My Joyful Shakira!

Phoebe thought it was great that we had some pictures of Shakira chewing gum. Chewing gum is Phoebe's latest fascination.
Randy & I are heading out early Friday am to Benton, TN with a bunch of teenagers to go White Water rafting on the Occee River. Please pray for our safety as well as the Holy Spirit to move mightily this weekend. Thanks! We will be back Sunday evening.

Samara's Shoe Fettish!

Let's try this again!

TOGETHER...

I finally have pictures of Samara & Shakira together!!! I've been told that Shakira really liked her dress & the sound that her shoes made on concrete. Samara has a shoe fettish & really looked her shoes over.

I GOT PICTURES!!!

I'm having a hard time containing my excitment about my newest picture "shipment." I just got 102 pictures of the girls from one of my friends that just returned from Haiti. And I'm sure my other 2 friends took pictures as well so I will be "bombarding" you with pictures for awhile...and then hopefully it'll be July & I'll have ones with Randy & I in them...yeah!!! I thought these pictures would be bigger but for some reason they came up "small". I'll try to figure out what the deal is later.

80 MORE DAYS!!!

So that's 8 sets of 10 or 10 sets of 8 or 2 sets of 40 or 4 sets of 20 or 80 sets of 1!!! Okay...I know I'm getting carried away but I have to some how entertain myself while I'm waiting to hear from my friends who just returned home from Haiti. As soon as I have new pictures of Samara & Shakira I will post some.

How many will fit?

I'm just wondering how Samara & Shakira are going to fit in that chair with their Daddy & sister. I have a feeling they will figure out a way!

Awaiting Arrival...

Tomorrow my friends Cathy, Kristina, & Michelle come home from their Haiti trip. I am really looking forward to hearing about their trip as well as getting to see pictures of Samara & Shakira. It will be great to have some new pictures of them.
Please pray for their safety as the group flies home tomorrow. Have a blessed Lord's Day!

SIERRA PAIGE...

Here's some pictures of Randy's new niece Sierra Paige. She is the daugther of Randy's youngest sister Jan.

PUZZLE PIECES...

The following is something that a wise friend of mine shared with me recently...How do you approach the challenges in your life? Do you see them as an opportunity to worry - or an apportunity to trust God?

I believe God works in our lives like a jigsaw puzzle. One piece looks nice; another is ugly. One piece fits in an obvious place; another seems to fit nowhere at all. Some pieces are unidentifiable in themselves; but as they are connected with the rest of the pieces and put in proper perspective, they begin to create a wonderful picture.

We face many different situations in life - some we understand and some we don't; some that are pleasant and others that are just plain awful. Our faith comes in as we trust God with the big picture, recognizing that he has a plan for our lives. We can stand confidently on the words of Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Let God write your story. He is not the editor! He is the author!! (Heb.12:2) He does not write your whole story in the first chapter. There are many chapters in your life that build on each other. He doesn't promise that all the chapters will be easy. Some later chapter it will all make sense of why something had to happen in an earlier chapter. The last chapter will always pull it all together for the final conclusion...God's glory!
I am so guilty of letting God be the editor. I need to let go of the pen and let him write!! I am learning this very slowing. It does give a sense of peace to know that God knows not only the next chapter and the next chapter but the last chapter. I hope and pray more than anything that my life will bring God glory not only in the last chapter but in every chapter. The only way that will happen is if I let him become the author of my story. Take the pen Lord and write away!!
I try to remind myself that what is happening now will make sense later. I just have to endure what seems absolutely crazy to get to what's on the other side. I know it's not all about the destination but the journey. God has so much to teach me in the little details of the journey.

This insight came to me at just the right time. Yesterday this friend & I were talking about our struggles & I thought about perserverance. Last night Phoebe watched the Veggies Tales dvd "The Sumo Wrestler". If you have never seen it I highly recommend it even if you think you too old &/or you don't have kids. It really speaks to the core of what perserverance is & how God can use it in our lives. May you have a joy filled & blessed day!

Hope, Hope, & more Hope!

This is a picture that a friend of mine who is currently in Haiti right now sent me. It's a picture of her holding & playing with Samara Hope & her daughter Hope which gives me hope as I wait "as patiently as I can" until July.

BIZZARE...

No...I promise you I'm not taking drugs. I have no idea why most of my pictures on the blog were "gone" last night but they are here today. Oh, well...glad to have them back!

VANISHED!!!

A lot of the pictures on my blog have seemed to vanished this evening for some reason. Does anyone know why? Thanky for any info. you can give me!

From the mouths of babes...

I'm sure we have all heard of that phrase from time to time "from or out of the mouths of babes" to imply that a little one said something that we did not expect & sometimes what they say is very profound.
Phoebe has been praying for her sisters almost every night since Feb. Most of the time it's a simple "Please keep Samara & Shakira safe Lord & help them to sleep well." Last night her prayer was simply, "Lord, please be with Samara & Shakira & bring them home quickly." Needless to say Randy & I gave a big, "Amen" to that!

Good News, Bad News & Bad News, Good News...

We returned from our trip last evening. It definetely was a "memorable" one. On the way to MO I get a call from my MIL saying that Randy's youngest sister just had a beautiful baby girl, Sierra Paige weighing 7.8 pounds (Good News!) but that they had to do an unexpected c section because the baby's heart rate starting flucating (Bad News). Mom & baby are both doing well now. Friday morning my great Aunt took my 84 yr old Grandma (her sister) & my 87 yr old Grandpa to their routine doctor's visit which is about a 30 minute drive from our home town. I get a call early afternoon from my great Aunt saying that they are admitting my Grandma to the hospital to run some tests on her to see why she was having so much abdominal pain. Then a couple hours later I get another call from my great Aunt saying they are taking my Grandma to surgery for a blockage in her stomach. Me, Randy, Phoebe, & my mom high tail it down to the hospital before she goes in for surgery. She is very scared & the last thing she said was, "I don't want no bag!" To make a very long story a little less long...she ended up having a severe blockage at the sphenic flexure with little pockets below that so the surgeron removed the entire colon (good call on his part) & gave her an ileostomy. Hence the bad news she had to have her colon removed & an ileostomy but good news that she made it through the surgery & he look around at her other organs & they all looked good. She had been progressing well for "her" after surgery but I just got a call from my mom today & it sounds kind of tedious right now. I'm not sure what is going on as I will have to call the hospital myself & get more details but she sounds over sedated right now to the point of not arousing much. Please keep my Grandma lifted up in prayer as well as my Grandpa who is terrified at the thought that she might die before he does. Thanks!

Heading Out...

We are leaving today for a visit to MO to see our family & will return Monday evening. We haven't been there since December so we are really looking forward to it. Phoebe can't wait to see her grandparents! We won't have computer access while we're gone so there won't be any new posts from me until we get back. Have a wonderful & safe weekend!

MAKING PROGRESS!

We sent off our I-600a today & will be sending off documents tomorrow for authentication by the IN Secretary of State. It makes me VERY happy to be able to check some more things off of our "to do list."

For "Aunt Joye"

This is Phoebe in the outfit that her "Aunt Joye" bought her while we were in Gatlinburg.

HBWD!!!

It's time for everyone to do the HBWD (Happy Butt Wiggle Dance). We FINALLY got our home study report today. So now we can get the paper work a moving!!! "I'm sooooooo excited...I just can't hide it..." Yeah, I know, you have that song stuck in your head now don't you?

SAMARA OR PHOEBE???

I know I just posted this picture 5 days ago but I have a funny story to tell you. Sunday night after Phoebe went to bed I took down the picture frame in the living room that has a matte with 5 spots for pictures. I took the very old pictures out of it (one was a picture from 1979) & replaced it with 2 pictures of Samara & 3 of Shakira. I figured that we needed to have some pictures of them up on the wall since we have a "photo gallery" of Phoebe in the hall way. Phoebe woke up yesterday morning & looked at the pictures & said, "Hey, Mommy, Look at the pictures of Samara, Shakira, & me!" I said, "Yes, look at the them but they are just pictures of Samara & Shakira. There aren't any pictures in that frame of you." She just gave me a puzzled look & pointed to this picture & said, "There...there I am!" I laughed & said, "That's not you. That's Samara." She just gave me this look like "Are you sure?" & then she said, "Oh, it looks like me."

When We Were Younger...

WAITING...

I don't like to wait. I have never met a person that actually "likes" to wait. Why is waiting so hard? Why do we not get better with waiting the more we do it? I've really have had a big cases of the "misses" this past weekend for the girls. At least 90% of my thoughts have had them in it. I can't "wait" until the April mission trip leaves so the girls can get their "goody" package. I can't "wait" until they return so I can see all the pictures they took. I can't "wait" to see them for the first time in July. I can't "wait" until they are home with us. So what do I do until then? I wait. I can wait patiently on the Lord or I can send myself into a frightening downward hopeless spiral that consumes me.
I was reading Psalm 75 yesterday & verses 2-3 says "God says, "At the time I have planned, I will bring justice against the wicked. When the earth quakes & its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps the foundations firm."
My Bible footnote (the Life Application Study Bible NLT) on verse 2 says the following: God will act when he is ready. Children have difficulty grasping the concept of time. "It's not time yet" is not a reason they easily understand because they only comprehend the present. As limited human beings, we can't understand God's perspective about time. We want everything now, unaware that God's timing is better. When God is ready, he will do what needs to be done, not what we would like him to do. We may be as impatient as children, but we must not doubt the wisdom of God's timing. Wait for God to reveal his plan. Do not take matters into your own hands.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Praise God for this glorious resurrection day! It's a tad cold here...30 degrees right now. It was 80 degrees a little over a week ago when we bought Phoebe's Easter dress. Phoebe thought Samara & Shakira needed matching dresses & shoes like hers so they are being sent down with the April mission trip. I hope they fit & that they like them. Have a wonderfully blessed day!

RED SHOES

From what I've been told, Samara really likes red shoes. That makes my mom happy because my mom's favorite color is red & she likes to see Phoebe wear red. She can't wait to go red shoe shopping for Samara!

GOOD FRIDAY

I remember going to church on Good Friday when I was young & asking myself, "Why in the world is this day called Good Friday? It's the saddest day of the year." And in truth it is very sad. It is sad that Jesus, the Son of God, had to come to earth as a man, live a sinless life we could never live, & then die a very excruitiang death on a cross for our sins. It would have been even sadder if that is where it ended but that was just the beginning. I am blessed & thankful that by God's awesome grace & love I was saved from my sins by Jesus obedience to die on the cross for me (and you) & then rose again on the 3rd day so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.
I have a different perspective of Good Friday now as an adult. I go to church & reflect on what Jesus did for me, my sinful nature & how God wants me to live my life, & the glorious hope of His ressurection & 2nd coming. May you all be blessed by God's hope & love today!

99 bottles...

Today is day 99 & I have "that" song stuck in my head...99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around...so I'm tailoring it to fit my needs...99 days on the calendar, 99 days, tear a page off the calendar, throw it in the trash...No, I have not been drinking...just missing my girls!
Since staring at the calendar isn't going to make July come any faster I've decided to focus on today which happens to be Maundy Thursday. I know this whole week is Holy Week but it usually doesn't really sink in for me until Maundy Thursday when I try to put myself back in time & replay the events that led up to Jesus death & ressurection. I pray that you will draw close to Him today & be blessed by His presence & peace.

100 Days!!!

100 days until we get to meet Shakira & Samara & we can't wait!!! 100 days seems like a very long time so I have to break it down into smaller increments in my head like 10 sets of 10 days & each time I get to mark off a set of 10, I'm just that much closer to seeing my girls!

A DAY LATE...

What's that old saying about a day late & a dollar short? Well, I'm a day late & probably more than a dollar short but that's okay! I know some of you would like to hear about my trip. First I want to just say, "Thank you Lord for protecting me while I was driving by myself to & from Gatlinburg!" God spared me from being thrown over a mountain cliff by a semi truck with just an inch or two to spare. As far as the conference goes it was good. Candace Cameron (Kurt Cameron's sister) who played on Full House was the guest speaker Friday night. The worship leader was Charles Billingsley & he was awesome! Michael W. Smith was the concert guest on Saturday night & he was wonderful. I had a great time with my friend Joye & was also able to meet up with Lisa another NC friend. From left to right in the picture is me, Joye, & Lisa. As great as the whole weekend was I think the best part was having 12 hours of alone time with Jesus in the van. It was much needed & I am very appreciative of it. He spoke to me about a lot of things & I was able to give him the 1 on 1 attention that he always deserves from me but doesn't always get.