Belated Easter!

I am finally getting around to making my Easter post! I tried to on Easter Sunday but with my Internet woes it wasn't happening. It was a blessed day celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This year I really enjoyed talking through all the questions the girls had about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and three days later he rose from his tomb ALIVE! While they cannot yet grasp what dying for their sins means, they are interested and love Jesus and asking questions to understand him. Having young children has put a different perspective on holidays and why we celebrate them and causes me to have a deeper reflection in my own heart. Jeremiah left Easter afternoon to help with some ongoing Hurricane Katrina rebuilding so while most everyone was having dinner with family we ate at Waffle House! I know you are laughing, but you know what, we loved it and enjoyed our time together as a family! Above are some pictures from Easter, including coloring eggs and hunting for them the week preceding Easter Sunday and also from that morning. Since Jeremiah teaches our Bible Study class he had to leave early that morning for church so I don't have a picture of us all together. Loved reading about everyone else's Easter celebrations! He is risen, He is risen indeed!!!!

Hiking and Homecoming

Jeremiah has been out of town this week, coming home as I type. Usually these weeks are turmoil for me, the kids act out of sorts and we all miss him terribly. While we stilled missed him greatly, this just happened to be a wonderful week! The girls got along all week, Eli has been a good baby and we had some fun adventures. One of those adventures was going to Stone Mountain with our closest friends. It was field trip day for us homeschoolers!!! We all had a blast as we had a picnic on the great lawn and hiked the mountain. I am just so thankful for my many blessings, a wonderful husband with a heart for the Lord, children who have been good to their momma this week and such wonderful friends who have dedicated their lives to serving our Savior and bring revival to America.

Inspiring Weekend!

I have been itching to get on and make a post to my blog, and while I am not going to go into details about my Internet troubles, let's just say they are not quite over yet and the frustration continues. In the meantime, let me share with you some awesome memories recently made... It was a wonderful two week period I had spending time with family and friends. It began with a recent trip to Macon to visit my aunt and uncle and attend the twice a year consignment sale that I love! In the midst of that trip I was able to visit with two of my college roommates. We met at Barnes and Nobles, shared a Double Decadant Chocolate Cheesecake and sipped on Vanilla Lattes and Frapacinos. Julia had recently returned to the states from living in Europe for two years with her hubby and two kids and is now expecting her third. Allison is a wonderful mother to four children and a dedicated advocate for her children. I haven't seen either of them in almost two years so this was quite a reunion. The Lord ordained the time and the company and it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up, share triumphs and struggles and life as mom. We all lead such different lives, but one thing we all have in common is that God is showing us in ways unique to our own lives that being a mom is currently the most important job we have and while doing things for ourselves is important, we have a higher calling and that is raising children who love the Lord. I also had a wonderful time with my aunt, uncle and two cousins who I don't get to see very often. Dianne was so gracious and offered to watch my children while I attended the consignment sale. This allowed me to shop in peace. I also had the opportunity to visit with my friend Kristi. We've been friends since we were five and we can go months without talking or seeing each other and is seems like it has only been a day. Thank you Kristi for your lasting friendship. It means the world! Saturday we were back home and I had planned a special treat for the girls and I. They had the opportunity to be fairies for a morning, eat fairy cupcakes made special by Tinkerbell and cookies made by Cinderella at her castle and have their pictures made. All this without the baby demanding my attention. I think they enjoyed it, it was like a little party for them, complete with goody bags! My mom, sister and her daughter joined us and the girls love MaKayla and spending time with her. Madilyn could not believe that Tinkerbell made cupcakes and sprinkled fairy dust on them. She wanted to know if she could fly! She was even more thrilled that Cinderella wrote her name on the princess crown cookies! What more could a little girl want? Sunday was an awesome day! Jeremiah and I actually got to go out with some very special friends to the Steven Curtis Chapman concert in Macon. We went to dinner at Outback (yum!) and then to the concert. Steven Curtis Chapman has such a heart for adoption for children all over the world as he himself has three adopted children from China. I have listened to his music since I was in highschool and he sang a lot of his older songs as well as his new releases. The concert was awesome, very personal and intimate, but his message and dedication to orphans around the world is inspiring. The videos and adoption stories were touching and I don't know how anyone could have left that concert without at least being touched by the Lord. I was especially moved as this wait continues to grow and referrals are now moving slower than a snails pace. I can't describe the agony I sometimes feel at not knowing how long I will have to wait to hold my little baby. I am so blessed to have three beautiful, precious children at home with me and I count them as my biggest blessings. But I know God has called us to this adoption and his plans are for us to have at least one more child to love and it is hard to know she is out there and I cannot have my arms around her and bring her home. All that said, the concert was incredible and me along with thousands of other adoptive families appreciate the work the Chapman family has dedicated themselves to in bringing together families and orphaned children. I also could not go on without the prayers and support of family and friends, especially those that pray for us and for this adoption. Leigh Ann and Mike, thank you for that friendship and for allowing us to be a part of Sarah Joy's life and continuing to pray for our baby girl! There is more to say but I will save it for my next post. Let's just say that this weekend was inspiring and rejuvenating!

Internet Troubles

Hello Blogger Friends, After a week of internet troubles and not being able to get into my email it took going out of town and visiting my husbands family to finally be able to get back online. I have no idea why our internet is so slow and not allowing me to check email or my blogs. This has been a source of frustration for me as this is my "getaway" during the day when I need adult time in the midst of little people. I have soooo much to say and have had some wonderful times lately that I cannot wait to share. Stay tuned...

Housekeeping and Homeschooling

In my desperate internet searches I came across this article titled "How Can I HomeSchool if I can't Keep My House Clean?" This seems to be a point of immense failure for me and it is something I am seriously struggling with! At one time I was a serious neat freak! I could clean a house like nobody's business. But lately it all seems to be falling apart. Toss several factors together such as three children five and under, a very small home that gets easily cluttered and husband who works out of our bedroom and I am one unorganized and stressed Cheif Executive of this home. I don't feel like the Queen, more like the slave that can never catch up. After years of rebellion from "systems" and "charts" I am now ready to pour my life into becoming and organized neat freak again. I can't live like this and be sane. Now, to clarify, my house isn't a pig pen, I just know there is a better way. Surely no one else is like me, but in case you are I found some great websites. Check them out! http://shesintouch.com/ http://www.organizedhome.com/ Wish me luck! (And lots of prayer)

More about the referral

About the referral. We are actually not considered special needs. We are in the "healthy child" program. Shortly after submitting our dossier to our agency I inquired about the Waiting Child Program. I didn't know much about it and asked a few questions. I was encouraged to fill out a medical checklist and submit it and they would hold onto it for me. I took it to my peditrician and we talked it over and Jeremiah and I checked the special needs we thought we could handle. I submitted it with the understanding that they were holding it and we were not actually in the program. So imagine my surprise when I got an email and then a phone call from a sweet lady at my agency asking me to consider a special needs baby. Can I just say that turning down that referral was excruciating! Because of Eli's birth, they have put us on hold in the waiting child department until further notice from us. We discuss updating our checklist and going back into the special needs catagory. I just want to make sure we aren't doing that because of the long wait, but instead because the Lord has called us to adopt special needs. I truly believe it is a calling and not a decision to make lightly, just because I don't want to wait. So we are praying about it and I am praying for the Lord to lay it on my husband's heart just as big as mine so that I know it is from the Lord. And just a word about my agency, they are WONDERFUL. They did nothing wrong, I believe it was just a misunderstanding on my part!

Referral

Did I ever mention we received a referral a year ago? CCAI called us with the referral of Bai Xaio Feng and she needed surgery to repair a cleft lip. Jeremiah and I struggled so much with this as we were thrilled to have a referral to adopt this precious child, but also just months away from the birth of our son, Eli. The children would be one year apart and I would not get to travel to China as I would have been eight months pregnant. We finally felt the Lord was leading us to send the referral back and give some more time between Eli's birth and our adoption. I can't tell you how hard this was! We prayed over that child that the perfect family would be matched to her and CCAI assured us they would have no problem finding a family for this sweet little girl. Well a year has passed and now that we can look back we know this was how God intended. A complicated recovery after delivery and a few struggles in other areas over the year have assured us that God's plan is perfect and the timing for our baby is coming just as God planned. God Bless You Bai Xaio Feng! We loved you and continue to pray for you!

PS Isn't she just beautiful! I cry tears just now!

About my theme song mentioned below...

Jesus is what I live for. When I breathe, he is in it! When life gets so discouraging and I can't bare it, I remember I am not here on this earth for me, but for his glory. And let me tell you, I get easily discouraged! With myself, with this world, with my circumstances. But even in the toughest of trials we are to gloryify God. I love the part of the song that says:

I'm the one with big mistakes Big regrets and bigger breaks Than I ever care to confess Oh but, You're the one who looks at me And sees what I was meant to be More than just a beautiful mess

I know God has plans for my life, right now they are raising these beautiful children and training them in the ways of the Lord. I know I am meant to be more than a mess and it is exciting to see how God turns my mess into his glory.

Where would we be without the saving Grace of Jesus? This world needs more Jesus. And he is waiting for us to come to him.

Every day is filled with hope You are everything that I believe for