Grandparents

We really treasure Martin's folks. His mom is 85 and his dad is 88. Our kids love them dearly and love to spend time with them! When we first mentioned adoption to them they did not approve. In fact when we first showed them the picture of Malia their response was negative. It hurt. . . but that's not what this story is about. It is not intented to degrade my in-laws in any way. Rather, I am sharing this story to show how gracious God is! When we arrived home from Beijing,Maum and Pap were there to welcome us ALL home and support us. They continue to be an incredible blessing as they have accepted and loved Malia. I never tire of watching them as they watch Malia play, a content smile on their faces! It is clearly evident that they adore Malia! Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti Maum made the comment "If I could, I would take one of those kids as my own". God really does work miracles! I am so thankful that Maum and Pap love the Lord. . . that is why the transformation was possible. This experience made me face my own prejudices. What a great example they are to me! Alex showing off his scrapbook. I finally complete the first year of Alex's life.

Morgun thrilled to be showing his scrapbook. I've only completed 4 pages in his book and he keeps pestering me to do more.

Meat. . . Yummy!!

This may seem like a weird post, but we are very excited to finally have some beef. We purchased a steer at a local fundraising auction this past July. The steer was suppose to be ready for butchering, but was not. We finally had it butchered and picked up the meat today. . . all 400lbs of it!! We desperately needed meat in July and have made do with the little we had left. One can only have so much chicken, turkey, fish, and ham before one REALLY begins to crave beef. I refuse to buy beef at our grocery stores simply because the quality is no where near that of a home-grown beef. This is what my freezer looks like. . . my mouth waters at the thought of all the yummy roasts, steak, etc that I can now cook! Yummy!

It's All About Him!!!!

The past months have been a real time of growth for me. As I've mentioned earlier, I wonder daily what God wants my life to look like. I have been reminded again, in a much deeper way, that it is all about God! Not about me! It's not what my life should look like, but rather who He is! I've always known God wants me to give everything to Him. . . to not worry. He desires peace and joy in my life! For me, to know and to do are two different things. To know is sooo much easier! I still feel led to adopt, but I can now say that adoption is in His hands. I sometimes have to give it all back to Him on a daily basis, but is so awesome to know it's all in His control!

I've always loved to read and used to be an avid reader, but in the past few years, I've been reading less and less. Thanks to Paige, I've been inspired to read again. One of the books I picked to read is It's All About Him written by Denise Jackson. The book came with a CD with a song written and sang by Alan Jackson also entitled It's All About Him. Country music is one of the genres I enjoy, so this song spoke to me. I also just finished the Breaking Free bible study by Beth Moore. It may sound odd, but I was being held in bondage by my passion to adopt again. I believe the passion is God given, but somehow it tends to get in the way of my focusing on God. I love Isaiah 58:11 "The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen you frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."

What is God's will??????

Lately I've really been contemplating God's will in my life. In particular the whole topic of having more children. Two weeks after we met Malia, Martin and I looked at each other and said "let's do this again!" We both felt that way for 5 months. In January I started from scratch again and began researching various adoption options. The intensity with which I pursued this scared Martin and since then he is not sure that we should adopt again. I am realizing that God does not need my help in making it happen, although I still sometimes think I should help Him out! :) I still feel, with every fibre of my being that adopting again is God's will. Perhaps I am trying to do it in my time and am not waiting for God's timing. In the past week Martin is once again thinking perhaps we should. He has been praying the entire time and I know God will show us what His will is. . . its just soooo hard to be patient!

The other thing I really do NOT understand, is that if God does want us to adopt again. . . why choose us??? I understand why He would chose Martin. He is an awesome Daddy and loves his kids to bits! I couldn't ask for a better father for our children. It's my abilities that I doubt. I am very impatient, and am not the real "motherly" mother! I wish I was more compassionate, gentle, patient, and the list could go on and on. . . One thing I do know, is that for some reason He has laid it on my heart to adopt, which is truly from Him alone!

On a bit of a different note. . . once again we are keeping our thoughts about adoption relatively private, sharing only with close family and friends, so I would appreciate it if my thoughts were kept in confidence. Thanks!

Cheeko

We FINALLY got a puppy! Our boys have been patiently waiting for over a year. We were going to get one last spring, but then didn't because we thought we would be travelling to China. By the time we did travel it was too late to get a puppy. We wanted the puppy to mature a bit before the cold winter months arrived due to it being an outside dog. Morgun proudly tells people "its a Heinz 57". The pup is part Great Pureness, part St. Bernard, and part German Shepherd. He appears to be just what we were looking for. We wanted a dog that would be gentle and a friend for the kids, and yet big enough to keep the deer out of my garden and scare away the coyotes. Malia does not like cats or dogs, but has warmed up to Cheeko.

Alex took this picture! I think he is quite determined to have lots of pictures of this dog. The boys had a dog, Skippy, who was the best dog anyone could ever want, but unfortunately he was driven over 2 summers ago. For some silly reason we did not have many close up pictures of Skippy, which really bothered Alex. Our boys struggled with the loss, so soon after losing Grandma. Hopefully, this pup will help with their continued healing!

Family

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Life has been very busy lately. I worked a few days in the past few weeks and ended up sick with a bad cold. Morgun also got a cold, which always aggravates his asthma. As a result both of us have not been sleeping well. The poor guy coughs until he vomits. In desperation we have pursued some homeopathic remedies. After the third visit we finally saw some drastic results. Morgun was coughing almost non stop and within minutes of giving him the recommended homeopathic remedy his coughing basically stopped! Thank you Lord! Needless to say we finally had a better night! Anyhow, that is, at least in part, why I have been unable to blog.

Onto a good note. . . our kids have been saying and doing the sweetest things! The other day while driving, Malia made a comment about "Mama's Tahoe". I commented that is sure was nice to finally have a decent vehicle and said "Thank you Lord!" Without hesitation Malia closed her eyes, bowed her head and prayed " Thank you God for Jesus!" I couldn't help but get a little emotional!

Alex posted the following on our fridge board! Gotta love it!!

My sweet kids!!

I had to post this picture especially for Kathy. Martin and Andrew agreed, and even shook hands, that neither one will get a haircut until May 1. That's another 2 months! I can only imagine what Martin's hair will look like by then!