FAITH

"His voice was strong and gentle, saying, 'Do not fear. Remember how I faced the devil in the wilderness, and how I conquered with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. You too have your quick answer for every fear that evil may present - an anwer of faith and confidence in Me. Where possible say it aloud. The spoken word has power. Look on every fear not as a weakness on your part due to illness or worry, but as a very real temptation to be attacked and overthrown. Does the way seem a stony one? Not one stone can impede your progress. Courage. Face the future, but face it only with a brave and happy heart. Do not seek to see it. You are robbing Faith of her sublime sweetness if you do this. Just know that all is well and that Faith, not seeing but believing, is what will bear you to safety over the stormy waters.'"

A.J. Russell God Calling quoted in What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa Terkeurst

Fill in the Blanks

From one of the first days of 5th Grade:

In his own words:

HomeAudio...

is a: baseball player
who likes: collecting baseball cards
who dislikes: hockey and football
who would like: to play in the MLB
who wants to be a: millionaire and a good brother
who would like to see: a green world.

:) I love glimpses into their minds!

Another Wednesday, Gone

Shoot!

I missed another Wednesday!

Guess the weirdness will have to start next week.

This has just been a crazy week with switching days for childcare, getting ready for home visit #2, sick kids, ortho appointments, dance class, and on top of it all Management was out of town. Oh and also my baby boy turned 11. *tears*

We are back in the busy travel season.

But school is going well and we are adjusting to the change in schedules.

And now I must go supervise my 5th grader who insists on playing Wolverine or Army everytime he empties the knives from the dishwasher.

Beautiful Day

What a BEAUTIFUL day!


It was the perfect day to be outside


Looking around


Taking a few steps



Falling on the soft green grass


Watching kids play around you


And trying to catch up with them


And feeling the sun on your face!

Firsts

Seriously!?

I post a blog about being emotional and missing H&G and the exact SAME day I get an e-mail from her foster mom saying that H&G has her first tooth!

And then another e-mail saying that H&G took her first steps!

And she wanted us to be the first to know. She is so thoughtful and wonderful like that! Seriously! I was grateful for her e-mails!

But there again is the mixture of emotions - one part proud, one part excited, one part joyful, one part disappointed, one part sad, one part disbelief. And the disbelief comes from having a 10 month old walker. Seriously? I've heard of early walkers but both my babies were preemies and didn't walk until 18 months or so.

And so all the emotions turned to tears.

And of course, at as I cried, guess what song came on the radio...

"And the pain falls like a curtain
On the things I once called certain
And I have to say the words I fear the most
I just don’t know

And the questions without answers
Come and paralyze the dancer
So I stand here on the stage afraid to move
Afraid to fall, oh, but fall I must
On this truth that my life has been formed from the dust

God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting
God is God and I am man
So I’ll never understand it all
For only God is God

And the sky begins to thunder
And I’m filled with awe and wonder
‘Til the only burning question that remains
Is who am I

Can I form a single mountain
Take the stars in hand and count them
Can I even take a breath without God giving it to me
He is first and last before all that has been
Beyond all that will pass

Oh, how great are the riches of His wisdom and knowledge
How unsearchable for to Him and through
Him and from Him are all things

So let us worship before the throne
Of the One who is worthy of worship alone"
~Steven Curtis Chapman

Seriously!!

Funky and Weird

I've been in a little funk lately. Not sure if it's because summer is ending or Management was sick and I was doing double duty or I had a ton of extra kids and was a bit stressed or because I started training for a new job at WeeklyAd's dance studio or my house needed some attention or the emotional roller coaster of H&G is catching up to me or because one of our neighbors (good friend to HomeAudio) moved away or what!?!?

And always on my mind is my friend and her family who are going through an awful time!

But, I've been thinking a lot about the process for H&G. I miss her so much when she isn't here! Life seems very unsettled and unknown and though we cherish the time she is here, her departure is always right around the corner. I am so thankful that we get to spend as much time with her as we do and so I hate to "complain" at all! *but* there seems to be constant mix of emotions around here and I just have to be as honest about the hard times as I am about the good times.

It's been hard.

On to another topic - I wanted to start a new Weird Wednesday blog post. I was supposed to start it yesterday but got sidetracked. So start thinking about some of the wierdest things about yourself and we will share them every Wednesday. It gets tiring hearing people tell me I'm so weird! Really! It happens A LOT! So I've decided to share my weirdness with you! :)

Birthday Pictures

I just can't believe that MY BABY, with her precious little nose and dark brown eyes,



turned 8 this year!


We celebrated with just a handful of friends at a local pet store. WeeklyAd was able to pick out 1-2 puppies at a time for the party goers to play with and trust me, each puppy got lots of love and attention!










After we played with about 10-12 puppies, the group got to pick out a little friend to make and take home with them. Surprisingly, each party goer picked a different pet. The pets were clothed in t-shirts, placed in their little homes, and ready to go.


Then the party continued at home with cake, ice cream, and presents.

And what was one thing that WeeklyAd just HAD to do on her birthday????

Smash her face in her cake!!



It was a FUN and CRAZY group of girls but just perfect for a simple and memorable party.


And quite the reminder of how fast time flies!