Psalm 127

"Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless.
Unless the Lord protects a city, gaurding it with sentries will do no good.
It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior's hands.
How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates."
Psalm 127 NLT

Foot notes from the Life Application Study Bible...

127:1 Families establish homes & sentries guard cities, but both of these activities are futile unless God is in them. A family without God can never experience the spiritual bond God brings to relationships. A city without God will crumble from evil & corruption on the inside. Don't make the mistake of leaving God out of your life. If you do, all your accomplishments will be futile. Make God your highest priority, & let him do the building.

127:2 God is not against human effort. Hard work honors God but working to the exclusion of rest or to the neglect of family may be a cover up for an inability to trust God to provide for our needs. We all need adequate rest & times of spiritual refreshment. On the other hand, this verse in not an excuse to be lazy. Be careful to maintain a balance: work while trusting God, & also rest while trusting him.

127:3-5 Too often children are seen as liabilities rather than assets. But the Bible calls children "a gift from the Lord," a reward. We can learn valuable lessons from their inquisitive minds & trusting spirits. Those who view children as a distraction or nuisance should instead see them as an opportunity to shape the future. We dare not treat children as an inconvenience when God values them so highly.

Swimming "Haitian Style"

My Haitian trio & me...

A full lap...

Soon...

I will get to re experience the joy I felt back in 2006 when my good friends Don & Teresa brought home their daughter Eva from China except this time it will be two sets of friends with 5 children from Haiti...I can't wait!!!

Sad Samara...

It's always hard on all the children at the orphanage when their parents leave to go home without them. Some children are more sensitive than others & it really seems to affect them more. Samara is one of the sensitive ones & this time my leaving really seems to have made her sad. Usually a few days after I leave she is back to herself but that doesn't seem to be the case this time. Every time I see a picture of her, she looks very sad...like she has lost her best friend. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would comfort her & speak to her heart & spirit. Please pray that she understands that we love her very much & can't wait for her to come home. Thanks!

Intercessory prayer...

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
May all who love this city prosper.
O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.
For the sake of my family & friends, I will say,
"Peace be with you."
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.
Psalm 1226-9 NLT

Footnote from Life Application Study Bible:
The psalmist was not praying for his own peace & prosperity but for that of his brothers & friends in Jerusalem. This is intercessory prayer, prayer on the behalf of others. Too often we are quick to pray for our own needs & desires but neglect interceding for others. Will you intercede for someone in need today?

I was reading Psalm 122 this morning & these verses & footnote really spoke to me today & I immediately thought of my good friends Angela & Michelle. I know that some of my readers know them & their situation but for those of you don't I will tell you that they are both very wonderful people. They have been in Haiti for several days waiting to get Visa appointments so they can bring their children home. They are adopting from the same orphanage as Randy & I, & they live in our area. I am asking everyone who reads this post today to please intercede fervently on their behalf today. Please pray that Steven's new passport will be finished today & they will have everything they need to have their Visa appointments & that they will get their appointments today. Please pray that their Visa appointments go well & that Michelle, Jeremy, Mia, Hope, Noah, Angela, Belle, & Steven will be on a plane to the US within the next couple of days & that they will arrive home safely. Please pray for a peace & joy that passes all human understanding to fill them all. Thanks!

Phoebe's eyes...

Please pray for complete healing for Phoebe's eyes. We went to the eye doctor Friday for her first eye doctor visit & ended up ordering her a pair of glasses. They should be in about a week. She has a pretty significant astigmastism & the doctor says she will probably have to wear glasses for the rest of her life however I'm praying & believing for healing of her eyes & that she won't have to wear them all of her life. It did not take her long to pick out a pair of glasses. The style is similar to mine & they are purple. I think she looks great in them. I'll post pictures once she gets them.

Happy Birthday Kelly!!!

Praying that you have a positively, absolutely, wonderfully, blessed day! I love you!

Caleb playing...

Public again...

I decided to switch back to making my blog public because I got tired of having to sign into my own blog :o) I haven't had any problems previously & hope to keep it that way...if I do...I'll go back to it being private.

Samara's laugh...

When you can't take a picture...

because your child won't be still...make a video :o) Here's a short clip of Shaki being Shaki :o)

My Haitian beauties...

It's quite the challenge to get all 3 of them to sit still and look at the camera while I take a picture. Phoebe is going to have to teach them how to pose for the camera :o)

Shaki's foot...

Here are pictures of what Shakira's left foot looked like Sunday morning before I left. It is "wetter" looking than it had been because Sandy & I tried something different Saturday to help keep it cleaner but it also made it wetter which wasn't good. Michelle sent me an E mail last night saying that the skin has healed over her toe that lost the tip so that is great & I pray that the toes don't get re injured by someone stepping on them or her stubbing them before they are completely healed. Thanks for all of your prayers!

Home but very tired...

after getting to PAP airport...delays...going through passport control, customs, running through MIA airport to be delayed...once, twice...running through Chicago airport...thankfully the flight was delayed twice so I could get home last night...then I got on the plane & it was about to take off when they got word that there was a power outage at the EVV airport...are you kidding me??? Waited on the plane for about 20 more minutes & then we took off...got home at 11:45pm & went to sleep around 1am. Me & Phoebe exhausted so we decided to take the day "off" & rest :o) I'm going to try to download my pictures today & hope to post some soon.
Please keep praying for Shakira's foot. She's not out of the woods until it is completely healed. Please pray that Michelle & Angela get Visa appt's scheduled today. Thanks!

Update...

So to make a long story somewhat less long...Friday I celebrated my birthday. Saturday morning I was informed that Shakira's foot needed attention. I really wanted to go to Haiti but with the $1000 ticket price knew I couldn't go unless God blessed me with the money. By Saturday evening I had E ticket iternary in my hand...Praise God!!! I arrived in Haiti around 7pm...4 & 1/2 hrs later than scheduled but thank God I made it safely.

Shakira's foot looks "good" as far as the wound goes. They are working very hard to keep it clean until it's healed. Unfortunately the injury happened to her good foot but I am thankful that her injury isn't any worse that it is because it could have been. We're still not out of the woods yet regarding it's healing & not getting infected so I would appreciate continued prayers for that.

I have been having some very good bonding time with my children. I think they are "fully" attached to Mama & ready to come home. Caleb cries every time I leave the room & lights up like a Christmas tree when I come back. It's a good thing they are ready because we're one step closer to them coming home...

We're out of Parquet!!! Our files are being transcripted & we should be in MOI soon. Praise God!!! Please keep praying for movement for all the 3A files...it's working!!!

It's Haiti "hot" here :o) but so far I'm doing good. I would like to take out a blind rooster that wakes up at 3am but other than that things are good here :o) I am suppose to arrive home Sunday evening & it is my prayer that I really do! If you remember my Dec. trip, there was a major delay & I had to spend the night in Miami & didn't get home until 10am Monday.

Wild weekend...

It's been a wild weekend here & I am beat so I'm going to leave with you some pretty pictures to look at :o)

"The BIG 40"

I would like to thank my Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ for blessing me with 40 years of life so far. A BIG thank you to all of my friends & family who bestowed countless Happy Birthday wishes, prayers, thoughts, cards, flowers, & presents on me today!!!

This morning I was feeling very reflective & had planned to post my thoughts about today earlier but I got side tracked. Now it's 9:24pm...past my bedtime...and I'm tired so it's going to have to wait until tomorrow :o)

The sound of...

silence. We haven't heard any news regarding our adoptions for the past three weeks. We continue to pray that we will exit Parquet soon & quickly enter & exit Archives & MOI. Please continue to pray for God's strength, endurance, & perserverance for Randy, Phoebe, & I as we have been struggling with the waiting ever since Randy came back from his trip. Thanks!

Thank you Lord...

for blessing us with a free dishwasher! Thank you so much!

My children...

Shakira's foot...

Please pray for healing for Shakira's foot. This is an excerpt of the report I got.
"A metal bench fell on her toes. The two toes next to the baby toe were affected. The one next to the little toe was cut deeply and the next toe lost the nail. I cleaned it & put an antibiotic cream on that I had, and secured it with a bandaid to hold it in place. The nail was almost off so I took it off completely. We are cleaning and putting cream on it and keeping a sock over the bandage to prevent infection."
For all of those of you who know Shakira...keeping a sock on it will be no easy feat! (no pun intended :o)

Momentous Occassion...

After several months of diligent practicing of tieing shoe laces with her "shoe lace practice book" she did it all by herself for the first time today. She was so excited!!! Tomorrow I'll have her try it on "real" shoes.

Renewing Vows...

I meant to post this last night but didn't get around to it. Last night was a wonderful night for me & Randy...minus a "freaky incident" at a local restaurant which I will reserve for a separate post.

Randy & I have been participating in a Couples activity called "10 Great Dates" over the past few months at the church where Phoebe went to preschool at. It has been a wonderful experience for us. For one we got to have 10 great dates with free baby sitting provided which is always a plus :o)but the book itself along with the alone time together has really reconnected us. Last night was the 10th date. Typically we would go to the church & join other couples for about 15 minutes of video time which reinforced what we were reading in our books & then we would go on a date by ourselves. Last night after the video, all the couples were invited to go into the sanctuary where the Pastor was waiting for us & we could renew our wedding vows if we wanted to.

We had renewed our vows on our 10th wedding anniversary & had planned to renew them again on our 20th. We're coming up on our 19th in August. We decided to go ahead & renew them now & I am so glad we did. It was really an awesome experience & it was great to share it with at least 10 other couples. When it was time to say my vows, my voice got really quite just like it did on our wedding day but this time tears were streaming down my face & I was very emotional. Not to say my wedding day wasn't emotional or not wonderful because it was & our renewal at our 10th wedding annivesary was very special too but this time it was different in a way I probably can't adequately put into words. Although the flame can seem to fade a bit in some marriages with the passing of time, I think in our marriage it has made it stronger. I reflect back on the years we have been together & everything we have been through...the good & the bad, the pretty & the ugly sides of marriage...and I have come to appreciate them all because they have caused us to grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus & to each other...and for that I will always be thankful. Thank you Lord for blessing me with such a wonderful husband!