Official November Number

Yes we are still #5, but we take comfort in knowing that God will watch over our daughter with His PERFECT protection until she is ready to come home.  The best Christmas present we could get this year would be to see her sweet face! 

Give Thanks

thanks – 1.grateful feelings or thoughts; gratitude  2. an expression of gratitude

As this Thanksgiving Day approaches, I want to make an intentional effort to stop and express my gratitude to God for the thousands of blessings He has filled my life with.  I think it is unfortunate that in our society this holiday is now often seen simply as a day for great football games, a precursor to great shopping deals on Black Friday, or even a hurdle to cross over to the Christmas season.  America is the land of opportunity and a nation that was founded upon Christian principles(one of the reasons why, in my opinion, this nation is so abundantly blessed), and I think we do a disservice to gloss over this day to humble ourselves with gratitude towards our Creator.   So, with that being said, I am going to take a moment to highlight a handful of the many, many things in my life I am thankful for. 

1. Jesus Christ - I cannot even wrap my brain around the fact that He paid the ultimate sacrifice on my behalf.  Time and again I have turned away from Him and yet He repeatedly takes me back.  I am forever changed because of Him, and oh how I look forward to spending eternity with Him. 

2. My husband, Troy – It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since God brought Troy into my life.  He is a Christ follower, Spiritual Leader, loving husband, amazing dad, great provider, has a huge heart for the orphan, and I wouldn’t want to journey this path of life with anyone else.   I am blessed!

3. My children – I don’t know where to begin..God has been so good to me.  Troy and I have a beautiful three year old son who is healthy, all boy, and completely full of life.  We also have a beautiful daughter in Ethiopia that God is going to introduce us to in His perfect timing.  Both our son and our daughter have completely captured our hearts and we are eternally grateful that God chose us to be their parents.

 

4. Family – Yes, I know that #2 and # 3 are family too, but I am referring to my siblings, parents, and in-laws here. Even though all of our family lives out of state, we keep in close contact and they have been so supportive of Troy and I in every area of our lives.  A highlight of the Holidays for me is reconnecting, in person, with family. 

 

5. Friends – I can’t say enough about the friends God has placed in my life.  Some are lifelong and some are only for a season, but nonetheless, I am grateful for each and every one of them.

6. Church – During 2010, Troy and I felt that God was leading us in a different direction than our current church was going in.  We prayed a lot about it, and we ultimately made the decision to begin seeking out a new church at the beginning of 2011.  We found our new church home in March, and God has confirmed over and over that it is where we are meant to be at this season of our lives.  We have been loved, strengthened, encouraged, and supported in this new church and I am so grateful we were obedient to God’s calling.

7. Military – I don’t have enough words to express my thanks for the many lives that have been lost on behalf of my freedom.  I do not take for granted the many sacrifices that continue to be made on a daily basis by our men and women in uniform.  I pray that future generations will never to cease to remember that the freedoms we have here in America did not come without a great cost.

8. Ethiopia – God has placed a great love for this country in my heart.  It is the birthplace of my children, but it is also a place filled with beautiful people.  I pray that daily that God will pour out His richest blessings upon Ethiopia

 

9. My job(s) – I am so blessed to have a job that I love doing so that it doesn’t even feel like work.  I get to work with precious children every day, and I have great co-workers.  I do my ‘career’ job two days a week and my other job is staying home with Silas.   I am so grateful that we are in a position for me to be able to do that as I wouldn’t trade the precious days I get to spend with my boy for anything.

 

 

10. Good health – As I get older, I appreciate more and more the blessing of good health…not only for me but also for my family.  I have various friends whose children have had serious health concerns lately, and I have friends my age who are battling serious illnesses.  I take comfort in knowing that God is in control, but I am grateful for His mercies in this area of my life.

 

That sums up my top ten for now.  God has been so very good to me, and I am humbled that he continues to pour out His blessings upon me.  I pray that each of you will take a moment this Thanksgiving to thank Him for all He has done in your life. May you have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near. Psalm 75:1

November Fun

It was warm and sunny for mid-November here today.  Silas’ buddy had a birthday party that we attended in the early part of the afternoon, but we still had some time to squeeze in play at the park before it got dark.  Our entire family loves being outdoors so we are trying to take advantage of it as long as we can before winter gets here! 

Here is my silly boy going up the slide the wrong way….he is definitely adventurous these days!

I just love his little feet, and I pray that he will use them to follow where God is leading him as he grows..

He and daddy had a serious game of chasing each other going on…this was taken in the midst of it

Serious concentration on the monkey bars

Tickle attack from daddy:)

Smiles at sunset.  Oh how this boy fills our lives with joy!

We had a great day, and I never want to forget to thank God for the memories to be made from the simple joys in life!

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Blessed by HIS little feet

Wow!  It has been a whirlwind of a week, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  We were blessed to be able to host two amazing Ethiopian boys, Eyob and Yohannes, and a staff member, Kourtney, in our home this week.  Eyob and Yohannes are members of the HIS little feet International Children’s Choir which is comprised of 14 children, ages 6-12, from Ethiopia and Honduras.  The choir travels the United States being the voice for orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide.  We were so humbled to have them perform at our church this past week.  We had SO many families moved by their performance, and it was amazing to witness God at work.  Troy and I have been contacted by a handful of friends that are now considering adoption after hosting and/or attending the performance.  My heart is FILLED with joy to see the hearts of Christians being stirred to answer God’s call to care for the orphan. 

Back to our ‘friends’ as Silas kept calling them all week, Eyob and Yohannes were such a joy to have in our home. They are 12 and 10 years old respectively, and they are biological brothers.  They speak limited English, but we always managed to communicate(often with the help of the staff member).  They had the sweetest accents, and I LOVED when they would pray before our meals in Amharic.  They interacted well with Silas, and Silas was so intrigued by them.  Troy had a great idea to pick up lots of injera for them at a local Ethiopian market, and I already had berbere so meal times were a hit! Let me just say those boys can put away some injera, berbere, hot sauce, and ketchup!  I also loved watching them play with toys they have probably never seen before(a favorite was Silas’ Leap Frog Tag Junior reading system) as well playing multiple games of foosball.  Finally, the hugs I got multiple times a day just melted my heart! 

 

Silas & Eyob

Yohannes enjoying the treadmill…he even worked up a sweat but was smiling the entire time!

This is the only picture we got of Kourtney and Silas took it so it’s a bit blurry. She was so sweet, and she was so mature in her faith to be so young.  She comes from a family of 10 children, 4 of whom are adopted.  I just love that!

Eyob pushing Silas.  Too sweet!

The foosball table was a definite favorite.  They played it A LOT!

They also enjoyed the elliptical machine.  I just wish I enjoyed exercising that much:)

One final picture of Silas & Eyob.  I am so glad Silas got to have this experience, and I couldn’t help but think a few times over the course of the week that he could be like one of the children in the choir waiting for a Christ centered family had we not been obedient to God’s call to adopt.  It was very humbling to think about.  Each one of those fourteen children is beautiful and perfectly created in God’s image.  They have left a permanent imprint on my heart, and I will continue to pray that their family will step forward soon!  You can check out the choir’s schedule here(http://www.hislittlefeet.org/Tour_Schedule_November_2011.html ), and I would strongly recommend you attend their performance and possibly host some of these sweet children if they are going to be in your area.  My only warning is to prepare to have your socks blessed off!

Orphan Sunday 2011

Today is Orphan Sunday, and despite the fact that we live in a fallen world that has failed so many children, I am so glad we serve a Creator that sees each and every child created perfectly in His image.  As I thought about the millions of orphans around the world today, I kept thinking of the childhood song “Jesus Loves The Little Children”…..ALL of the children.  It is such a beautiful reminder that no child is an oversight of our God.  Each and every one is precious, and I pray that we as Christians would move to act on behalf of these beautiful kids.

JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Black and yellow, red and white
They're all precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world

Whether you're rich or whether you're poor
It matters not to Him
He remembers where you're going
Not where you've been

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Black and yellow, red and white
They're all precious in His sight

Jesus loves the little children of the world
If your heart is troubled
Don't worry, don't you fret
He knows that you have heard His call
And he won't forget

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Black and yellow, red and white
They're all precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world

All around the world tonight
His children rest assured
That He will watch and He will keep us
Safe and secure

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Black and yellow, red and white
They're all precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world