Catching Up

Our Birthday Princesses...Great Grandma at 93 and Mantha at 2

Sunny, unseasonably warm days provide an opportunity to get out and play at the park.

I can NEVER find a Sharpie when I need one...

how is it that Mantha ALWAYS knows where they are?!?

Nathan bought PlayDough as a birthday gift for Mantha...Mommy wasn't thinking, as we bought the food and kitchen set...makes it a little harder to teach young child not to eat the PlayDough! But, they're having fun together.

I love these photos that Daddy took...

Our older two participate in Bible Quizzing. This year's study is the book of Exodus. It's Jeffrey's last year as a quizzer and his goal is to pull perfect...not miss a question. So, far, he's on track for making that goal. Three quiz-offs down, 120 questions answered, no misses...there's just one quiz left, the end of March. We're cheering him on and hoping for the best, but more than anything, we're excited to see him reading his Bible, studying God's Word and hiding truth in his heart that can never be removed.

How do you keep a rambunctious 5-year-old and an energetic 2-year-old quiet during a quiz-off? Jumbo suckers...courtesy of Miss Cynthia. On a side note, have you ever seen what happens when you drop one of those things on a hardwood floor? They shatter...into hundreds of little pieces...Mantha dropped hers and quickly hit the floor trying to lick up the pieces with her tongue! It was lovely!!

Future Quizzer getting in some practice time

Kayla with her 1st place team ribbon and her Perfect Round award,

given for completing a round of 20 questions without missing any answers.

Jeffrey with his team award and his Perfect Score medal.

40 questions, and 6 bonus questions...no misses...

As team captain, he led his team to a first place finish in our district!

So, to all my friends who have gently (and some not-so-gently) nagged me about updating our blog, here's what we've been up to. Birthday parties, mission trips to Guatemala, days at the park, PlayDough, quizzing and just living life, attempting to allow God to order our days and bring glory to Him in the exciting events and the everyday, ordinary moments.

We love you all and look forward to reading your updates...hint, hint, hint!

Blessings,

More than just a dress...

I found myself in quite a puddle of despair last week. Many factors contributed to getting me there and I was angry with God. It was Saturday, I had left the kids home with my mother-in-law (who was kind enough to come stay with us for the 10 days Rob was gone -- a huge blessing), and had gone into town to do some shopping. For several days, the anger had been building and it felt as if my prayers were going into a vacuum, bouncing around in an empty, hollow room. Was there something I had done that was causing God not to move in Geovany's case? Was there a lesson I needed to learn? Why was God so silent?

For some crazy reason, one of the things I was shopping for was a birthday dress for Samantha. She turned 2 on Sunday (I know there should have been a post about that, but we're really not celebrating until this Saturday, since Daddy was gone!). I wanted to take her to Church in a birthday princess dress. Don't ask why, I just did. I had many errands to run, and honestly, I had kinda forgotten about the dress. Through some crazy, God-ordained circumstances, I ended up at the Walmart south of town, next to BabiesRUs. As I parked the car, I remembered the dress. Before walking into BabiesRUs, I thought to myself "Wouldn't it be wonderful to find a birthday princess dress in Spanish?" Often times, our BabiesRUs will carry holiday clothing in Spanish. Entering the store, I noticed dozens of clearance racks spread throughout the aisles. On a mission, because there was still lots to do, I headed straight for the birthday rack. There it was, the "Birthday Princess" dress. Cute, adorable, 24 month, in English, $20. I grabbed it and started to wander through the store. As I did so, I started feeling a little foolish. Was it really okay to spend $20 on a dress she'll wear twice? Once to church on her birthday and once the following weekend when we celebrate with family. Pondering this, I began "shopping" the clearance racks. Not really looking for anything, just wasting time while I tried to determine how important this dress was to me. I came to the conclusion that I was indeed being silly and really didn't need the dress, so I hung it back on the rack and turned to leave the store. When I did, I noticed two additional clearance racks I hadn't previously seen. They were tucked up in the front corner of the store where the wrapping paper and gift bags are. Just for kicks, I decided to check them out on my way out. As I approached the first rack, I'm not kidding you, sticking out from it was an adorable, pink, 24 month, birthday princess dress, in Spanish, $5! It still brings tears to my eyes as I think about it. It was the ONLY one on the rack, no other sizes, no other colors, no other dresses, just that one. A gift to me. A reminder that while God is silent in regards to Geovany's adoption, He is still listening to the cries of my heart. He knows what my deepest desires are (some more trivial than others) and is willing to give me the desires of my heart, in His time.

That dress was worn on Sunday, and will be worn this Saturday (when Daddy will take lots of pictures for Mommy to blog!) and then, will be tucked away and saved. Not just because it's a sweet dress for a sweet girl, but because it's a beautiful reminder to me, that in the midst of my anger and frustration, God still heard me, loved me, and answered.

Blessings,

Hi/Lo Thursday

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts.

It's so good to look back through the week and think about what we've experienced, both the good and the challenging.

"Hi" Moments

There were several "hi" moments this week. First, my husband returned from Guatemala safe and sound. Everyone was more than thrilled to have Daddy home. When Samantha saw him walk through security at the airport, she literally squealed "My Daddy, My Daddy" and went running to meet him, throwing her little arms around his leg. It was precious and priceless. Thank you for your prayers for us as we lived life without Daddy for 10 days!

Second, I was reminded, through a birthday dress for Samantha, that although God is silent in regards to Geovany's adoption, He has not stopped listening to us. He still hears us and knows the desires of our hearts. A precious friend reminded me this week that silence is one of God's attributes. Not one we dwell on or think about often, but definitely a part of Who God is.

"Lo" Moments

Before the dress, I had several days of being very angry with God. Angry that, while my husband got to go to Guatemala and spend 10 days ministering and sharing, I "got" to stay home and wipe noses, change diapers, manage school schedules and attempt to keep our house running in some semblance of normal. I was also angry that Geovany's adoption has stalled. I believe that God can move the hand of the judge to sign the necessary papers to get our case moving again. What I struggled with, is why God won't. I long for that little boy to be home, in our care, not in the care of an overflowing, understaffed orphanage. Yet, for some reason, God continues to ask us to wait. So, we continue to do that...afterall, what else can we do?!? But how thankful I am that we don't wait without hope. Our faith sustains us and keeps us going, knowing that there will come a day when God will no longer ask us to wait and we will see Him move and bring Geovany home.

Check out the other Hi/Lo posts and then post one of your own. I'd love to hear how your week went!

Blessings,

Hi/Lo Thursday

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on Riggs Family Blog (http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/): The Riggs family is walking a challenging journey, yet are doing so with grace. They could use your prayers as they head into a very difficult time with their precious daughter, Abby.

They've asked us to post a "High" and a "Low" for this week. That stimulated my little blogging head and started me thinking...

High...

The eleven 18x18x24 boxes of donated items my husband will be taking to Guatemala tomorrow. Our church family donated 221 pairs of shoes, 128 backpacks, 515 pairs of socks, 653 pairs underwear, 2050 #2 pencils and 540 toothbrushes. As part of a work & witness trip to Guatemala, the 18 member team will be visiting REMAR, the orphanage which Geovany currently calls home, to deliver these tangible gifts of love and compassion. The outpouring of love for children they've never met and probably never will meet is overwhelming to me.

Low...

Packing shoes in those boxes that will someone else will lovingly place on the feet of my son. The tears flowed this week as I pictured him walking the streets of his "compound" wearing these shoes and socks, kicking around one of the soccer balls. I never imagined that our journey to bring Geovany home would take so long. There are days when it's hard to imagine that we'll ever be done and days when I can't barely put one foot in front of the other and do what God asked me to do for the day. Then I read the Riggs' blog and I'm reminded that God's grace truly is sufficient for each moment of each day.

I'd love to hear your Hi/Lo for this week. Will you join us?

Blessings,

I've been a very bad blogger lately! Here are some photos from the last few weeks. We enjoyed celebrating our first Christmas with Samantha. This weekend marks the one year anniversary of Samantha's "Gotcha Day". I'll post more about that later. For now, enjoy some pictures.

Blessings,