4 reasons why Mother's day is Better than Good!

Hope those of you that read this blog are having a blessed a wonderful mother's day!

It's been a good one for me so far. I got wonderful hugs and kisses from my tiny boys this morning. N came running into my bedroom in his undies and jumped on the bed for a snuggle. I was rubbing his head, so he reached up and rubbed mine at the same time. Priceless moment.

It was youth Sunday at church. Powerful stuff. What a perfect day for youth to lead worship. The did an amazing skit, the seniors shared the faith story so far and sang beautifully. S prayed at the 11 o'clock service. Another priceless moment.

Then we came home and had lunch. I had all my kids at the table, we laughed and ate and the older 2 picked on each other in fun. It doesn't get much better than that. I LOVE having all my kids together, those days get farther and farther apart.

My mom and mom in law are traveling so I don't get to celebrate with them. What a amazing women who have taught me so much. My mom who supports me in everything I do, or comes around eventually...lol The one who is sure to tell me frequently that "I Rock" :o) I am a blessed mom and daughter.

I pray for those children who have lost their mothers and miss them today. I pray for the moms who have experienced the pain of losing their precious children and for those that haven't yet experienced the joy of hearing the words " I love you mommy".

I love being a mother... it's truly the best gift God has ever given me.

My Z. The one that started all this mommy business. How did he get so grown up?!

Playing with the effects on my camera. The man I love with all my heart. Dang he's handsome!
Me and my 4 reasons.

Me and S outside of church this morning. Jesus has our backs :o)

Because it's just too cute, and who doesn't love cute?!

May 7th, World AIDS Orphan Day

It seems so interesting to me that today is the day that brings the plight of AIDS orphans to light.

It was on this day in 2008 that we accepted the referral for our E. Is that ironic? Seems a bit to me. I don't remember having any idea that such a day existed back then. I just knew that God had called us to adopt a child affected by this pandemic.

There is a quote on my friend Lisa's Blog that says :
6000 children will be orphaned by AIDS today. Could you love one?

My answer is yes! And I know that for many of you the answer is a bit more complicated. I can honestly say that I understand your wariness. I do. I still pray for more people to 'love one'.

While in Ethiopia I met a baby girl. Her name is M. She was 45 days old. Abandoned. She has hiv. It so breaks my heart. I wanted to bring her home with me that very day. I think about her every day. I pray for her every day. I think of her mother. What caused her to abandon this beautiful little life? Did she know she had hiv? Is she even still alive?

I can't tell you how much respect I have for the people in Ethiopia (and all over the world) that care for these children. The stigma is still so very strong there. It's difficult to find nannies to care for the children. Children aren't able to go to most schools because of the stigma. Those people that step up and step out are amazing! They lose so much in the process, and count it blessing in Christ.

That's the kind of person I want to be.

So today, as we remember those children that are left fatherless due to this horrible illness...let's also remember those that care for them, and love them, and give them value where the world tells them there is none.

As usual Erin says it so amazingly! AND her blog is open again so I can link to it. :o) Check it out.

What Faith Can Do

Kutless - What Faith Can Do
From the album It Is Well

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you are stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

Overcome the odds
You do have a chance
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can!

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
That's what faith can do!
Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise

Swirling....

I have started and stopped several posts in the last couple of days.

I have had so many thoughts swirling through my head, I am not sure which to share...if any?

I have been thinking about Passions. What are you passionate about? What do you think about all the time? Where has God broken your heart so that you just can't stop praying about how He might use you? I was talking with my sister-friend Laura the other day about her experience at the Orphan Summit. It was so great to speak with a sister who 'gets it'. We talked for an hour...and probably could have talked longer, but family was calling. :o) It was wonderful to be able to share our hearts, to share our passion and vision. To talk about the knowledge that God has something planned...not sure what it is yet... but loving the journey while He shows us.

I have been thinking about Faith. How strong is mine? I witnessed faith like I have never had to use while in Ethiopia. People who live in a leper colony and worship like they are the richest people in the world. Watching the people of Gutumuhma dance with joy after watching 24 of their brothers and sisters get baptised. They were dancing and singing and rejoicing. It was beautiful.

I was speaking to S last night after her bible study at church. They were talking about the love of God and how His love never fails. Those around you may fail you... but He never will. She has been discouraged by her friends who uses to have strong faith, yet now wonder if there is truly a God. She hurts for them...and is frustrated as well. She spoke about her feelings after her poppa died. Wondering if she would lose that faith that was just being planted...yet now feeling even closer to God. Praising the Lord for the faith of my daughter.

I have been feeling Hope. My mom and I are working on a project that we hope will become a wonderful source of income as well as a blessing to others. I hope to share more of that with you in the coming weeks. We are praying God's favor and wisdom over it. Will you pray with us?

So many thoughts...so many ideas... so many prayers...so many blessings.

lol...not sure any of this post made sense...told ya my mind has been swirling....

Did we skip Spring?

Soccer!!!
Future's so bright, we gotta wear shades. (We call that tattoo the BC tattoo...lol The other arm has a cross that says Christ 4 Life, that's the AC one)
Hello handsome
He loves this game, and he's actually getting pretty good at it. :o) Can you see his little tongue sticking out? Worries me the whole time.
It was a hot day!
Love this action shot.
Mom was part of a murder mystery tea at church. Mom played the part of Dee on Hysteria Lane. Good news is that she was not guilty. She did have the very best decorated table in the fellowship hall though! :o) My camera ran out of batteries or you would have a pic. :o)
Hi mom :o)
Yard work before....
And after...
My beautiful little man decided to channel his inner Igor. He and N had a collision on the swings, N has no evidence... E has a goose eye. It's already much much better though. He's still really stinkin cute isn't he?!
Funny girl
Look at the beautiful flowers.... hope I can keep them alive.


It's been a wonderful weekend, but I think we skipped Spring. It was 92 degrees today with a heat index of 100 in some places locally! WHAT?! It's only May 2. It's going to be a long summer, I am already sun burnt. :o)

Orphan Summit VI

Oh how I wish I had been able to go to the SummitVI this year! So many amazing people were going to be there that I love... and I felt like I needed to be there surrounded by people that 'get it'.

God had other plans though. He said not this time.

The good thing about my job though is that I am to follow Twitter and have Tweetdeck, so I just added #SummitVI to my deck and read what God was doing in the lives of those attending while I was working (I am a great multitasker!) It was good stuff.

The other really good news is that there will be a Mid-Atlantic one, in November, in PA!!! YAY! They are getting their website together now so as soon as it's live I will share it. I can drive there!

As I was praying during the conference...and to be honest...fussing at God for not letting me go... I began to think about what Orphan care means.

I have been given the opportunity to pray for and support Because Every Mother Matters. The website says: In East Africa 1 in 11 mommas die due to pregnancy related causes EVERY DAY. This alone has an impact on the already staggering numbers of 147 million orphans worldwide.

Project HOPEFUL is working on a project called Almost Homes that will support mothers and their children that have hiv. They are already doing great work helping people get educated about hiv and adoption.

Tom Davis and Children's Hope Chest just launched Sheispriceless.com a website devoted to information on how we can stop child sex trafficking and exploitation.

Then there is my friend Laura, who is working on Music for Korah. It's a ministry of music for the people in the church at the Leper colony in Addis. They ministering to the orphans that do not know Christ...these orphans are all age and size.

There are so many aspects to what caring for the orphan means.

My new friend Tezera in Adama is caring for a woman who is 27 yrs old. She was horribly abused and neglected. This woman asked me to take her home with me when I left so that she would have a home and a mother and father. I was devastated to tell her no.

God doesn't ask us to only care for the children...He says He will set the lonely in homes. He will be father to the fatherless. The lonely and fatherless could mean your next door neighbor, the widow in your church, the child in foster care, the pregnant woman in Ethiopia, the 10 yr old sex slave in India or the baby girl in China.

I guess it's all in how God chooses you to follow Him. Where He breaks your heart and opens your eyes. The fact of the matter, though, is that He does call us. He calls each and every person that chooses to follow Him... to work for him. Who does He ask you to care for?... that's for you and He to decide.

But hanging out doing nothing isn't the answer, nor is thinking the problem is too big for little old you to handle. We can all to something... even if it's just one thing... to change the lives of these orphans, fatherless and lonely.

What Now?