How it went.

Thank you everyone for praying!

I definitely felt your prayers.

It went amazing.

She is a doll.

Example #1:

 She is just as precious as can be.

She smiled all day.

She mostly just followed me around the house looking at me with those big brown eyes.

She's super quiet.  She didn't talk much at all, and when she did I couldn't really understand her....she is 2 after all.

By the end of the day, I was starting to be able to understand her more.  I think I will understand her speech more and more with time.

She did anything I asked her to do and never fussed or cried once...not one time.

She was seriously a dream.

I kept wondering what she was thinking.  Was she scared?  Did she even know what to think?

The boys adored her and did not want to take her home at the end of the day.

We met AJ for lunch because AJ just had to see her!

It went great.  It was hectic b/c there were 4 of them.  But, again, she was a dream and

just stayed right by my side the whole time and held my hand.

She played with the girly things we had for her and enjoyed them, but I think her favorite things of all were the boys' play food and light saber.  ha!  When Finley shot it out, her eyes lit up and she squealed with delight and clapped.  So funny.

At nap time I put her in my bed and laid down with her.  She looked around the room for about 1 minute and then closed her eyes and went to sleep.  I got up and put pillows around her and she didn't budge.  She slept for almost 3 hours and I finally went in and woke her up.  Yeah, I KNOW.

What a blessing from the Lord!

Again, thank you all for praying.

It went better than I could have imagined.

I still would love your prayers.

Prayers that we would bond.  Prayers that she would feel safe and comfortable here and enjoy coming.

Prayers that we would be a blessing to her.

Prayers for my endurance & strength.  Even as easy as she is, it's still tiring to have a child in your home that is not your own.  I was definitely exhausted by the end of the day.

Please pray for our protection from the enemy.  He's fierce.

God is good!

*Also, I just want to say real quick that I am not posting about this because I want anyone to be proud of me or think I'm super spiritual or something.  I just have to bear witness to this work God is doing in my life.  I can't not write about it because it is obviously taking over our lives.  God is taking over our lives.  I want to be an encouragement to press in close to God and allow Him to change you and live a life that is more exciting than you could imagine.  It's all that matters really.  This life is a wisp, by the way.

Pin It

I have a story to tell.

It's God's story, really.

Let me start at the beginning.

This summer my dear friend, Melody started a group for young mamas to start memorizing God's word.
I knew it was exactly what I needed.  I've wanted to be diligent in memorizing scripture. I've not at all been consistent.  I knew this would provide the motivation and accountability I needed.  I needed to get back into a consistent pursuit of Jesus.

I asked God to help my mind expand and be able to memorize.  I asked him to use this study and memorizing of His word to change me.  I had no idea.

Little by little, God has been drawing me to Himself.  Showing me more of Him than I've seen in years.  Wooing me.  Refining me. Giving me victory over struggles that I have fought with and fought with and fought with.  God is changing me.  I am a different girl.  He's been preparing me.

For the past few months AJ and I have felt God moving in us.  We have felt God tugging at our hearts and asking us to pour our lives out for Him.  To completely waste our lives on Him.  We have been blessed with an amazing marriage that we do not take for granted.  Luke 12:48 "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  We're not gonna sit around and pursue an easy, "American dream" life anymore.  We're gonna get our hands dirty.  

We have opened our eyes to the suffering in the world.  We quit turning away because it was too painful to look at.  And now we know too much.  Too much to not act. 

Honestly, we don't totally know what this looks like yet.  But we do know one part of it.

Our church supports a ministry that is devoted to providing families with a hope and future through relationship building activities and programs. They serve students from kindergarten to high school through small group Bible studies, one-on-one mentoring, tutoring, extracurricular activities, and life-on-life involvement.

They have started a new ministry to reach the little ones (infant-preschool age) who aren't yet reached by the program.   The idea is for families to take these children into their homes a few days a week.    They get to learn about Jesus and just play and have fun and be children.

But what could I do?  I have no time.  I'm barely keeping my head above water as it is.  This is impossible.  On my days I'm at home, I'm homeschooling.  But God would not let it go.  It just kept coming back.  I kept telling Him that I needed clear direction.  This was gonna be hard and turn our lives upside down, I needed to know it was Him telling me to do it.  And I just kept being reminded of it.
Last tuesday as I was driving home from our Bible memory group, I said, "Father, if you want me to do this, I need you to tell me for sure. " Immediately in my heart, I had these words, "If you love me, feed my sheep."  I knew it was from God.  It was so clear and so immediate.

I called Betsy and asked if I could come visit her in her home and see how she does life while doing this ministry.   On Monday I went and met a 2 year old little girl.  I was smitten.  She was a doll and kept hugging and kissing Sawyer.  I immediately knew she was gonna be in my home.  I wanted to take her home right then!  I just had a complete and total peace that this was from the Lord.  That God has been preparing me exactly for this.  I can't even describe the peace I felt.

On Tuesday I went and met her family and tomrrow (!!!) I go get her and bring her to my house for the day.   I'm going to start out by having her in our home on Mondays and Fridays and go from there.
I am so excited, I'm surprising even myself.  It's totally the Lord.
I think the hardest part of all will be bringing her back to her apartment.  I already want to go get her and just keep her.  The Lord is going to have to help my heart!

Please if you will, pray for this sweet girl.  Pray for her protection.  Pray that she would see Jesus in us.  Pray that she would not be afraid as she gets to know us.  Pray that she would feel safe and happy with us.  Pray for our family as we adjust.

I'll keep you posted and you know I'll have pictures soon!

Also, thank you to my sweet friends who have blessed us with super cute girly stuff for her.  You are being the hands and feet of Jesus. Pin It

little things

Avery had been asking to paint his face for a while.
Finally on Sunday, I said go for it.
I found an old tube of face paints I'd had stashed away in my craft box.
He had the best time.

I love saying yes to something so simple and then getting to witness their joy.

It doesn't take much to make these boys happy.

There are enough no's in a day.

It's good to inconvenience yourself and say yes.

I didn't even take a picture of all the different looks Avery had.

I sure do love those crazy cats. Pin It

The cutest 11 month old you've ever seen.

How is it that my baby is 11 months old???

This year is FLYING.

Wow, what a sweetie we have in our Sawyer.
He has changed so much this past month.
Teeth are popping out like crazy, he got 3 more this month and some more are well on their way.

He finally gave up the army crawl for I'm-gonna-get-that-itty-bitty-toy-before-you-can crawl.
He's crawling all over the house and it's amazing how much ground he can cover in just a few seconds!
He's started waving and  it's so adorable.  He waves for bye-bye, for hi to anyone who comes near him, and for "all-done" when he's eating.

He's very busy.  He's pulling up constantly...and therefore getting many bumps along the way.
He l-o-v-e-s to go into the big boys room to dig through their toys.  They are much more exciting than his lame-o baby toys.
He's super happy, smiley & flexible.
Here he is in one of his favorite spots. :)

He is crazy about animals.  You already know about his love-affair with our cat.

He gets so excited when I read him a book with animal pictures.  He starts smiling really big and babbling and trying to "pet" the pictures. 

If we see dogs when we're out and about, it's all he can do to get over to them and grab their fur.

What great joy it is to watch this sweet boy learn and grow! 

Pin It

Granola

Yummy, yummy granola.
This is my sister in law, Tonya's recipe.  
It's so good.
We almost always have it in our pantry. 
The kids love it.  They ask for it over anything else.
We are a big cereal-eating family.
I feel good because they are getting something so healthy & filling for breakfast.

Heat your oven to 350.
Put 6 cups oatmeal, 1/2 cup wheat germ, & 1/2 cup chopped nuts on a cookie sheet.
Sometimes I throw on some sunflower seeds as well, depending on my mood.
Toast in the oven for 15 minutes.
While that's toasting, get out a big ol' bowl and mix the following ingredients:
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup oil (I use canola)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
When the granola's done toasting, dump it in the bowl with the other ingredients.
Mix it all up and then spread it back out on the pan.
Bake in a 300 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. 
And by turning, I mean pull the whole pan out of the oven, and gingerly mix around with your spoon.
Do not attempt to "turn" the granola while it's still in the oven.  Just trust me.
I almost always just do the 20 minutes because I'm impatient like that.
This is seriously yummy.
Go make some. Pin It

3 Neon Yellow Jackets

My husband is a runner. 
As in, up at 5 a.m., running in the dark kind of runner.
I'm so proud of him.  Slightly jealous of his drive & determination, but proud nonetheless. :)
This year he decided to run a second half-marathon.
This one was in Kansas City. He ran with his dad and family friend, Michele.

Wow, those are some bright jackets.

Don't they look cute? ;)

Makes them easy to spot on the race. 

I'm going to make him wear that jacket every time he runs now so that I know that all those crazy drivers out there will see him when he's running at dark-thirty.

It was VERY cold waiting for AJ to cross the finish line. 

It was fun to watch all the runners though.

One guy crossed smoking a cigar.

This is the face Sawyer had the entire time we were waiting. 
Like, "why is it that you have me out in this weather?"

It was so exciting to see AJ come running down the lane.   He's such a stud.

 

 

We had a great time in KC.

It was a good chance to see AJ's parents.  Lots of good food.

Really wish we would have had time for the plaza.

We're making plans to come back minus the chitlins.

Pin It

Happy Birthday Sister!!

Happy 11th Birthday Sweet Hannah!

We love you and hope you have a wonderful day!

Pin It

happy birthday to my man

Look at that hunk of a man I get to be married to.

I get to look at that hottie everyday.

It doesn't get any better.

Happy Birthday my love.

  I'm head over heals for you.

Pin It

Finley's Point of View

I let Finley use my old Camera yesterday.
He went around the house taking pictures.
These are the gems I found on the camera today.

 

 

 

Okay, so some are better than others.

Then he wanted to play around with "photo booth" on our computer.

This is his personal favorite.  He laughed and laughed at this one.

This is my personal favorite. :)

Pin It

Out Takes

How they are 80% of the time:



Let's try it with out singing, just a message:


I will spare you the 5 other takes we have.
You're welcome. Pin It

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today, on your birthday, I hope you know how much you're loved. 
You are the best daddy a girl could ask for.
Thank you for being a tangible example of my Heavenly Father's love.
I've never had trouble understanding God's fatherly love for me because I had such a good example of that kind of tender, unconditional love from you.
When I try to imagine God's comfort, I think back to our Sunday afternoon naps in the blue recliner.
One of my favorite memories with you is dancing on your feet in the kitchen on South College. 
I remember feeling so loved.  You told me that when I feel that love from you, it's a glimpse of the Father's love for me. What a great picture.
Another favorite memory is you tucking me in every night and praying over me....and making me take my slippers off! 
Thank you for being such a good girl-daddy.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for encouraging.
Thank you for loving me and being someone I could always tell anything to.
Thank you for delighting in me.
Thank you for teaching me to hold out for God's best.
Thank you for being such a good grandaddy to my boys.
I love you,
your Petunia

Pin It

It was 42 degrees.

Yesterday we had the privilege of getting to participate in The Titus Task Fun Run and 5K.

The Titus Task was started by Noel & Lori Tugwell as a fund to support local families who are in the process of domestic or international adoption.  

 Noel & Lori's son Titus died of severe malnutrition in his orphanage in Haiti before they were able to bring him home.  They have already adopted 2 children internationally and are in the process of adopting a sweet 11 year old boy named, Louis.  You can read about their amazing story here.

Our community group decided to participate together.  What a fun time we had!

It was a C-O-L-D morning for October.  
We walked with our friends/community group members, Bill & Karen, and Jon & Renae.

We were all bundled up & ready to go!  First was the family fun run/walk.

Bill & Karen with their sweet Henry...

Let's notice that everyone has gloves except for my BABY.
Yeah, accidentally left  his bunting at home.
Mom of the year.
I really love this picture, though.
That's a happy family right there.

I took this picture myself.  Pretty proud of that fact.

Even if my hair is funky & I have no make-up on.

I really love that picture. I love that kid. I can feel the way it feels to hug him when I look at that picture.  That makes me happy.

goofy boy.

 

The race finally started.  The boys went tearing off down the road.  They ran pretty much the whole way.

I enjoyed walking & talking with friends. :)

After the fun run was the 5K.  The guys ran it together.  Well, except for Jon who bailed out mid-race to go start making us some yummy breakfast for after the race. We appreciated his sacrifice. :)

AJ was excited to see what it would be like to run a 5K.   And, he loved it.  A whole lot easier than the half-marathons that he's used to running.  He's running one next weekend in KC actually.

While the men were running the 5K I took the boys to get their faces painted. 
Avery always asks to get his face painted.  I most always say "no" b/c I don't want to pay $6 for someone to paint a peace symbol on his face.
I was excited to say "yes" this time....and the designs they were offering were really elaborate and FREE.  music to my ears.

Avery picked a batman "mask." 

Very exciting for a 6 year old boy.

A little creepy for mama.

Unfortuanately my camera died while Finley was getting his face painted so I didn't get a picture of his.  He got a spider on his nose with his whole face being the web.  yeah.
However, Fin can't really stand stuff on his skin, so it had barely dried before he was picking it off.
While we were waiting, Sawyer and I watched the kids play around. Sawyer was loving it.
Another mom offered to take our picture.
Pretty sweet if you ask me.
I love those squishy fingers.

After the run we all got to go to Jon & Renae's for a big, yummy breakfast. 

It was such a great morning.  Pin It

Today.

It's been a great day.

We started off with a little bit of homeschooling.  We didn't get much done b/c I slept until Finley climbed in my bed and it was 7:30 already.  Avery didn't wake up until 7:50 and Sawyer, 8:30...a rare morning, indeed.

We slowly got around on this rainy, cold, Fall morning.

I was half-dressed with wet-hair when I realized we needed to leave in 5 minutes for Avery's basketball practice and the boys were still in their jammies.  My hair went in a bun, makeup put on at the stop lights and we were only 5 minutes late.

Finley brought a tub full of toys to play with during Avery's practice and Sawyer was extra-content.  It was just one of those mornings when we all had happy hearts.

After practice we met our AJ for lunch which made my day for sure.  We ate at Zaxby's which is just a little slice of Heaven if you ask me.  Their sweet tea is perfect.

After lunch AJ had a little time before he had to get back to work so we walked around the dollar store.  I let the boys each pick out one thing to buy.  I never do that.  They do not need one more toy and definitely not a cheapie from the dollar store, but I just wanted to say yes to them this time.  They were beyond excited.  They both picked guns. oh thrill.  Avery's was an army kit and Finley's was a police kit.  They held their prizes all the way home excitedly talking all about what they were going to play with them.  Finley said "thank you" and "i'm so esited(excited)" all the way home.  Avery told me "thank you" a bunch too.  It's good to say "Yes" sometimes.....even to silly things like that.

The sad news is that Finley's worked and Avery's didn't.  But, I guess that's a good lesson about buying things from the dollar store.  But he was still a happy boy.

Okay, this picture with the guns a little creeps me out.

But they are boys and they are designed to be protectors.  So I let them be boys.

God has really been doing a work in AJ and I.

I am a different girl these days.

I am learning to be  quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.  (James 1:19)

I am finding victory.  

AJ and I are noticing a difference in the boys.

God is gracious to keep doing this good work in us.

Tonight AJ & the boys did this.

They were ecstatic when AJ told them what they were gonna do.

We've never set it up inside before.  Little efforts are so worth the joy on their faces.

 

They got to eat dinner in there with a movie.  so fun.

 Now they are going to bed in their fleece jammies.

And my love and I are in for some coffee, pumpkin bread, and snuggling close.

It's been a good day.

p.s. Sawyer stayed in his jammies all day and then went to bed in the same ones.  Just thought you should know.

Pin It

For the memory

I want my boys to always remember what kind of daddy they are blessed with.

The kind who leaves messages for them on their chalkboard when he has to leave before their sleepy-heads make it down the hall.

The kind who walks in the door ready to wrestle.

The kind who races to beat their mama into the room to see them first.

The kind who gets up in the middle of the night to calm a frightened boy or bring a drink of water. 

The kind who hurts when they hurt.

The kind who can barely stand to hear his son cough in the night.

The kind who reads to his boys every single night.

The kind who teaches them how to ride a bike, climb a rock, bat a ball, and
most of all,  praise their Savior.

The kind who gets up early every day to spend time with his First Love.

The kind who works hard and rushes home when the work is done. 

The kind who is happiest when he has his wife & boys nearby.


The kind who teaches them to love Jesus and love their mama. 

Boys, your daddy is a good man.

I want you to know that God gave you such a treasure when he gave you your Daddy.

We are blessed. Pin It

I love a striped romper.

We went to the pumpkin patch.

This one is a just a small, locally owned farm.  They have the cutest little shop that sells all kinds of fresh, locally grown produce and home-baked goods. They actually have a really large variety.  They also have a lot of homemade pasta.  So basically a bunch of yuminess in one spot.

There were several different areas of pumpkins & hay bales for them to play around in.

 

It was a perfect Fall day.

I'm so glad we went before all this rain started.

The only bad part was that we had been outside all morning for a rugby game and Avery's allergies were going crazy.  His eyes were all watery and he kept sneezing.  He was having a really hard time smiling without completely shutting his eyes and rubbing them.  So we did our best.

 

Yes, he is adorable.

And this one.

And this boy too.

Look at those chubby baby fingers.  I must go kiss them now.

Okay I'm back.

I am so thankful for these healthy, joyful boys.
I am overwhelmed that God would entrust such treasures to me.

 

We are enjoying Autumn so much.  I love making memories as a family.
How are you making the most of this Fall season?  Do y'all have certain traditions you do every year?  I'd love to hear your ideas! Pin It