15 Minutes of Fame... or maybe 15 seconds

Hey if you listen to KLOVE radio ...or even if you don't :) Listen to it anyway tomorrow morning 9/1/10 on the Lisa and Eric Show.

Our coolest local KLOVE friend Pam is going to talk about D and I and the kids...lol...if you just want to know what our real names are...here's your chance.

If you don't get the station in your area you can listen online.

We aren't actually speaking, so I have no clue what they are really gonna say :) but Pam is awesome so I other that her telling me that it's about how KLOVE has influenced us, and SCC has influenced us, and that we are "Rockin Cool" :) ... I don't know much. :)

Lordy Lordy I am 40...hey when did that happen?!

So... 40 yrs ago today, these 2 became parents. They say they have had me forever, because I was born almost 9 months after their wedding day...lol

And this is the boy that I have had forever... my big Z. Goodness... how is it possible that I have a son this old...and big?! ;)
My mom in law and my baby boy.

All of us together in the same place...doesn't happen often. :) E wasn't much into the pics, but I love this!
Sibling rivalry...
Just kiddin...

These little 40 confetti were the kit of the lunch. :)


Even daddy had to get into the act...lol So E-man helped him...
A little extra spit...

...and a pound on the head ought to make them stick!


Me and my sweet sweet S.

Here's to 40 more yrs...

Thank you God for blessing my life with so so much beauty!

YOU Were Meant to BE!...

Whatcha been up to?....

Goodness time flies when you are having fun... or just being busy.

Things have calmed a bit...or maybe I am just taking them more in stride I am not sure. :)

S is doing well. Healing from her car accident, and the loss of her friend. His funeral is tomorrow. What a great kid, such a sad loss. The kids have really rallied around each other though and are lifting each other up. It's really sweet to see.

In other news...look who lost his first tooth! :) He was so excited! His top 2 front teeth are crowned, and he firmly believes that his 'gold' teeth will not fall out. I hope they stay in as long as possible, but eventually they gotta come out.

School starts in 2 weeks, the kids are all excited. S is so ready to get back to her friends and E is ready to start his first day at big boy school. We will see how he does on the first day. He's all bravado one moment and then not so much the next. Big transitions are hard on a little man.

Summer is winding down, we have been to the pool, to the beach, out to the country to ride 4 wheelers... N is going to be an Evil Kinevil (sp?) some day.. the boy has NO fear. We have been lazy...and crazy. :) It's been great... where did the time go??

Mission trip 2011 is well under way in planning! SO excited to get back to ET. I miss it so much.
We have a great group so far. I can't wait to see what God does with us all! :)

I have another new project beginning... will have to wait to share it with you but I am SO excited!!
Have a wonderful weekend ya'll!

It's a Raffle!!

It's a raffle!!! :)

DUDE! You gotta check out this necklace! AND the entry is only 5.00 per.

Go here http://twietconfetti.blogspot.com/2010/08/nows-your-chance.html and donate for your chance to win.

I sure hope I do!! :)

Shining a Light

After what was a much better week we have had yet another blow.

A young man S has been friends with passed away from heart failure on Saturday. It was a huge unexpected blow. He was 16 yrs old. His friends and family are all reeling from the loss. S is reeling from the blows she’s received over these past couple of weeks.

This morning while on the elliptical I was listening to Hillsong and praying and asking God what in the world was happening…how did he want me to respond?

These are the lyrics of the song that then came on:
It’s called At The Cross
by Morgan, Reuben; Zschech, Darlene

Oh Lord You’ve searched me
You know my way
Even when I fail You
I know You love me

Your holy presence
Surrounding me
In every season
I know You love me
I know You love me

At the cross I bow my knee
Where Your blood was shed for me
There’s no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now

You go before me
You shield my way
Your hand upholds me
I know You love me

You tore the veil
You made a way
When You said that it is done

And when the earth fades
Falls from my eyes
And You stand before me
I know You love me
I know You love me

‘You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now…

You tore the veil
You made a way
When You said that it is done’

These lines hit me like a ton of bricks….

This past week KLOVE radio station was running a contest asking listeners to send in videos explaining ‘Why Jesus’ in other words why they followed Him, love Him, chose Him.

And as I listened to the lyrics of this song I had my answer… I have always known why I follow him. But these words summed it up for me.

He overcame the grave!
His Glory fills the highest place!
He tore the veil!
He made a way!

Death here on earth for a follower of Christ isn’t the end. No matter how crazy things get here, no matter how much loss, how much pain, how much crap we keep trying to deal out… He has made a way!

Babies die, teens die, parents grow old, people get sick, people are mean, there is homelessness, there are orphans and war and famine.

We are mean, we get grouchy, we get sad, we say things we shouldn’t… we just do not understand how all the junk happens in life…

Why Jesus? Because this world needs a light. There’s so so much darkness. He came so that there may be light in the darkness.

John 8:12 12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

So, what am I to do? How do I help my S get through these tough times? How do I help myself?

Matthew 5:15-16 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

How are you shining?

Why E?

Interestingly I have been asked why we chose E. Why he was the one we chose.

Someone who had met him prior to our choosing him, described him as the kid that would probably not have been chosen. He didn’t mean it maliciously at all, but if you looked at the video he was in…or the other kids around you may have said the same.

He wasn’t the friendliest. He wasn’t the cutest. He wasn’t the healthiest. He actually became one of the most ill. As you could see in his before pics, he ended up with some significant physical issues.

I don’t know how to tell you what it was that drew me to him, other than it was God.

In the waiting child video he just kind of looked at the camera. He didn’t want to smile or say anything, he just gave us his stare…then the infamous shoulder shrug. At the time I thought it was so cute…poor little man. Little did I know that that cute little shrug was the equivalent of “Bite Me” in Ethiopian. (Man did we see that shoulder a TON when he first came home. It quickly became…UNcute.)

There were some really really cute kids on that video, smiling and sweet… reciting what their favorite classes were in school and sharing what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Truly, how DOES one choose a child? It’s not like choosing a shirt, or a nice pair of earrings…this is for life. Life.

There was just something about his little tiny face. Those lost eyes that drew me in. I kept going back to that video and looking into those eyes asking God if this was our son.

God said yes.

I am so so so glad we said yes when we did… because as you may have read we might not have chosen him after his illness. We might have missed out. We might have chosen one of those other sweet little faces… and then the lives of SO many other people would have changed. I know where most of those precious children are now and they are exactly where they belong. Not in my home…but in the homes where they were meant to be outside of their birth families.

We didn’t choose E. God did. He chose him for us.

Each and every child deserves a home…. EACH ONE.

2 Years Ago....

Two years ago we got on a plane with our hearts trembling with fear and hope. We were going to meet our son.

I spoke a little about it here and here and here's a post from when we first got home... nerves and feelings raw.

This poor scared little TINY beautiful guy....


Is now this... grown... strong...big...beautiful boy!!!

Eating S'mores and playing Wii


What a difference God can make!!!

Happy 2 Year Famiversary E-Man... we could not imagine life without you in it!!

Mid Atlantic Orphan Summit

This will be held in Hershey, PA, November 5-6, 2010

With a focus on adoption, foster care and international orphan care, the Mid Atlantic Orphan Summit is being offered in partnership with the Christian Alliance for Orphans, and will appeal to churches, organizational and lay leaders, and anyone interested in the biblical mandate to care for the orphan. We have a terrific lineup of speakers including Tom Davis, Bishop WC Martin, Dr. Russell Moore, Peter Greer, Dr. Sharen Ford and Eileen Mestas, as well as 23 different breakout sessions covering a wide range of topics.

More information and a link to the registration page is available on the website at http://midatlanticorphansummit.com/.

Individual registration is available at a cost of $40 (and couples for $35).

Please consider attending and learning more about how you can help end the Orphan Crisis...you don't have to adopt to help... although I highly recommend it!! :)

What Would You Do?

Have you ever seen that show? The premise is that you take a couple of actors put them in a public situation that would seemingly require a response and see what people do. If anything.

Sometimes it's refreshing to see that people can and will respond, and quickly. Sometimes it's kind of sad what people will ignore.

After this very long, very roller coaster week...we were given yet another opportunity to see God in a situation that was ugly on the surface.

My S was in an accident yesterday afternoon. Scary stuff. She was driving, and rear ended a guy going about 35 - 40mph. Airbags deployed she got bumped up pretty badly.

That first feeling when you get the call from your daughter, sobbing on the other end of the phone and hear the words accident is awful. Her cell phone had died so she was using someone elses, and then had to hang up quickly so the EMT guys could attend to her. What a lost feeling.

Then the EMT guy calls me to tell me they are taking her to the ER. Then the police call to say they have to tow the car. I am about 25 minutes from the scene because it's 5pm and there's major traffic. D was about 45 mins away at work...but breaking land speed records because when he spoke to her on the phone the guy she had hit was yelling at S...yelling profanity, cursing her and berating her over the accident.

The police had to physically remove the man from the scene because of the way he was treating her... this is where the tv show reference comes in.

Here's the scene:

Girl slams into the back of a brand new (like just driven off the lot, new) Ford F150.

Her airbag deploys and her front end is destroyed.

She gets a little hysterical.

The man she hits gets out of his truck...sees the hysterical girl and begins yelling profanity at her and berating her.

What would you do?

The man who was sitting in the turn lane next to the accident is the first to get out of his car and come over. He sees S, checks to make sure she's 'ok' and helps her out of the car. He then turns on the guy who hit her. This man tries calming the guy...as S is still sobbing...it doesn't work... so he begins to yell back at him.

The man she hit starts to go after "R" (Rescuer Man) ... R says to him. "I am not afraid to go to jail for this girl. She is 16 yrs old, she's hurt and upset. Back off!" He was her knight in shining armor. He gave her his name and phone number and told her that while she was ticketed for following too closely, he saw the man slam on his brakes and that she had no time to respond.

There was also a woman (who turned out to be a member of our church) who came over and held S's hair away from her bleeding face until the paramedics could care for her.

All the way around there were angels there to care for her, to make sure she wasn't alone when D and I could not be there.

The car is probably not salvageable... but my S is not replaceable...

We are praising God for His provision, the people He placed in her path, and the fact that S is sore and looks a little worse for the wear... but that we still have her here with us. And I think she's learned a little more respect for the road. :)

Come to Me

Matthew 11:28-29

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

This has been one of those weeks... lots of good... lots of not. Do you have those roller coaster weeks? As usual these things all seem to happen when my hormones are at the most active so I have to just make sure to rest in Christ because I am more apt to jump on board with Satan in my responses to things.

There is turmoil with a relationship at church... but it's produced a new friend, and renewed respect for our pastor. I always hesitate to fuss about relations at church, I don't want people that don't attend a church to be turned away. My church is really awesome. There are a ton of really amazing supportive people, we do alot of really good work for those within the church as well as surrounding it... it's also full of us regular old human people with regular old human issues and we sin. We also have to go to Christ and repeatedly ask for forgiveness and grace. Church isn't a home for the perfect, it's for those of us that aren't and know we need Christ's help with life. Sometimes we have turmoil... it's a growth opportunity. :) And sometimes there are growing pains. Ya know?

I learned of the death of a sweet baby that has broken my heart. It's always so so sad when a baby dies, please pray for the families that loved her. My comfort is in knowing the Christ is now holding her in His arms. He needed her more than we did here on earth.

A family that D has been mentoring is in major turmoil, they have several children, teen and younger... there have been drugs, running away, reports of abuse. It's just a sad situation all the way around.

As I was laying in bed last night I was praying for the Lord's guidance. So many areas in life seem to be under attack. It's crazy. I have been working on seeing the light in the darkness, I have been striving to see the face of Christ in those that make my heart hurt...knowing there is something within them that makes their heart hurt as well.

He gave me the verse Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened... I felt him asking me to lay my head in His arms. He would hold me. He's also the one holding all the other situations surrounding me. He's the one in charge... I can't fix it all. :) So I rest.

There is beauty in His love. There is a time for each season.

Where there is turmoil, I have seen a new friendship formed.

Where there is death, I see renewed life and purpose.

Where there is loss, I see potential for growth.

Where there is confusion, I see new opportunities arising.

Where there seems to be no answer, I see new doors opening.

So as Natalie Grant's song 'Held' says...

"The promise was that was when everything fails, we'd be held...."

He's at work...He's taking care of things...He's the light in a world so full of darkness.

We are being held.

ETA: After posting this, I read an email from my friend Tesfaye who grew up in the leper colony in Addis... he is full of joy and praising God. I have a renewed sense of love at the power of our Lord...and a smile on my face. He is indeed an amazing God is He not?!

Power Of Your Name

Got a computer?

:o) Well of course you do if you are reading this huh? But I know someone who needs one and wondered if you would be able to help... or at least pray for provision.

One of the things I love about the World Wide Web is the fact that you can speak to people all over the World! Cool huh?!

While in Ethiopia in April we had the privilege to work with our new friends Samy and Ruth at the Mercy Development center in Addis. They take in children that have been living on the streets, or would be if they didn't give them a home. They are pretty amazing, as are the girls that we were able to hang out with while there. They taught me so much about what it means to live out the faith of Christ. In ways that continue to have me searching for Him in new ways daily.

Well.. one of the things that I love about the www is the fact that they have a gmail account…and so do I…so we can chat. LOVE that! The hours are very different, and the power doesn’t always work but they are able to talk to me on their tiny little lap top.

They asked me the other day to pray that God would help provide a desk top computer for them so that they could teach the girls computer skills. These girls are already at a disadvantage as society looks at them differently because of where they live so while they go to school, do their homework, work outside of the compound and do all that they can to make a better life they still need skills. Skills that having a computer would afford them.

A desk top computer would cost them 400.00 USD. Crazy how cheap that is isn’t it?

Can you help? If you go to this site and give online you make sure you note “YWAM Girl's Compound” or you can mail them a check to the address on that page and make sure you write on it what it’s for….

Will you help? Every little bit helps!!! I know these girls, and they deserve all things wonderful!!

Thanks!

Blog Hop 2010

Hey!
Welcome to my blog!
I am mom of 4 beautiful kiddos, 2 grown in my belly and 2 in my heart and Ethiopia. I love the Lord with all my heart and try to share some of that here, along with random thoughts about life, kids, adoption and my mission trips. Have a new one coming up in June! Can't wait....

Thanks for stopping by and saying hi! :)

Wonderfully Made

Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.


The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.
--Lamentations 3:25

Do you know that you are wonderfully made? No matter where you have been or what you have done, you are wonderfully made!!!

In my recent season of pruning I found out some interesting information about myself.

I am an ENTP.

Have you ever taken a Meyers Briggs personality test? I had not, but my company was offering it and everyone in my office took it… so I did. Interesting out come really. ENTP. It means I an an Extroverted iNtuitive Thinking Percept-er.

There’s like a book of explanation about it, but I won’t bore you. When I read it however I wasn’t sure I was happy that this was my personality. It’s not all that flattering for women to be ENTP’s…lol It did however explain A LOT about why I do some of the things I do. It also shed light on some places that I wanted to pray to God about refining in me. Those area’s that I knew I needed some work in. 

Yesterday morning I started to feel kind of discouraged about some of those area’s and last night God gave me the Psalm 139 verse about being wonderfully made. I felt as if he were saying to me that He made me… He knit me in my mother’s womb…He created my inmost being. God don’t make no junk! :) He loves me just the way I am. He also loves me enough not to leave me that way. :)

I came across a video I had taken of E-Man from 2 months after he came home to us. He was still healing from the many lesions and moluscum. He was looking kinda rough… but man to see the beauty under the surface. He was beautifully and wonderfully made. I can’t tell you how I praise Jesus that He chose us to be his family. That He chose us to see past the exterior and make this child ours.

Even with all the frustrations we have had with N, I wouldn’t change being his mother for a minute. He’s got a light that shines brighter than you can imagine. You can’t look at his face, into his eyes and not see the joy that radiates from him.

He is beautifully and wonderfully made. I have been chosen to love him, find joy in him, and instill the joy of the Lord in him.

You are beautifully and wonderfully made. Bask in that knowledge today, knowing that He loves you just the way you are…. flaws and all!

Summer fun, Birthday's...and stuff....

We love this blow up pool!!! It's the best 150.00 we have spent in a LONG time. The boys will play in it daily if we let them....

We have had Vacation bible school... the boys attended 3 different churches this year. They had a blast, got to get out of the house, and learned a ton about God. Love it!

Then N and my niece M had their birthday parties. They share a birthday but we do try to give them separate parties. M's was first at a Mexican restaurant. We

had a ton of fun and ate too much food! :)

Then N's we had at home with taco's as well. I have to say that our homemade taco's were the best!!

N got his best call from the Henderson Choir...he was so excited to hear them all singing to him!

Needless to say we have been busy busy. Thank you all for your prayers for my mom and grandmother. My grandmother is deteriorating very quickly. Her mental facilities are just all messed up. It's very hard to hear from my mom about all that's happening. My mom is exhausted trying to keep up with both of her parents. Please continue to pray as they work on a plan for care.

N has been doing great, I think the time out of the house in God's word actually helped us all. He got out, we got time alone and we were all able to focus on other things. He's such an awesome kid...truly he's just joy encompassed in a little boy body...he just doesn't always know what to do with it, and we lose patience. God is providing though... Of Course!!

My pruning is continuing, and I am learning a ton from it. I am hungry for His word and presence as I work through the places in my heart that need His touch, and healing. I am praising His name for all that I am learning, as I know it's going to be useful!!! It always is....

And last but not least I have a new hobby...lol yep another one... that I think is what is helping me with some of the other issues. I am going to the gym. I get up every morning at 5am, get my clothes on and head out. My little brother is my personal trainer. I am accountable to him, and it's working to keep me motivated!! I have found that I am WAY more likely to make excuses and let myself down daily than I am someone else... so I have to get up every morning and meet him there. He even tried to give me a day off last week, and I didn't take it. I am not losing much weight at this point. But I feel wonderful and I am loving it!!! Now if I could just get the people in the gym to lighten up...lol I tell you what, for people that are supposed to be working up endorphins, they are sure a sour group!!!

Today N turns 6 yrs old!

Today my sweet N turns 6 yrs old. We will have tacos for dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet boy!!!

more later....