from this weekend

Can you guess what she ate?

(A pack of sugar free Kool-Aid)
Try cleaning that off your kitchen floor...I changed my water 3 times and it was still red and fruity smelling.

Reading with Nana in bed.


We went to the lake on Friday night with some friends. It was raining so we were a little bummed, but after the rain came a full rainbow that was simply beautiful.



Lydia with Uncle Chris


Adie and Daddy



On Saturday, Grace really wanted to pick her own strawberries. We went to Tutti Frutti Farms and picked 5 ice cream buckets full.




Adie didn't like that she was dirty so she took off all her clothes (there was no one else present besides us) Then I don't want to admit it...she peed on the ground. I guess it is no different than if a raccoon came by and peed...it is all natural.




They were so proud of their full buckets...I could never fill my to the top...my strawberries would disappear.

Spending time with Mom

For the past couple of days we have had the pleasure of having Nana back from the ranch. We've been doing things that I can't normally get done. (like run to the battery store to get batteries for two watches that died probably 1 1/2 years ago)

Today we are hanging out at her house because Carl is off taking flying lessons this weekend.

So we are going to bake homemade bread and make homemade laundry soap and whatever cleaning products look appealing. I will let you know how they turn out. I am going to make homemade bug spray too! I am really excited!

Yucky jobs

I finally did it.

I cleaned out the van.

No more jelly beans, animal crackers, cheerios, raisins, craisins, M&M's, and whatever else my children ate in the last 3 months.

It feels so good to go in and see vacuumed out carpets...not that they are factory clean, but one can always pretend.

I wish I knew someone who liked to clean vehicles...I would love to trade something(ie: I make a couple of freezer meals and they clean my car.) Someday I will meet that person.

Off to make supper. Tonight Carl and I are having crab legs while the girls are eating quesadillas. Everyone is very happy with the menu. (I love that they have no idea that crab legs are delicious...what they don't know at this point saves me a lot of money)

More waiting...

We did get an update on the boys today. I can't believe they are only 21 and 22 lbs! By comparison Adie is 30+ lbs.

We have more waiting in store. There were more rules added by the government. More letters need to be written and one extra meeting done before we can obtain a court date. All this needs to happen when they only have 3 or less days a week of electricity and they never know when they will have it. Pray for electricity!

I am a little sad because it will be at least another 2 weeks before we hear anything else.

The good news is that another family should be home soon so maybe we will get some more pictures of them. (They are so cute - you will fall in love with them once we can show you pictures.)

Praying for news

We are praying for a court date. We have heard nothing now from the agency for a month and the silence is deafening.

The courts may or may not close this year. If they close we are looking at not getting the boys until November at the earliest. This breaks my heart in many ways in which I cannot go into detail on this blog, but if you know me, you know why.

I am praying that there will be electricity in Ethiopia so things can get done over there.

God's timing is perfect. He has a mighty plan for our family.

Until the boys arrive home, I am enjoying the three little girls that God has already blessed us with.

Daddy date

Adie and Daddy went to the YMCA so they could go swimming together. Adie has had to painfully sit through swimming lessons all week without being able to swim. (She wears her swimsuit to Grace and Lydia's lessons and their teacher gracously lets her jump in once at the end of the class - just to say she went swimming)

She still is a rascal.

I was and still am packing to go Carl's family reunion at the lake cabin this weekend. Adie got into my makeup AGAIN! 3 eyeshadows and 1 blush scraped out onto the carpet. Some of you might have thought that we don't have that many stories anymore...nope...She still is a handful - mind you a cute handful. Lucky for her that I was so upset that all I could say was, "Adie we do NOT play with mommy's make-up." (I responded to her behavior...I didn't react. I really wanted to jump up and down and say, "Not my make-up again!"



As you can see I love Stanly Carpet cleaner and my Green machine. I think I got most of it out.

Note: Make sure you vaccum your carpet first! That is step 1. Step 2: clean with Stanly carpet cleaner. Step 3: Use the Green Bissel Machine.

Interview with Tom Davis

Here is an interview with Tom Davis. His book is the next one that I want to read - Fields of the Fatherless. He and his wife took a group of people to Russia to do a camp for orphans (they were 26 and 22 at the time with a 7 month old girl) They fell in love with a ten year old girl and went back one year later to adopt her. Now he works for Children's Hope Chest. This is an amazing ministry that partners with churches to truly adopt and orphanage - financially, spiritually, physically etc. They are concerned for all the children who age out of the orphanage and become a extremely sad statistic. (For example - as he states in his interview 70% of girls become apart of the sex trade) I would say, "Enjoy the interview," but I guess I should say, "Be humbled and let God work on your heart."

Cleaning party

Last night I went to an Essential Oil party and learned how to clean my house with non-toxic chemicals.

I have to admit that I am sold on the idea. I started cleaning my toilets this morning with baking soda and vinegar and it worked splendid. I used their sample of laundry detergent and loved it.

I am hoping that getting rid of the harmful chemicals will maybe help with my headaches that I have. (3-4 times a week) I always thought it was my thorn that I just needed to deal with, but maybe this will help. I know it will help Lydia's eczema.

At first glance it can look expensive to start, but I look at it as 1 doctor visit and I have it paid for. (You pay a lot out of pocket when you own your own business...there is no such thing as $10 co-pay for a quick visit.)

I will let you know how things work next week. I also learned of a great store that I need to stop at on my way to the cities - Trader Joe's. It has been recommended now 3 times in the past week. (Natural foods, soaps, and all sorts of random stuff.)