Big Boy Love

Thundering down the hallway with heavy feet, he bounds into the room. His blonde curls are matted and pressed in every direction. His wild blue eyes enter the room searching. Scanning the room until they land on me….

His first words are always “Good Morning Mama.” My heart melts. Mama. He has always called me Mama. I love that name.

He knows right where to find me. Coffee in hand, journal on my lap, bible laid open next to me. He loves to be the first one awake. He savors the quiet closeness the morning affords us. In these moments, there is no one else, there are no tasks to complete. Just a boy, his Mama, and her Bible. Time to be together. Time for quiet nurture – without words. The sheer pleasure of closeness. It is the only time all day that my Big Boy is quiet. He doesn’t say much beyond those first few words. He just wants to be near to me as I draw near to God.

I love you Big Boy.

Good Crazy

In just a few more days, I fly to another island to begin the transition of bringing our newest baby home. And although she does not know us yet, as she has only met us once, we are learning all about her.

Our hearts wait in anticipation…we are eager and excited, we are hopeful and blessed, we are filled with a love that is growing for her. Ben and I held her for the first time last week. We watched her smile, and coo and reach and play and chew on everything in sight. We watched her struggle and succeed. We watched her content and we watched her fuss. We watched her, and smiled and looked into her big brown eyes and smiled some more.

When it was time for us to leave that day, we were emotional. We saw her needs. Her need for love and attachment, consistency…her need for healing…. We knew it would be some time before we held her again. Eighteen days. And during those 18 days, meetings would be held, conversations would be had by caseworkers and attorneys, caregivers, doctors, therapists, family members and friends. Decisions being made every day. Airline tickets booked, plans made…preparations in our home and by all involved. All for this precious, baby girl.

I try to imagine what life will be like with her. I think of her needs, and I pray over them. Asking God for healing, and victory, and forgiveness for the one who caused her harm. I pray for love to abound in our family as we receive her and care for her and love her. Life is an amazing gift. God has given her life and as a family, we are honored to be sharing our lives with this little one.

As we prepare to receive our seventh blessing, we realize that seven does not seem like a lot of children to us. It just seems normal. When we share with others about adopting again, the response is mostly happy and congratulations are shared. And of course, we are sometimes met with speechlessness or quizzical looks… Ultimately, people are excited for us and they rejoice with us, even if they cannot imagine parenting seven children. Recently, our Pastor said, “I mean this in the best way…..you guys are crazy! Good crazy… God has given you the grace for this.” I take that as a compliment…”Good Crazy.”

Countdown to Japan

My husband and eldest son are counting the days until they leave for Japan. Seventeen days from now they will be making their flight into Tokyo, and the traveling on the bullet train to the Sendai region. A team of people from our church will be working to continue clean up efforts following the tragic tsunami of 2011.

Please keep them in prayer. We are praying for continued provision for the trip, and for all of us back home as they are gone. We also are praying for amazing opportunities for them to bless the people they come in contact with and to have great favor while they are there. We pray for strength, as this will be a labor intensive trip.

We are thanking God in advance for what He will do through this team of believers. We also thank you for partnering with us in prayer!

Wow…only 17 days…..

Adoption

Oh my heart and mind are full! Full of love and hope, healing, and a better understanding for the needs of children around the world.

I have had the privilege of spending the last few days at Summit VIII. If you are not familiar with Summit, I would encourage you to look up the Christian Alliance for Orphans and get a small glimpse of the magnitude of this gathering. The adoption agency I work for is a member of the Alliance, and I am honored to be here.

It has been an amazing experience hearing leaders from around the world speak about the orphan crisis in their nations. To hear from Christians here in the United States, impassioned to meet the needs of the fatherless in our own Nation and abroad. The HOPE that was expressed was contagious…the numbers of orphans worldwide are overwhelming, and yet they are not unconquerable.

As I process the hours of information I received, and as I review my notes, books and conversations shared, I look forward to sharing more about my thoughts and prayers and hopes for this movement.

Adoption is so much a part of who I am, I cannot begin to express how great it felt to sit in the same room with so many kindred spirits…nearly 2,000 people. Everyone, seeking the Heart of God and wanting to work in some capacity (many different capacities, actually) to bless the fatherless and the people who work with them…

There were some numbers quoted this week that really got me thinking. There are approximately 163 million orphans worldwide…there are approximately 400,000 foster children in foster care in the United States…And there are over 400,000 churches in America. I am sitting with these numbers and letting them sink in.

Oh let’s keep praying friends, and asking the Lord how He wants to use each of us to minister in the midst of this brokenness…. Maybe you are unable to adopt, and there are many other ways to minister, give and bless. What part is He asking you to be active in? Praying…

Urban-Chicken-Mama

We are the proud owners of 10 beautiful laying hens. They truly are gorgeous…yep…they are.

They lay these colorful eggs and I marvel again at how God spared nothing when designed His creation. Blue, green, pink, brown, and speckled eggs are collected each day by happy children eager to enter the coop.

Our four year old son loves to make his way down stairs, to the chickens to have his hands pecked at. With this pecking his eyes squeeze shut and the adorable gap between his teeth is exposed, followed by a laugh that is contagious! My eleven year old daughter has a favorite chicken. She is certain that the chicken has a favorite human, too. Caity says that chicken waits for her visit everyday. And I must admit, I have seen the chicken staying near the fence when Caity makes her way into the yard.

Thank you Lord for life…for children, chickens, and the joy of it all! Thank you for your abundant blessings and your handiwork. I am in awe of you my King, as I look out at the vast ocean this morning and recognize your majesty…and I see your handiwork in our own backyard. You alone are worthy of praise!

Easter Creation

This craft was posted by my friend Jessica on her Facebook page.

Sunday night, my son Jayden and I put our own version together. We got our hands dirty creating this Easter Planter.

Here is a picture story of what we did…

We sprinkled a package of grass seed in the dirt and hope that it germinates and sprouts before Resurrection Day. If so, we should end up with a grassy hill, depicting an empty tomb with the stone rolled away and three crosses in the background. I hope this will be our centerpiece for our Sunday dinner.

Thanks Jess for the great idea!

Missions Minded

A heart for the nations…
We have always had a heart for children, for the nations and to see people come to know God. This year, the Lord has opened two incredible opportunities for us to take our two oldest children on mission’s trips. We are so excited for them to have an opportunity to see the world, and to help meet the needs of others. And even more, they are thrilled for the opportunity!
My husband Ben and and my eldest son will be traveling to Japan this June with a team from our church. They will be working in the Sendai area of Japan that was ravaged by the tsunami in March of 2011. This will be a very labor intensive trip. There are two main opportunities: First, to continue the work of helping clean up from the devastation the tsunami caused. Second, they will work to renovate a damaged home for a Pastor. This home will also function as a home church in a previously un-churched area of Miyagi. There will also be opportunities to pray for people and minister in a church or two.

In July, my daughter and I will be travelling to Phuket, Thailand with a team of 7 other people. Phuket was also crushed by a devastating tsunami several years ago. The team will be staying at a home for children who have been rescued. These children had been abused, neglected or abandoned, and have been brought into this Christian home where they will be raised to age 18. These children would be orphaned and at great risk for sexual trafficking, and other atrocities if they had not been brought into this home. While there, the team will minister to the children, the staff, and work to complete a project on the grounds. We will also have several different opportunities to speak at schools, minister at churches and within other areas of the community.

We believe that God has great things in store for us. Many high school students have the opportunity to travel for an educational trip and we believe that this will be an amazing opportunity for our two high schoolers. As parents we want to invest in the lives and hearts of our children. Shani and Kalun both have a heart for and care about the needs of others. We believe these trips will provide them wonderful opportunities to see their own potential in giving to others in need as well as the chance to experience and explore other cultures and customs. It is our desire to serve beyond ourselves, and to see other people healed and blessed. Our lives are very comfortable here, and we look forward to growing together as a family as we reach out and allow God to minister through us.

Please join us!
We need your prayers! We need a dedicated team of prayer partners. Here are some prayer requests we have at this time:
1) For our safety while traveling and while in country. Also for the safety of the rest of the family while each of us are out of the States.
2) For our team; that we would walk in unity and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
3) That we will be effective in sharing God’s love through our actions, our words and our life while we are there in Japan and Thailand.
4) Please pray that the finances needed to cover this trip will come in quickly and will cover all the needs for our teams.

As you can imagine, we need many details to come together quickly – passports, immunizations, and airline tickets, etc. Members on both teams are responsible for raising 100% of their own support. Both the Japan and Thailand team members personally need to raise $2,500 to cover airfare, lodging, food and ground transportation. Each of the mission’s trips will be approximately two weeks long.

We are all very excited about being involved in missions. Will you please consider sharing these assignments with us as the Lord leads you to pray and/or give? Financial support and prayer support are both essential to us being able to go.

Please email me personally if you have any questions, or feel free to comment and ask questions on this blog.

Isaiah 58:7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.