URGENT PRAYER!

Total shock is what we feel today. A couple of hours ago we found out that a friend suddenly passed away during the night. He was 42 and has 4 young children- all under 13. Please, pray for the Hetzel family today. His sweet wife and children need God's loving arms around them now more than ever.
Life is precious. Hug those you love today. As sad as we are, we know that God has our days numbered and are at peace knowing Pat is rejoicing with Him today.
In Him,
E

Funny

I was going through some pictures tonight and just needed to share. Some crack me up- hope they don't offend anyone! I am allowing you to view them a little larger tonight so you get the full affect.

When my family saw me taking a picture of this, they thought I'd lost it. My husband should have known how excited I get about things like this. He just rolled his eyes. But I just HAD

to share with the world that these indeed DO exist. They are one of the most wonderful

Christmas gifts I have ever received!:) And yes, I'm talking about panties.

Have any of you ever walked outside one day to find this sitting in your backyard?

Hubby says he found it in the creek and is going to make a swing for the

kiddos. Our girls spent quite some time shining it up readying it for the big day.

This thing is a tractor tire, people- as big as our youngest! I think it

makes mighty pretty yard art- we'll call it eclectic. One day when we had someone coming to look at the house we almost forgot about the tire. You should have seen my husband rolling it across the yard to hide it behind the shop!

Now, we do live out in the sticks (well, sort of). When we get bored and can't find anything to do, why not see who can fill a pickle jar with pennies the fastest?! Check out our youngest's face- she's really cheering Daddy on!

Our middle had to have her tonsils and adenoids removed last August. I knew that if I went into the operating room to see her fall asleep, I'd lose it. Thankfully, hubby was willing and here he is in his OR getup. Sorry, honey!

And last but certainly not least, doesn't every Dad deserve a mohawk for Father's Day.

Hope you all have a blessed night!

In Him,

E

My husbands song

This song touched my husband this weekend. Just wanted to share. Don't forget to turn off music at the bottom of the page.
In Him,
E

To committ or not committ, that is the question

We have had an emotional week here to say the least. God is answering prayers, answering questions and changing hearts. I know you have all been hanging by the seats of your pants for days now, and I so wish I had a definite answer for you. It looks as if we possibly may be committing to a child soon. So no real answer, I guess. We know that time is crucial but also want to make sure we aren't committing too quickly and not have things in place.

Our story began about 4 or 5 years ago when God began tugging on my heart about adoption. At that point my husband was "no way!" I read and prayed and researched and prayed some more. At times, I just gave up.... but not really. I'd talk about it to him and he'd always have this glazed look on his face. He was "fine" with the children we have- why did we need more? I was frustrated because I knew this is what God wanted us to do (or I thought I knew). But what if I was the one who was wrong? My prayers changed to "Lord, if this is not your will for our family, please change my heart." He didn't. Actually, he placed a new desire on my heart and that was not just "typical" orphans but orphans with special needs. What?! I don't know anything about children with special needs!! So more research and prayer. And really this went on until just about 6 months ago. Hubby always said he was praying, and I have no doubt he was. All I could see was our children getting older. I was afraid they'd miss out on younger siblings and precious bonding time.

As I have said many, many times...it's hard for me to be still, be quiet, wait. But this is exactly what God wanted. I tell you, the past few years have been a journey for me. God wanted my full attention and in my anguish I have called His name more times than I can count. He wanted me to depend solely on Him- well, guess what? Now I do. Everything is perfect in His timing and I see that now. I look back and see his fingerprints all over this journey.

Prayerfully, we are on the home stretch. I will take some time later to document our last couple weeks and share with all of you. In addition to those physically close to me, you have been my prayer warriors through much of this. Prayer works, and I couldn't have gotten this far without it.

So, THANK YOU!! We need your prayers more than ever.

In Him,

E

Hi- I'm still here!

Good evening! I am still around. This post will be somewhat scattered, so I'm apologizing ahead of time.

We had a wondrous day yesterday- IT SNOWED! Now, I know that may not mean much to many of you, but we live in the south, okay! It was beautiful while it lasted. It was 20 degrees last night and this coming weekend is suppose to be in the 70s- go figure.

Kids are amazing. We were riding in the car earlier today and my youngest said, "Mom, can I read something to you?" I of course said, "Sure, what would you like to read?" She responded with, " The book of Genesis." And that's exactly what she did. She began reading about Adam and Eve. We got to the sword blocking the entrance to the garden when we had to get out for gymnastics. I will tell you that she was reading a children's Bible, but still very cool.

Please, continue to pray. My head is spinning. He is moving mountains and I will post about it here soon- I hope.

It's late and I haven't been sleeping well so off to bed I go. One thing I want to leave you with quoted from our pastor from yesterday morning's service-

"We can choose to see things through the eyes of the world, or we can choose to see things through the eyes of God."

Amen, Reverend John. Which path will you choose? I choose to wander with Jesus.

In Him,

E

There IS a God

Just seconds after my last post I sat down to do my devotion. The girls had friends over so were in the back of the house playing games and my husband was outside. It was quiet. I usually read "The Upper Room" along with reading part of the Bible and journaling in my prayer journal. I really have no rhyme or reason to my devotions- especially setting aside a certain time of day. I envy those who do. I usually spend time at night doing them when all the kiddos are in bed, but something told me make time this morning. Let me also add here that I NEVER look ahead in my Upper Room book and almost always look back at what I've read in previous days. This morning's devotion (and it is dated February 27, 2009 so I'm not behind or ahead at all!) left me speechless. Sobbing, really. Here is what it said-

God's Right Here

"Because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts."

Galatians 4:6

"My younger brother, Alan, had Down syndrome and died four months short of his 50th birthday. He was terrified of thunderstorms. Our mom taught Alan that when a storm approached, he should put his hand over his heart and say, "God's right here." After Mom died, Alan stayed overnight with my family once a week. When a storm was near, Alan would come to us and say, "God's right here." Then he would calm down. Later, when the storm passed, he would come to us and say, "Alan's all right."

What a wonderful picture of faith Alan gave us! When the storms of life threaten, we can follow Alan's example and remember that "God's right here"- right here in our heart, every single day of our lives. And if we believe that as strongly as Alan did, we, too, will be able to say, "I'm all right," even in fearsome times."

First, as soon as I read the Bible verse for the morning, Galatians 4:6, I paused. Hmmm...Then, I went on to read the first sentence and all I could see were those words- Down syndrome. Down syndrome. I completely lost it. Okay, God. Is this my thump on the head? My megaphone in the ear? The letter I asked you to write?

We are praying....please, join us.

In Him,

E

My heart is breaking...again

I woke this morning to some terrible news. Again, Ruslana's newly committed family is unable to proceed with her adoption. PLEASE, pray for this sweet angel. God has placed this child in my heart- I have loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her. She deserves more than a life in an institution which looking at the statistics wouldn't be very long. She turned 4 January 21st and is literally living on borrowed time. Ruslana needs a family NOW and has over $6,000 in grant funds! Visit Reece's Rainbow Adoption Ministry to find out more about this sweet girl. God has a plan for this angel- please pray.

I must also send out a praise that Leah has a committed family! Praise the Lord!

In Him,

E

Struggling

In all honesty, I have really been struggling lately. Not depressed struggling, just struggling. I feel with every fiber of my being that God calls us to adopt as He adopted us. There are many verses in the Bible that affirm this, one of my favorites being- "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." James 1:27.

A while back I was reading through the blog "A Place Called Simplicity" written by the Saunders' family Mom. You can read more about the Saunders by clicking the picture in my sidebar. I came across her post from this past December. I believe it says everything I feel. I believe in an Almighty God through whom which nothing is impossible. For the full post visit here. Here is just a portion-

"Some say, “What about my age?” Almighty God says: "Age, schmage!! Take in little ones!"

Some say, “I don’t really have time.” Almighty God, the defender of orphans and widows says, “You don’t have time? Time for what? The things you deem 'important'? I have told you what really matters – Caring for the orphans and widows!! How much clearer do I need to make it?!”

Some say, “But we can’t afford it right now.” Almighty God says, “You can’t afford not to! Watch me provide – you will be amazed!!”

Some say, “But I already have these kids and they are driving me crazy.” Almighty God says, “Stop using the world’s value system when it comes to kids! Their worth is beyond words – cherish them and bring more home!”

Some say, “But I need to spend time with the ones I do have”. Almighty God says, “Yes you do!! Stop wasting your time on all the things that don’t really matter and spend time with them – and teach them about selflessness by bringing home brothers and sisters for them….in fact teach them about sharing first hand! Teach them about caring for others first hand!!”

You might say, “My husband doesn’t want anymore.” Almighty God says, “Fast and pray for your husband’s heart to change – I am a big God and it certainly lines up with my will – fast, pray and watch and see what I do!!”

I will leave you with one verse that I hold dear to my heart and seem to repeat to myself often- "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10


Oh, and I almost forgot. I was driving home from town the other day and noticed a bit of wisdom on a church read-a-board. You know the church, the one that always has some neat little saying out by the street to get passersby thinking. Well, this one in particular said

"When you are too tired to stand...kneel." Love it!

Hope you have a blessed night!
In Him,
E

The answer to why showers are so long...

My Mom has always wondered why it take my kids so long to take showers. Well, here you go. And yes, it's an almost life size shaving cream horse. If you only knew my middle child.

Hope your days are as fun filled and exciting as ours'!

In Him,

E

My Other Love

This is what I found when I went to brush my teeth tonight. My guy knows my heart (and unfortunately my obsession for chocolate, I'm afraid). I LOVE YOU, BABE! Thank you!

In Him,

E

Weekend stuff

Thus far, this weekend has been busy to say the least. Yesterday started with our middle's basketball game. 19-19 tie in overtime. She played so well!

Hubby on his favorite toy

Hubby LOVES dirt bikes- the reason we have a track in the very back of our property. Our girls love watching too and join him on the track every once and a while on their 4 wheeler. Our two oldest have wanted to go to a Supercross event for some time. When hubby learned of the date the event would be held in Atlanta he immediately priced out tickets. Sorry- $50 each. Our oldest daughter said "wouldn't it be great if we could do that for my birthday?"- hint, hint. We told her "no" and dropped it....or so she thought. I asked hubby to look at tickets again and of course, there were some much cheaper. $10 to be exact. He didn't look at those before because he wanted "the good seats" (the cheap seats were awesome, by the way). So, in addition to her letters and the trunk, our girl got Supercross tickets for her birthday.

My middle making yummy banana bread- she loves cooking!

Friday began with making goodies for my sister and her family. Our youngest was going to spend Saturday night with them while we headed to Atlanta. One of the goodies that are so easy, we LOVE to make and people love to eat are Buckeyes (recipe at end of post). Chocolate and peanut butter- what could be better?!

Youngest making yummy Buckeyes!

The races were fun and as always, a culture shock for me. At one point I looked at my husband and said "I want to go back home to my bubble!". Can you tell I don't get out much? I know that God loves all people and that there are millions and millions and millions of people in the world, but when going to an event like this I am amazed. I see first hand how vast His love is. There were over 60,000 people there (not even a fraction of the entire world population), yet it seemed like so many to me. So many DIFFERENT types of people and guess what? He loves them all just as He loves me. It just blows me away. Maybe I'm a little naive, but it just puts things in perspective for me. At least a little. Thanks for the reminder.

We had a blast. Our guy (James "Bubba" Stewart") won, of course. Got home late- after 1AM. Headed over to my sister's this morning to pick up the little one. Now home to veg. It's cold today, so I'll probably be in this exact spot for most of the day. Oh, after I meet my brother-in-law to retrieve one pair of new glasses my youngest left there.

Out back on the track

Hubby is headed out to the track as I type this. Guess the races have him pumped. Better him than me!

Hope you all are having a blessed weekend!
In Him,

E

Yummy Buckeyes

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter, softened

16 oz. confectioners sugar

1 package semisweet chocolate chips

Line cook sheet with waxed paper (or use metal baking sheet). Mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla and sugar with hands. Dough will be stiff. Shape into balls and place on wax paper or cookie sheet and refrigerate. Melt chocolate. Dip balls with toothpick until covered. Place back in refrigerator until chocolate is firm.

Changing

"Adopting one child cannot change the world. But for that one, the world has changed."

I read this somewhere this week and cannot remember where. Obviously, it is stuck- deep, deep down somewhere inside of me. I can't shake it. Praying for God's direction.
In Him,
E

A few things done..

We had some terrible storms last week so were stuck inside. Here is what I did one afternoon during a storm.

This is a picture of the window above my kitchen sink (check out the rain outside- our porch is 10 feet wide and yes, the rain is hitting the window!). I pinned just a few of my favorite photos onto the iron curtain rod so I can see them everytime I'm in the kitchen. I also pinned a photo I took of a cross, a photo of a door (just love it- no other reason) and a little something I typed up and printed out. It says "Love them like Jesus". Such a simple reminder. The sign "Live, Laugh, Love" is a treasure. My oldest made it for me last Christmas- I love that girl!

Now, yes, this is a photo of the inside of my closet. I have some wonderful things I received from my Grandparents' house when they passed away. Here are two things I have been carrying them around with me from room to room for literally a year! We are very limited on wall space in this house, so I decided to make my closet pretty. I hung the painting (of 3 girls!!) above the needlepoint my Grandmother did. I love it! I have a pretty closet and I'm reminded of my Grandparents everytime I open the door.

Here's my closet before.

And after-



Okay, now for the laundry room. Yes, I am showing you my laundry room but only half of it- you'll never see the other half! Before it was just a plain old boring, laundry cleaning room. That is until....I hung another of my Grandmother's needlepoints and added a few decorations. The needlepoint says "A Clean House is a Sign of a Wasted Life". Amen, Grandma!! I tell this to my husband all the time but he doesn't believe me.
The tassel is one of my favorites that I had left over from my tassel making frenzy during Christmas. The lamp was a 30 minute refurbish project I did that afternoon. A couple books and a glass jar full of York Peppermint Patties (just in case) and the laundry room was finished! Now, I flip on the lamp and actually enjoy my time in there.

Here are a couple photos of the lamp in progress. Before it was bright pink (I have 3 girls, remember?). You can see a tad of the pink at the top. I just painted over the pink with some of that Apple Barrel paint you can find at any craft store. Next, I tore all the pink fringe off the shade, got out my handy, dandy glue gun and added new black fringe around the bottom. It still didn't look quite right, so I added a bit of ribbon around the top. Viola! Finished in about 30 minutes. Of course, it was still a smidge wet as I carefully carried it to the laundry room, but I couldn't wait!

Hope you have a blessed weekend!
In Him,

E

Fashion rules from an 8 year old

Hat with pajamas

That's right. You are about to learn all types of things from this sweet 8 year old. I must first tell you that you have to learn to let go. Throw all fashion "rules" you know out the window because none of them matter.

Fashion rule #1-

Your clothing matches if each piece has ONE similar color in it.

And yes, each piece has a tad bit of pink in it.

Fashion rule #2-

You may wear as many pieces of clothing as you want regardless of the temps outside.

Fashion rule #3-

ANYTHING goes when it comes to accessories. And yes, that is a sheet around her shoulders.

Fashion rule #4-

As long as it's comfy, wear it to bed. And this is what she is wearing as I type this.

Fashion rule #5-

Leotards work for all day wear in any type of weather.

Fashion rule #6-

Shoes are so overrated!

Notice no shoes running at a track meet- and she won!!

Flip flops with a fleece jacket- it was pretty cold that day!

Hope you learned some valuable fashion lessons today. The one thing I've learned during my many years of mothering is that I honestly don't care if my girls match or are wearing something absolutely crazy. All I care about is that they are covered (and they MUST be covered and modest) and are happy about their choices!

One last rule for you- wear a wig, obviously it will make you feel better.

This is my middle in all her glory!

In Him,

E

More new glasses

Okay, I just realized I never posted a picture of my middle in her new glasses- bad Mom! So, here she is. She just needs them for reading, working on the computer, drawing, etc- not all the time.

We picked up our youngest's glasses on Monday. She will get her own post in a bit. Be sure not to miss it! Oh, the things you will learn about fashion from this dear little girl. Stay tuned...

In Him,

E

Are we willing to sacrifice?

"God has created a world big enough for all the lives He wishes to be born. It is only our hearts that are not big enough to want them and accept them. If all the money that is being spent on finding ways to kill people was used instead to feed them and house them and educate them - how beautiful that would be. We are too often afraid of the sacrifices we might have to make. But where there is love, there is always sacrifice. And when we love until it hurts, there is joy and peace." -Mother Theresa

Another one from the lady I love. I specifically love the part I italicized- actually, nevermind. I love the entire quote!!

In Him,

E

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa- there are very few who have never heard her name. She has long been a woman of admiration for me. I am in awe that such a tiny woman left such a legacy of Christ's love. But, she didn't do it alone. He worked through her and only because she allowed Him to and fully submitted herself to Him.



You know, I read one time that her feet were so tiny and deformed because she took the leftover shoes- the ones that did not fit. She gave to everyone else first, not thinking of herself until those around her were taken care of. I think of this because my feet hurt today. Not sure why, just something weird going on and it drives me crazy! My feet HURT in certain shoes and so I change into more comfortable ones. Imagine taking those shoes that terribly hurt your feet, willingly and on purpose.


I know I am (probably more often than I'd like to admit) the one who stands in the way of Him using me. Not my age, not because I am a woman, not because of finances, but because of my lack of willingness to let go. As much as I want to allow Him and wait for Him to use me, I feel like I miss Him all too often. I believe that what I need sometimes instead of a quiet whisper is a megaphone in my ear!!


I challenge myself this day to release myself TOTALLY to Him. I want to strive to be like Christ. I pray to have a heart like Mother Teresa's. I pray that I will be able to move mountains to help those who need it the most.



So, here are just a few (times 10) of her quotes that I LOVE-

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.

Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.

Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.

I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world.

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.

The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.

The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.

There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those.

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.

Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.

Have a blessed night!

Amazed by His grace,

E

Love

One thing I don't understand is why do so many people choose to celebrate love just one day a year? I understand the "celebration" of love part because being in love is so amazing- I just hope they also celebrate the 364 other days.

I LOVE THIS GUY! He is my rock. I am so truly blessed. I wish I could shout it from the rooftops but I am scared of rooftops! So, here's my shout out-

I LOVE YOU, BABE- MORE THAN I EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE!!!

With ALL my love,

E

What an eventful day!!

Our oldest in her new eyewear! She is amazed at how well she can see and can't believe everything she's been missing out on. I can't believe I've been letting her drive without them!!

Let me first say that all of our children had eye appointments not too long ago and were fine. Well, in my mind not too long ago seems like 6 months ago, but it was probably more like 3 years ago.

What started out as a routine trip to the eye doctor for all 3 girls (for a quick check-up) turned into 5 pairs of glasses!!! Now until today, noone in my house wore glasses so imagine our astonishment when all 3 needed them. Our oldest has the worst vision- astigmatism in one eye and both near & far sighted. She also needed bifocals! Our middle has the best vision but she too has astigmatism in one eye and is far sighted. Our youngest has also been blessed by astigmatism in both eyes and I can't remember which "sighted" she is- need to ask the Dr. again. I also learned today that astigmatism is genetic. Sorry, girls!

Our insurance covers one free pair of glasses per child per year. Since the oldest and youngest were the worst and need to wear glasses most of the time, they each got a free pair to be used as backup. We also let them pick out a more stylish pair for everyday wear. Our middle found some cute ones that fell into the "free" category and since she only needs to wear them part time, they were the only ones she got.

We were only able to bring home 2 pair- the free ones for our middle and not so free for the oldest. (I will clarify that our middle looks very stylish in her new purple glasses, too. It's just that most of the free glasses weren't as cute as the ones that cost $$$$.) Everything else had to be ordered and are anxiously being waited for by a couple cute little girls.

What an exciting (expensive!) day we had! Honey, now your turn- I promise it will boast your IQ at least 20 points and you will look just as cool as the 4 of us!

In Him,

E

Ruslana and Nikita's Family

Ruslana (new name Haven) has a family! And I have finally "met" them. She will have a beautiful new brother (new name Joven) who will be adopted along with her. Just check out the button in my right sidebar. God is so good! Please join me in praying these angels home.
In Him,
E