Random Picture Challenge 7.0

Now for the picture fun!

11th folder

or

September 2007

11th picture

Two little darlin's looking for me...they didn't know that I was right behind them. Joeliana had only been home from Africa for a few months...what was her little mind thinking as she tried to figure out her new world.

To join the fun, visit 4 Little Men and Girlie Twins for more random photo entries.

Girls night with Daddy

The girls are on their way to their date, the Father/Daughter dance, with their daddy tonight...they were so excited. I'm so thankful that their first "love" is their daddy! And I am so grateful that my sweet man takes time to love on his girls.

I have had "a week"...spilled food in the refrigerator, sick children, hormonal moments...blah, blah...must go feed all my little darlin's and put them to bed...hey, 7:00 isn't to early, right...and I do have those organic, chocolate truffles waiting for me...ha-ha...

have a great weekend.

Redwork Embroidry

I have enjoyed teaching the girls to do Redwork....it is easy for them and when it is finished it really does look nice. When they have several squares then we will make pillows, quilts, or towels with them.

Season of Reflection

I really liked this from Tom Davis....

I took Corban to the dr. today and must leave again soon...

I hope to have time to think more about this Season of Reflection...

I really feel like I "need" this...

From Kalyn-The Sky

Psalms 19:1-4

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth

their words to the ends of the world."

I love looking up at the sky; it reminds me that man is not in control of everything and that God is still in control of everything. When I look up at the sky my problems and issues don't seem so big for the God that made the universe and knows every star by name is big enough to handle my small problems.

The sky is a constant source of beauty for me as well; each sunrise is different and each morning and each night I see the most amazing colors in the sky. I think each morning God wipes the sky clean and paints a new picture upon it. The clouds are always different and I never tire of looking up at the stars...they remind my of a cave ceiling covered in dimonds all sparkling and if you just reach high enough you can reach one of them.

"Cheaper By The Dozen" moment

Poor Corban...I've never had a child with asthma before. I'm thankful for the medicine, but I'm sad that he needs it also. All night he was breathing faster than normal...so to the dr. to make sure we are doing all we need to do to stop this before it become worse.

Yesterday we were in town for quite some time and ...well, we had a "Cheaper By The Dozen" moment. I decided to buy Taco Bell since we were not getting back home sooner than I thought we would. Here was the conversation with the guy on the other end of the order place (I don't know what you call those things)

Me: "I need a number 7, two crispy taco's, and 12 soft taco's..."

Guy: "Did you SAY 12 or 2 soft taco's?"

Me: "I said 12 soft taco's" (talking very slowly at this point)...

Guy: "A DOZEN soft taco's!!?"

Me: "YES, a dozen...."

At this point I was beginning to think I might have to give up

Guy: "O.K., let me repeat your order....". I think that may be he had gotten a witness to hear the order to back himself up, just in case.

Kalyn was beginning to chuckle beside me and yes, we did get our taco's - all 12 of them. When one of the little darlin's complained that they wanted crispy and not soft, well, I hope you don't think I was to harsh when I said "HUSH and eat it!!!"

Eyes To See - Prayer

Several months back, Nancy Campbell wrote an article on praying for our children. I wanted to share my notes from that article. In my prayers I will often ask for His Eyes to see how I need to pray for a situation or a person. Praying for my children should be easy, yet I find it difficult as I am not always sure of the heart issues...you know, the "what do I pray for" feeling I have sometimes.
so here are the notes ...

Following Jesus' prayers for His disciples from John 17...
1. That they will know God...know the only, true God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent. (vs. 3)...to know Him personally and experience His power and presence in their lives.
2)That they will have joy..."That they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves." (vs 13) (and teach my children that joy is not dependant on circumstances but allowing Christ to live His life of joy through us. (IThess 1:6).
3. That they will be kept from evil. (vs 15-16; also Ex 33:14-15, 2 Cor. 6:17-18).
4. That they will be sanctified by the truth (vs 17, 19) - set apart and made holy by the power of the truth, the Word of God. Pray that they will have a love and passion of the Word of God and that it will lead them to holiness.
5. That they will be one. (vs. 11, 21-23)
6. That they will behold the glory of the Lord. (vs. 24)..to see Christ for who He really is, rather than their own interpretation...that they will have a "revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of their understanding being enlightened...(Eph. 1:17-18).
7. That they will experience God's love. (vs. 26)...that my children will keep themselves in the blessings of His love and not be lured away to sin where they come out from the protection of His love.
8. That they will be prepared and ready to face the battles of life and declare God's glory to the world. (vs. 18)
Some other prayers that Nancy mentioned were...
-that God will give our children soft hearts to hear His voice and to be pliable in His hands.
-to hate evil and love righteousness.
-that they will seek after God with all their hearts.
-that God will give them godly husbands and wives who will be true and faithful to them all their lives, who will love and embrace children and who will also establish godly homes and families.
-that God will pour out His Holy Spirit upon them as He promises in Isaiah 44:34.
-that their whole spirit, soul, and body will be kept pure and blameless for the Lord, and that they will be kept from accident, harm and danger.

One of my greatest desires for my children is to raise them and get them ready for God's purposes for them in this life. I want them to have a passion and a courage to walk the adventure that God has planned for them.
Challange to you and me..."God, gives us eyes to see how to pray for those you bring to us...may we be faithful and bold and trust that You will give us the words to say as we offer up our hearts in prayer.
If you want to share, I would love to hear from you on prayers....

I Love Faces - Black & White

This week at I Love Faces the theme is - Black & White.....

For my adult entry: I love this picture of my dad at the beach...just watching and enjoying his family playing together.


For my kid entry: I had just received my new daughter in Africa...this picture always captures the emotions of so many orphans...scared, hungry, sick ...

Don't worry, she looks like this now..

You can enter your photos at I Heart Faces. Have fun.

8 year old Boo

Sweet Boo, it is so hard to believe that you are already 8!!!!

You are a tender hearted warrior for sure!

I am so glad that God gave you to me!

You are a wonderful brother...

you are Jace's "buddy boo"-his long awaited for, prayed for brother...

you're daddy's "little man"

and always my "Le Boo"-love of my heart.

From Kalyn

A Psalm of Life
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not is goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
Bit to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the worlds broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, how e'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,-act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'er head!

Loves of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate,
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

out of the mouth of babes

Landon (age 8) brought these animals to me and said "Who do you think is going to win; the carnivores or the herbivores?" I asked him "Are the carnivores hungry?" He said "Mom, they haven't had breakfast or lunch." Doesn't look good for the herbivores!

Eyes To See - the Adventure

One of our favorite songs is "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath. The chorus says:

"Give me your eyes for just one second

give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

Ones that are far beyond my reach.

give me your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see."

In my first post for Eyes To See I wanted to begin to challenge myself daily with little prayers for eyes to see (thank you Beth and Adeye for your wonderful comments); to ask "what adventure LORD, do you have for me today"..."What beauty, wonders, or glories do you have for me to see." There is actually a part of Isaiah that vividly describes Judah's spiritual decline and the consequences. (Ch. 1-5 is where I am at right now). Besides the obvious sins in these chapters, the LORD said something that caught my attention; "but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands. Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge..." (Isaiah 5:12-13). Regard. See. Exile. Do I defy or disregard God's presence in the midst of my day, though His nearness is the hope that I ought to cherish and seek?

I do not do this as often as I wish, however, a few months back my mother was having a very difficult surgery to repair her leg (which it didn't do). I remember asking God that morning to show me anyone that day that I may need to be aware of, a need that I might could minister His love to. As we waited those long hours to hear from the doctor, I became aware of an older man to the side, several chairs over, who was watching us as we (my dad and several other family members) laughed and talked. I finally said a little something to the man and he immediately began to tell me how his wife was in a room with their grandson, who had hung himself and would not last much longer. They couldn't get a hold of his mother in Europe somewhere, and they had so many pressing decisions to make. WOW...my heart begin to break and my dad noticed and leaned over and begin to listen to the pain in this granddad's story. After a while we received news that mom was in recovery and we could go over there. I saw that the wife was now sitting with the elderly man, and went over to pray with them before we left (it IS NOT normal for me to do this...though may be it should be). My dad, and aunt and uncle came over and we all prayed with them. We saw them several times over the next few days and were able to listen, comfort and pray.

Long story (sorry), but I learned that there is a great adventure that God has for me each day if I will ask, look, see, and do what He shows me.

Challenge - ask for eyes to see the ones around me that I can minister to in some way, and trust Him to show me how.

Please share with me how you are praying for Eyes To See and the adventure that God is taking you on....

I Love Faces - Wonder

This week at I Heart Faces the theme is - WONDER.

For my adult entry: I love this picture because I don't think I will EVER get over the wonder of a baby!

For my kid entry: Oh, the wonder of a baby and a beach!


You can enter your photos at I Heart Faces. Have fun.

From Kalyn-School

I love school! I just finished reading a book about doc Holiday; very interesting. In some ways I pity him, it seemed that every time he was settling down someone always came after him and messed it all up. But back to school; math I would say is my worst subject but my dad says I am better at it then I think. Just like a daddy should! :) I like calligraphy best and love listening to classical music while I work at it. Then there is my Colorado history report that I am working on; very interesting; later this year when it warms up me and my mom are going to take a few short trips and visit some historical places. Can't wait!!! Should be fun!!! I am also working on chemistry, not that I understand it all but it is very interesting. Learning about all the different tips of metal and how they work, I find it quit interesting. I love being home schooled!!! It allows me to do the things that I really like and I don't have to sit in some class room to do it. I love to come down into my bed room and sit in my chair and on my bed and work on my school or when it is nice outside I like to go work outside. Here in my house I am surounded by beauty and joy and the best teacher of all, my mom.

Eyes To See

This has been on my mind for some time...a prayer really...a thought that is still a seed; growing and becoming.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned from my personal walk of faith with God, through good times and also through very difficult times, could best be put into six little words that make up daily the cry of my heart.
"Give me Your Eyes to see..."
I think that there is a secret here; a mindset that can reveal unseen beauties to delight my spirit as I daily, purposefully LOOK for the beauty and delightfulness of being in the presence of my LORD.
Romans 1:20 says "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made."
I want to challenge myself, and you if you would like, to ask the LORD to give us eyes to see Him each day. I will be journaling these thoughts more over the next few months, but for now...start looking...
Today I saw His love for us when complete strangers offered to share their birthday cake with our family at the bowling alley. When she asked how many pieces of cake I needed, I hesitantly said "is 8 O.K.?"; which she laughingly said "Oh, you can have much more than that." The kindness of a stranger...and a message from God..."You can have much more...".
Please share with me what you "see"...."Taste and see that the LORD is good". (It's in the Bible somewhere - haha...I'll look it up if you want.) No matter what we may be facing today, if we pray..."LORD, give me eyes to see YOU", we will find a secret strength and an everlasting LOVE.
What will you see today?

Random Picture Challenge 6.0

January 2007

or

13th picture folder

3rd picture

Boo painted up by friends and sisters for a game they were playing.

Check out 4 Little Men and Girlie Twins for more random photo fun.

fun with clouds

I have been trying to learn how to play in my new Photoshop Elements program. I especially love black and white photos so I used the above picture that I took this summer when we were camping (I did not alter that picture at all...it is exactly the beauty of the moment that God showed us) and I converted it to b&w then applied some red filter to it. I have been reading about using the different filters on b&w's

And this is how it turned out.

Wish I could play more, but I need to go put little darlin's down for nap and finishing preparing for the weekend.

come on-it wont be THAT bad

This is how the children felt when I told them we would be going to town today for various appointments.

When asked how long it would take...well I had to be honest with them...the equivalent of a trip to Texas.

OK, may be only 7 hours, from start to finish.

But on the bright side, daddy said we could eat out tonight..."good daddy"!.

From Kalyn

From a book called

"Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K. Jerome a hilarious book but yet very deep.

"How they pole the poor little craft mast-high with fine clothes and big houses; with useless servants, and a host of swell friends that do not care twopence for them, and that they do not care three ha'pence for; with expensive entertainments that nobody enjoys, with formalities and fashions, with pretence and ostentation, and with-oh, heaviest, maddest lumber of all!-the dread of what will my neighbor think, with luxuries that only cloy, with pleasures that bore, with empty show that, like the criminal's iron crown of yore, makes to bleed and swoon the aching head that wears it!

It is lumber, man-all lumber! Throw it overboard. It makes the boat so heavy to pull, you nearly faint at the oars. It makes it so cumbersome and dangerous to manage, you never know a moment's freedom from anxiety and care, never gain a moment's rest for dreamy laziness-no time to watch the windy shadows skimming lightly o'er the shallows, or the glittering sunbeams flitting in and out among the ripples, or the woods all green and golden, or the lilies white and yellow, or the sombre-waving rushes, or the sedges, or the orchis, or the blue forget-me-not's.

Throw the lumber over, man! Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need-a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.

You will find the boat easier to pull then, and it will not be so liable to upset, and it will not matter so much if it does upset; good, plain merchandise will stand water. You will have time to think as well as work. Time to drink in life's sunshine-time to listen to the Aeolian music that the wind of God draws from the human heart strings around us."

ADOPTION - YOU ARE MY STRENGTH - VIDEO

Here is a video I made to use for orphan ministry.

I Heart Faces - silly

This weeks contest at I Heart Faces is "silly".

For my kid entry: When we say "Aiden, show us your angry eyebrows", this is what we get and then he laughs so hard at his own silliness.

For my adult entry: While we were painting our basement, my mother and I started funning around and I love this picture because it just captures our silly little moment and her hiding her laugh behind a paint brush.

You can enter your photos at I Heart Faces Have fun!

From Kalyn - Adoption

Being the oldest daughter in such a big family is a big responsibility but it isn't as hard as some people think. I can't imagine what other people do with their time!! Each little child that has come into our home has a special place. Sometimes I think life might be easier without so many distractions but then I stop and think which one would I be able to give up? From the moment they enter that door they are my little siblings and even though sometimes we fight and argue there is one thing that is for sure and that is that I will hear my name called at least a dozen times during day!!! I love all of them and each one teaches me something different. Dealing with so many personalities and different types of people in my own home is the best school I have ever been to! Here we each are growing together and learning together and experiencing life together! God has given me Asians to love, Africans to hold and cherish; each one is a precious gem and special to me in their own way.

RANDOM PICTURE CHALLENGE 5.0

Here is a fun new photo challange that I found when I visited Brittany's blog.

There are 2 ways to pick your random picture this week so more of you can play along.

March 2008, 5th picture from the end

or 10th picture folder 5th picture from the end. This picture is from my 10th March folder and is the 5th picture in that folder.

This is a picture of Caresse and Kalyn enjoying a quiet Saturday morning.

Check out 4 Little Men and Girlie Twins for more random photo fun

Faith and Hope

Yesterday, I was in town most of the day...hair appointment and dr. appointment for Aiden. He has NOT been sleeping well! He hasn't had fever in days, but obviously something was wrong. Come to find out, he has a horrible ear infection, which I kinda begin to figure. It was a long hard day and the other little ones where glad to have momma back home.
We have tunnels that the children love to plan in and it is fun to see their happy little faces.
And they were all wanting some lovin' and attention.
Here is another quote that I really like from the book "Reckless Faith"..."Faith and hope are back to back in the heart of a reckless believer. We hope that the One we have faith in has a plan. And we have faith that that plan will bring us eternal - and earthly - hope."
I'm reminded again to "let go and be led."

I am looking forward to some rest tomorrow and want to spend time reading some books I haven't had time to enjoy.

Who done it?

I was not happy to find my silk flowers plucked and strewn on the floor of my Quiet Room...besides all that, the Quiet Room is off limits except if the little darlin' is with mommy.
Want to guess "who done it"?

I Heart Faces - Eyes

I am entering the I Heart Faces Photo contest just for fun. This weeks contest is "The Eyes Have It."

For my kid entry: I chose this picture of Caresse...the paint around hers eyes made them look so "other world"

For my adult entry: I chose this one because Audry's eyes are such a beautiful blue

For my pets entry (hey, they said anything goes): I chose this picture of the Sheephead because it reminds me how much we love to fish at the coast and these fish are yummy (though I don't condone eating most "pets")

You can enter your photos at I Heart Faces Have fun!

And thanks for stopping by

A Bunch!!!!!!! and a prayer

It actually takes a FEW bunches of these for lunch

I wanted to focus on thankfulness for a while as a family. I'm the kind that likes to be "prepared", you know, then I feel more ready, which means I will feel good about what I've done, which means I feel good about me...ha-ha...OK, I am completely laughing at myself now...May be I should focus on humility. However, there is some little truth to the above.

WELL, because of the children being so sick these last two weeks, I wasn't able to prepare at all for this, but because I'm tired of hearing one or two of the little darlin's complain about what we are eating every day, I decided on Monday that we were going to get going on this whole "lets be thankful" for what we have.

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Thes. 5:18 is a great verse to start with I figured. So with sick children, and feeling overwhelmed (the day had barely started...), while trying to hold a very sick Aiden, and balance the Bible on the arm of the couch, we started our Bible time. As they were reading their Bible's during the quiet part of our Bible time, I was thinking what I was going to be thankful for (I wanted us each to have a "I will be thankful for_________"). I immediately thought that I was thankful for Steve going to work each day. I would have looked up a Bible verse for this thought to think on through the week, but I couldn't even turn the pages of my Bible as I was holding Aiden.

We began our Proverbs reading out loud and Proverbs 28:19-20 said "Who ever work his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty. I faithful man will abound with blessings..." There it was!!! I thought "Thank you LORD, for showing me this verse - for literally dropping it into my crowded lap because You are faithful to nurture me as I nurture my sick family." Just the night before I was frustrated at the lack of time I have had to journal, pray and read the Bible. I felt so "loved on" by God as he gave me my verse for being thankful. So here is my thankful prayer..."Thank you God, that Steve faithfully "works our land", goes to work, to provide for us. Thank you that he does not follow worthless pursuits. Thank you that we abound with blessings - especially the blessings of our children."

The "I will be thankful ____" for the little darlin' who complains about the food we have prepared is going to be "I will be thankful for all the good food my family feeds me because they love me and mom will make me eat what I fuss about for a whole week; breakfast, lunch, and dinner". Hey, I figure vegetables want kill him!

Disappointed

The reason I love my camera....what a beautiful snowflake...oh the wonders of GOD.

We are in between adoptions, and I know, it is silly, because I know that I have a ministry here in my own home ... HOWEVER, I have always wanted to go on a missions trip...to Africa...yes, I know that God brought Africa to me...(I use dot's so that I can run my thoughts together...like they are in my head). Going to pick up your child in a foreign country is WAY different than going to serve. SOOO, my daughter, Kalyn, and I put in applications to go to Uganda with our church. I didn't even want to put in MY application, because I knew that it was a moment of surrender...God here is my dream...but it is in Your Hands...Your will be done.

They called last week to say that we had an interview...but I wanted to wait to get the word for sure that we would get to go...they called today to say that the trip is full....sorry. Now, the me that is stronger knows that this is the will of God...I have no idea what the next few months hold, but He does.

But, the little girl that has had "a dream" is sad tonight. I could also be a little emotional and tired because I haven't had good sleep for 8 nights because we have had 7 children sick for over a week, and the littlest one has a burst ear drum from all the fever, BUT THAT IS BESIDE THE POINT...I feel sad and disappointed.

I would go eat that last chocolate truffle I had saved for such an emergency, however, one of my children who hasn't been eating well "stole" it yesterday...

Hair time/lovein' time

Time to do Alia's hair...
After I wash and condition it well, I find it easier to blow dry her hair straight...it just seems easier for me to braid it.


Now, time for the lovin'....

Here are the "after" pictures...after SEVERAL hours. Non-the-less, this should last a week or two. When Alia first came home from Liberia, we had some attachment problems...she was SO stressed, afraid, and stressed (I know, I said that twice...boy was she stressed-thrice).

The need was so big I wasn't sure at times if I had it in me to help her emotional hunger. Lisa wrote a great post called "mother hunger" and posted something that Erin had written; you can find them both here. It was so nice to see how other families have also parenting children who have come through emotional trauma.

Then, as I begin to learn to fix Alia's hair, something beautiful happened that I wasn't expecting. We really begin to bond during her hair time. She begin to relax and just "rest" and I was able to relax and just love on her. I would say "you have such beautiful hair" and "I love you and am so glad that God gave you to me" and she was able to receive this love better than when she was working so hard to meet the need in her little heart. I am thankful to the LORD who always shows me, in my weakest moments, His grace, His wisdom, and His love.