This is a picture of me & my good friend Joye who lives in NC. I'm going to meet up with her tomorrow to go to a "Women of Joy" conference in Gatlinburg so you won't see any new posts until Monday. Have a great & safe weekend!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
JOY!!!
This is a picture of me & my good friend Joye who lives in NC. I'm going to meet up with her tomorrow to go to a "Women of Joy" conference in Gatlinburg so you won't see any new posts until Monday. Have a great & safe weekend!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
BEAM ME UP!
This is a picture that a friend of mine sent to me yesterday of her daughter & Shakira. It was taken last Sept. Looks like Shakira is pretending she's an astronaut.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
MOURNING
I should have posted this yesterday but I was still in too much distress after Carolina's loss Sunday. I thought for sure they were going to dance their way to the Final 4.
Oh, well...there's always next year!
Monday, March 26, 2007
IT'S OKAY...
Most of my friends & family are more computer savvy than I am & I am intriuged to find out that some of you have checked out the blog but haven't commented on anything. I just wanted to let you know that it's "okay" to leave comments. This is kind of like a 2 way journal where I pour out my thoughts & you can respond to them. Thanks!
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Hugs to you all!}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Hugs to you all!}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Sunday, March 25, 2007
DEAD
Yesterday was a "dead" day at our house. First, our oldest cat thought it would be neat to massacre a bird...and I mean massacre. We have blood all over our front porch steps...yuck!!! Then my neighbor across the street told me that her sister's cat had died. At feeding time last night I found one of Phoebe's two fish dead. I quickly scooped it out before she saw it. Word of caution...I wouldn't recommend your fish to have the same name as your children. Phoebe had named them Samara & Shakira. After Phoebe went to bed last night I calmly told Randy that Samara was dead. You should of saw the look on his face. I immediately had to add the words "the fish" "You think I would be this calm if our daugther was dead?"
What is it about death that we find so unsettling? Is it because we cherish life on this earth so much? Is it because we maybe uncertain of our eternal future? Or is it we're so convinced that we have no eternal future of any sort that we think death is pointless because it's just a final end? Maybe it's none of these & we just dearly love the person or animal that has just died & we long to be with them again.
Some Biblical food for thought:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
"For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your godly one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence & the pleasures of living with you forever." Psalm 16:10-11
"If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?" Luke 9:24-25
"And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making all things new! And then he said to me, "Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy & true. And he also said, "It is finished! I am the Alpha & the Omega-the Beginning & the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge! All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, & I will be their God, & they will be my children. But cowards who turn away from me, & unbelievers, & the corrupt, & murderers, & the immoral & those who practice witchcraft, & idol worshipers, & all liars-their doom is in the lake that burns with fire & sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:5-8
What is it about death that we find so unsettling? Is it because we cherish life on this earth so much? Is it because we maybe uncertain of our eternal future? Or is it we're so convinced that we have no eternal future of any sort that we think death is pointless because it's just a final end? Maybe it's none of these & we just dearly love the person or animal that has just died & we long to be with them again.
Some Biblical food for thought:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
"For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your godly one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence & the pleasures of living with you forever." Psalm 16:10-11
"If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?" Luke 9:24-25
"And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making all things new! And then he said to me, "Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy & true. And he also said, "It is finished! I am the Alpha & the Omega-the Beginning & the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge! All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, & I will be their God, & they will be my children. But cowards who turn away from me, & unbelievers, & the corrupt, & murderers, & the immoral & those who practice witchcraft, & idol worshipers, & all liars-their doom is in the lake that burns with fire & sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:5-8
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Girls!
I can't wait until we can actually have a picture of them with all of them present in person at the same time but until then this will have to do.
"Princess" Phoebe
I couldn't leave out the "Phoebester" so I had to include some of her pictures as well. Besides if she sees the blog she would say, "Where are my pictures?" So it's better for me to stay one step ahead of her!
Friday, March 23, 2007
His Awesome Plan!
His Awesome Plan!
Last November Randy & I attended the rock climbing/rappelling Barnabas weekend as adult leaders. During that weekend we were in small groups which consisted of 2 adult leaders, a JR leader, & several adventurers (ages 12-15).
One of the questions we had to answer while in our small groups was "How do you see God using you in the future?"
When it was my time to answer I said, "I think God as already used Randy & I by adopting Phoebe & I think He will use us to adopt again. What I really would like to do is to adopt a child from Africa but I don't have any idea how that would happen as regards to who to contact & the costs involved." After I finished talking the other adult leader's eyes got really big & he had this very excited look on his face. He then said, "I think I can help. My wife & I do mission work in Africa & we know of this Christian orphanage in Nigeria & the person who is in charge of it doesn't charge any money to adopt from that orphanage." I'm thinking...that's awesome! I'm so pumped!!! He then said he would get the contact information for me. I told Randy about it & he was excited as well. At the end of the weekend he said he would get the information for us.
We waited, & we waited. Then we met up with him & his wife at a friend's house on a Sat. night in December. We started talking about it & they were really excited about it. The wife said she would E mail the information to me that following Monday when she returned to work.
We waited, & we waited. I'm thinking...this is strange. They aren't the kind of people who say they are going to do something & then not do it. So I thought, maybe she forget so I called their house. No one answered so I left a message reminding them about E mailing the information.
We waited, & we waited. I then told Randy, "Something isn't right here. Either we have the wrong country or it's the wrong time" and he agreed. So we kept praying & seeking the Lord's will regarding adopting another child.
In mid January, a close friend of ours decided to go on a mission trip to Haiti (another awesome story of how God's works). He would be working on building some bunk beds & other things at a Christian orphanage. Before he left on his trip, his wife shows me the web site of the orphanage & the pictures of the children waiting to be adopted.
I went home & didn't think too much about it until about a week later when one night I decided to get on the computer & look up the web site again. I just cried & cried. I did this for 3 nights in a row before I finally talked to Randy about it. I had already felt led by God to adopt a certain child but I didn't tell Randy who it was. He looked at the pictures & then pointed to a particular child....it was the same one that I had chosen.
What had gotten my attention of this particular child was her birth date which is exactly one year younger than Phoebe. Then I went on to read her paragraph of information which said she loves music & to dance...just like Phoebe.
We then inquired about adopting her & found out that we were eligible to submit an application to the relief organization that you must go through to adopt independently from this orphanage. The parent liaison then sent us a lot of pictures of her. The picture on the web site was not a front view close up so when I got some close up pictures of her I noticed that she has a space in her top front teeth just like Phoebe. The similarities between the two are striking! We have since learned that she also cuddles like Phoebe.
On Jan. 29th our application to adopt was approved. Since then we having been do the paper chase trail that will lead us down to the road of bringing our daughter Samara Hope home to us.
On Feb. 1st we had our first prep meeting for our Feb. Barnabas caving weekend. I had not seen nor talked to the above mentioned couple since that Sat. night in December but knew I would see them at the prep meeting. When I got there the wife was already there but her husband wasn't. She came up to me & said, "About that information" & I blurted out, "wrong country." A wave of relief washed over her face & she said, "Prasie God! Every time I tried to E mail the information to you I was stopped. It was like God was telling me that He had not released me to send that information to you." I then told her everything I mentioned above & she was very happy for us...as was her husband.
Wait there's more!!!
So about a week ago I started getting this strong feeling that we were going to adopt another child from the orphanage as well. I started praying about it & told Randy as well. He was open to the idea but of course we needed to consider the financial aspect of it. I kept praying & was led to a particular child that has been listed as having some "delays." When I inquired to the parent liaison about the specifics of the delays she said they really didn't know what she had although they have recently seen major improvement in her skills. She talks some & can walk, run & play with the other children. Everyone that comes in contact with her talks about what a joyful, sweet child she is. I told Randy about it & he said we needed to keep praying about it to make sure God had chosen that child for us. I was pretty convinced that she was ( I kept crying every time I looked at her picture & her birthday is in Sept, she has a space in upper front teeth & she loves music & to dance) but I know that God always confirms those type of things for us when 2 things happen...we agree & we have peace about it. Randy had been in Milwaukee that week for some work training & we had been talking about this a lot over the phone. While he was still in Milwaukee he said that he had peace about adopting this child. So now we on the road of bringing 2 beautiful daughters home. Shakira Joy is a year & 7 days older than Phoebe.
You may be asking yourself how our only child who has now become a middle child is handling all of this & the answer is...in typical Phoebe style! She's already informed me that when they get here she won't need me as a play mate anymore. She also wants to share her room with Samara which makes life easier by her letting her older sister Shakira have her own room.
They are estimating a year before we can bring them home but we're praying it will be sooner. We're also praying that any delays Shakira may have will resolve through God's healing hand.
Randy & I will be going to Haiti in July to meet them & we can't wait!
If any of you are interested in learning more about the Three Angels Haiti Children's Relief organization please go to http://www.threeangelshaiti.org/
Last November Randy & I attended the rock climbing/rappelling Barnabas weekend as adult leaders. During that weekend we were in small groups which consisted of 2 adult leaders, a JR leader, & several adventurers (ages 12-15).
One of the questions we had to answer while in our small groups was "How do you see God using you in the future?"
When it was my time to answer I said, "I think God as already used Randy & I by adopting Phoebe & I think He will use us to adopt again. What I really would like to do is to adopt a child from Africa but I don't have any idea how that would happen as regards to who to contact & the costs involved." After I finished talking the other adult leader's eyes got really big & he had this very excited look on his face. He then said, "I think I can help. My wife & I do mission work in Africa & we know of this Christian orphanage in Nigeria & the person who is in charge of it doesn't charge any money to adopt from that orphanage." I'm thinking...that's awesome! I'm so pumped!!! He then said he would get the contact information for me. I told Randy about it & he was excited as well. At the end of the weekend he said he would get the information for us.
We waited, & we waited. Then we met up with him & his wife at a friend's house on a Sat. night in December. We started talking about it & they were really excited about it. The wife said she would E mail the information to me that following Monday when she returned to work.
We waited, & we waited. I'm thinking...this is strange. They aren't the kind of people who say they are going to do something & then not do it. So I thought, maybe she forget so I called their house. No one answered so I left a message reminding them about E mailing the information.
We waited, & we waited. I then told Randy, "Something isn't right here. Either we have the wrong country or it's the wrong time" and he agreed. So we kept praying & seeking the Lord's will regarding adopting another child.
In mid January, a close friend of ours decided to go on a mission trip to Haiti (another awesome story of how God's works). He would be working on building some bunk beds & other things at a Christian orphanage. Before he left on his trip, his wife shows me the web site of the orphanage & the pictures of the children waiting to be adopted.
I went home & didn't think too much about it until about a week later when one night I decided to get on the computer & look up the web site again. I just cried & cried. I did this for 3 nights in a row before I finally talked to Randy about it. I had already felt led by God to adopt a certain child but I didn't tell Randy who it was. He looked at the pictures & then pointed to a particular child....it was the same one that I had chosen.
What had gotten my attention of this particular child was her birth date which is exactly one year younger than Phoebe. Then I went on to read her paragraph of information which said she loves music & to dance...just like Phoebe.
We then inquired about adopting her & found out that we were eligible to submit an application to the relief organization that you must go through to adopt independently from this orphanage. The parent liaison then sent us a lot of pictures of her. The picture on the web site was not a front view close up so when I got some close up pictures of her I noticed that she has a space in her top front teeth just like Phoebe. The similarities between the two are striking! We have since learned that she also cuddles like Phoebe.
On Jan. 29th our application to adopt was approved. Since then we having been do the paper chase trail that will lead us down to the road of bringing our daughter Samara Hope home to us.
On Feb. 1st we had our first prep meeting for our Feb. Barnabas caving weekend. I had not seen nor talked to the above mentioned couple since that Sat. night in December but knew I would see them at the prep meeting. When I got there the wife was already there but her husband wasn't. She came up to me & said, "About that information" & I blurted out, "wrong country." A wave of relief washed over her face & she said, "Prasie God! Every time I tried to E mail the information to you I was stopped. It was like God was telling me that He had not released me to send that information to you." I then told her everything I mentioned above & she was very happy for us...as was her husband.
Wait there's more!!!
So about a week ago I started getting this strong feeling that we were going to adopt another child from the orphanage as well. I started praying about it & told Randy as well. He was open to the idea but of course we needed to consider the financial aspect of it. I kept praying & was led to a particular child that has been listed as having some "delays." When I inquired to the parent liaison about the specifics of the delays she said they really didn't know what she had although they have recently seen major improvement in her skills. She talks some & can walk, run & play with the other children. Everyone that comes in contact with her talks about what a joyful, sweet child she is. I told Randy about it & he said we needed to keep praying about it to make sure God had chosen that child for us. I was pretty convinced that she was ( I kept crying every time I looked at her picture & her birthday is in Sept, she has a space in upper front teeth & she loves music & to dance) but I know that God always confirms those type of things for us when 2 things happen...we agree & we have peace about it. Randy had been in Milwaukee that week for some work training & we had been talking about this a lot over the phone. While he was still in Milwaukee he said that he had peace about adopting this child. So now we on the road of bringing 2 beautiful daughters home. Shakira Joy is a year & 7 days older than Phoebe.
You may be asking yourself how our only child who has now become a middle child is handling all of this & the answer is...in typical Phoebe style! She's already informed me that when they get here she won't need me as a play mate anymore. She also wants to share her room with Samara which makes life easier by her letting her older sister Shakira have her own room.
They are estimating a year before we can bring them home but we're praying it will be sooner. We're also praying that any delays Shakira may have will resolve through God's healing hand.
Randy & I will be going to Haiti in July to meet them & we can't wait!
If any of you are interested in learning more about the Three Angels Haiti Children's Relief organization please go to http://www.threeangelshaiti.org/
So I finally did it!!!
So I finally decided to hop on the blogger band wagon. Why? Well, it wasn't because I don't have anything better to do. I thought it would be a good way to keep family & friends informed of the newest journey our family is embarking on. For those of you who don't know what that is, you can read about it in my next post. I hope you find this blog to be a blessing.
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