SO THANKFUL...

Tonight I have so much to be thankful for...

That the Lord's plans are better than mine own...

That the kids and I will hopefully have company on Christmas Eve... (my sweet young friend Katie is planning on joining us for IHOP, fondue and a movie at home, while G works)...

An incredible extended family who is so much fun to be around...

A sweet oldest son who greeted me with a homemade peppermint cappachino yesterday morning...

A loving husband who is so patient to continually support me...

That amidst so many divorces of people we know that the Lord is knitting G and I closer together... He is my companion... that we are in this for the LONG haul... and I couldn't be happier about it...

A faithful God who softens my heart towards others and shows me where I need refining while I pray...

A big white van that has more than enough space for us all...

A precious miracle baby boy in my arms who loves to snuggle...

The gift of all of my children who challenge me daily, make me rely on my Lord more and more with each passing day, yet melt my heart with their tenderness and willingness to help here at home...

A home that STILL feels huge compared to the small apartment we lived in for 2 years at the seminary...

Precious friends who will never forget about the boy I have waiting for me in Heaven and who aren't afraid to talk about him, or mention his name...

That God sees the BIGGER picture...

That God has plans for our family and that I can trust in His will for our family and rest assured that regardless of how I feel at times... He has it fully under control and I can fully trust Him...

That even amidst uncertainty we can be certain that the Lord has us in His hand and that all we experience has been filtered through his hands...

For the Bible Study I am doing on Sunday mornings... and for the fire that He is fanning into flame inside of me... I just love this study...

For the blog of an  amazing friend that continually challenges us to put our faith into action...  I am so excited to see what God may have in store for our family with little things He lays on our hearts...

GOD YOU ARE SO GOOD TO ME... I AM OVERCOME BY YOUR FAITHFULNESS... LORD I SURRENDER MY PLANS... I REST IN YOUR PLANS FOR OUR FAMILY... GIVE US PATIENCE LORD AS YOU WORK IN US AND AROUND US... USE US LORD HOWEVER AND WHEREVER YOU SEE FIT...

GEARING UP...

 Hannah giving Anna a ride on Cream Puff... Anna was so excited!

 Most of the family heading out on a hike in the Kettle Morraine Forest

 Trying to get some pictures of Levi... this is how the majority of them turned out...

fingers in the mouth...

Levi cut his 3rd and 4th teeth up north...

He is currently working on the 5th and 6th...

Such a big boy:)

 What a joy filled little guy...

Our Hope Jubilee

We are home safe and sound.  It is nice to be back in our own beds, but it was such a nice vacation.  I am so thankful we had the chance to spend time with family and especially that Greg had time to really relax... what a blessing.

The tree is up, lights are on, but no ornaments yet.  We spent all of yesterday unpacking and organizing... (We are fully unpacked.... I hate to admit it but most vacations it takes me weeks to fully unpack... this is such a good feeling)  We deep cleaned the laundry room and hope to take a room at a time to deep clean and purge... Greg and I are feeling totally convicted that we have too much stuff that we don't need.  We want to live more simply and this is a good place to start.  Hopefully we can bless some other people with the things that we don't really use around here.  Honestly, the clutter of stuff just completely clutters my mind...

The countdown to Christmas is on:)  It will be a whirl wind I am sure between school, church services, coop, and sports.  I know we will need to make a real effort to grab a hold of the sweet family moments that we can as we head into December.  We watched Marley and Me tonight... Jojo bawled... afterwards he said, "I never want a dog."  He was so heartbroken by how it ended... 

They boys have their first basketball game this week... It should be interesting...

Thankful to be back safe and sound... 

Enjoying time together:)

 Jojo and his cousin Grace

 Levi with Grandpa Neumann

 Our sweet friend Grandma Karen with some of the kids

 Anna and jojo in their jammies after putting out deer corn :)

Jojo and Anna trying for some squirrel:)

I am laughing... as I type this I can hear my sweet hubby snoring into the baby monitor upstairs... funny, he claims he doesn't snore:) 

The past few days have been busy with seeing more friends and family.  We had a turkey dinner tonight with my 2 brother's familys, ours, Grandma and Grandpa, and 2 of our old neighbors when we lived here at the lake.  After dinner we watched some old family videos that we had made for my dad's 50th and 60th birthdays... Oh my funny!

The boys came home and they all were shut out at deer camp... They usually try for the big ones...didn't see any of those...so on the last day, they decided they could take does, but then they didn't see any of those... Needless to say, my hubby has now been in the woods out back of my parents.  He and jojo did some hunting this afternoon together.  Jojo has been looking forward to it.  It was so funny, Hope today was sitting on the stool this morning watching daddy from the kitchen.  She could see him out there up in the tree in his blaze orange...

Speaking of little Hopie... she wrote her name the other day... I am wondering who taught her how to do that?  Man, she is smart... it was totally legible, especially for a 2 year old... I almost fell over. 

I can't believe that we will have to head home in 2 days... I am not ready to get back to real life...is that bad?  This has been such a relaxing trip.  Last time we were on vacation G had pneumonia and it wasn't a vacation for any of us... Part of vacation for me, is just having an extra set of hands available, besides just having time together.  We are getting all of that this time and it is wonderful.  Thank you Lord!!!

We plan to maybe get to head back to our old church tomorrow, go on a hike in the Kettle Morraine forest if it is warm enough, finish a little school for the boys, LAUNDRY, take the kids to visit the college where G and I met, and head over to my uncle's house for Thanksgiving... not to mention pack... It will be a busy next couple of days...

Ok...  now I can hear Anna or Jojo talking in their sleep through the baby monitor... guess it is time to go join the crew...:)

There is so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving...God has been so gracious to us!

HOME...:)

 Most of the Hintz kids with the King kids:)

 Tami and I and the babies... (This is Tami's 2nd set of twins:)

 Hope, Levi and Jonathon... are they funny or what??

 Rebecca and I...

My sweet college roommate Sam and my sister in law Katy...

This has been the nicest vacation... I literally could see Greg unwinding and relaxing immediately... it took no time at all.  He and the boys left 2 days ago to go hunting with all the men... We sent them off with the command to bring home food for the winter:)  We will see.  I didn't hear anything from the hunters all day, although I know that they get terrible cell reception at the farm so who knows...

Yesterday and today were super busy.  I got to spend some time with my sweet friend Tami from the seminary (she was my running partner my first year in St. Louis)  and her 7 kids... oh my goodness, the kids got along great, and believe it or not Tami and I got a lot of catching up in:)  The kids didn't really remember each other since we hadn't seen them in 4 years and they were almost all too little then. Levi was totally enamored with the other babies.  He was totally taken by them... lots of staring done by Levi...:)  It was such a sweet time to visit over a BIG glass of chai tea and homemade waffles.  There are very few people that can relate to the experience of seminary living with a family... so it was such a treat to share time together.  We are planning on meeting them for church tomorrow morning:)

From there we went to visit "Grandma Karen" my mom's dear friend.  She just had a hip replacement done about 6 weeks ago.  The kids couldn't stop raving about her yummy craisin butterscotch chip cookies. 

Then today I was able to see my longest lifetime friend Rebecca.  We were talking and came to the conclusion that we don't think we have known any friend longer.  We grew up at the same church and I don't ever remember a time not knowing her:)  While at lunch... I got a total bonus treat... my sweet friend Connie, from our old church walked in.  (Connie, you are so sweet to always be so kind and forgive me for all my craziness and my lack of getting notes and emails out to you...  It was SO SO nice to see you!!:)

Then later in the day my college roommate Samantha was able to stop by with her kids. Another wonderful visit.   We headed over to my sister in law's who lived just across the yard for mochas:)  Oh my, I am going to pack on a few during this trip... (seeing as how I just put down the spoon from my apple crisp at midnight... aiy yi yi:)

What is it about HOME?  

The chill in the air, gray skies, leaves falling... it all just makes me feel at home.  It is amazing how you can drive up and just feel that sense of peace and calm wash over you.  I love Wisconsin... It is home... I could live anywhere and be happy and make the absolute most of it... but I am a northern girl at heart:)  The kids and I were sad that we probably won't see snow up here... the boots were packed:)  Oh well, really it has been such a blessing to have time with family and friends, to just relax and visit.  And I am so happy that my hubby and the boys were able to have some time away together and with the other guys in the family... those are treasured memories too:)  

So thankful tonight for the chance to come home and for family and friends! 

2 Birthday bugs:)

Oh to be with family... :)

The 2 little girlies above, Anna and her cousin Sophie, were born 12 days apart.  They love to celebrate their birthdays together.  So today was the day... It is so fun that their aunts and grandma and grandpa love to buy them matching outfits.  They got beautiful Christmas dresses, and the sweaters they were wearing above.  My sister in law treated them to get their nails painted together and we had a great party with the family tonight.  What a fun, but beautifully relaxing night... I can literally see my hubby unwinding before my eyes! I love it!  He was really needing this time.  The last time he had vacation he literally spent every day but one flat on his back in bed sick with pneumonia... so this is so good for him. 

The men will head out to the farm soon to go hunting... We are hoping that G comes back with lots to stock the freezer with this winter. I am doing some school with the kids and look forward to hopefully catching up with some friends. It is always a whirlwind though in many ways.... not enough time to see everyone.  G and I hope to take the kids to the college where we met next week sometime.

The funeral on the way up was hard.  My heart just breaks when I see someone whom I know will be missing their loved one soooooo deeply in the coming months.  I can't help but realize the obvious that the holidays are right around the corner.  I know there is great rejoicing that Matt is no longer suffering in this life, yet we are human, we will miss those we love.  I appreciated the pastor that spoke to that point exactly.  I was also so encouraged by the testimony to the humbleness of this man.  We heard over and over again that he didn't want the funeral to be about him, but about his Savior and the saving power of Jesus.  It was refreshing.  The funeral was beautiful.  The music was so special.  It was just beautiful, but so sad and hard at the same time.  Please continue to pray for them if you think of it.

I got to talk with another friend of mine from sem who has lost 2 children in recent years and it was so sweet just to visit with her.  I loved how she said she feels like she is living with one foot here on earth and the other in Heaven.  That is one of the sweetest things I find as a result of losing Samuel is that I long for Heaven in a different way then I ever did before; partially because he is there and that will be when I can see him again.  Of course I long to see my savior face to face... but I also find myself longing for the day when the sorrows of this life and world will be no more... I am so thankful for this beautiful life the Lord has given me... but I long for my Heavenly home at the same time:)

It isn't a scary or bad thing, but a good thing:)

AHHHHH!!! Deep breath...

 FALL FESTIVAL AT CHURCH

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind...

Honestly, I am kind of a homebody and that has not been the case lately at all.

One of my least favorite things is leaving the house in disarray, which has totally been the case lately...

Between our new home school coop this year, which I love, and the boys playing basketball for the first time we are out and about a whole lot more than normal. 

Yesterday I had my second lithotripsy done.  I feel so much better today than I did last time the day after... but man, was I nauseous yesterday all day... ugh!! 

I do not have a stent this time... praise God... that makes it a whole more comfortable also.  I did a metabolic workup last week, so hopefully we can find out why I am making the kidney stones and maybe we will be able to have it better controlled.  Glad these procedures are hopefully a thing of the past, at least for awhile.

We were blessed to get to go see Hope's birth mom today.  We haven't seen her in over a year.  It was a special visit.  She herself was adopted out of the foster care system at 17... Just having had orphan Sunday last weekend at church... fatherless children have been on the forefront of our minds lately.  Can you imagine not having parents; one of the most basic, most foundational things in our life and just not having it at all... for years upon years?  It is mind boggling to me... Makes my heart hurt for those kids...

We are so thankful that her foster family chose to adopt her as their daughter just months before she would have aged out of the foster care system... She is really sweet...  It is interesting now that Hope has more understanding.  I know she doesn't fully get it at all... but we are trying to plant seeds of how uniquely and specially God brought her to us... We are so thankful that her birth mom chose to give her life... and that we get to experience it with her:)

We will be heading to funeral of a fellow seminary students of Greg's in a couple of days... He was 41... please pray for Matt's wife Janet and their 2 young girls...  And it is this very thing that causes me to appreciate the little things about life... even though it has been so busy... we are living life, so thankful to have each other... so thankful for the Lord's faithfulness!

WHEN I'M WITH YOU...

WHEN I SEE YOU... 

AND YOU'RE SMILING...

MY HEART ACHES...

SO FULL, IT IS ABOUT TO BREAK...

YOU MAKE ME BELIEVE IN LOVE....

I COULD NEVER COUNT ALL THE WAYS

THAT YOU CHANGE ME, BABY

EVERY DAY THE SKY IS DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE...

WHEN I'M WITH YOU!!

I love these lyrics from a JJ Heller song, When I'm with you.  That is exactly how I feel these days... that my heart is so full it is about to break...

So full of love for my husband...

So full of love for my sweet 7 kids...

So full of love from my Savior and for my Savior!

I am so thankful for a acheing full hear... not an aching breaking heart these days... Thank you Jesus for healing my heart more and more each day and for filling it with a longing for Heaven that is undeniable! 

IN MY ARMS

I had the realization during my night away with Levi, that this year remembering Samuel's birthday was different.  This year I have a baby in my arms.  I will say it again and again, that Levi could NEVER replace Samuel... they are both my precious sons... both so incredibly sweet and special in their own ways.  (I mention that again because I know people have said it, implied it, and just in general have a misconception about that)  I love them both so much... I wanted them both:) 

One of the things about losing a baby is that you plan and anticipate having that baby as a part of your daily life for the 9 months that you carry them.  Since I was planning on being home with Samuel... I planned that my daily routine would be primarily taking care of him.  Newborns need almost 24/7 care.  I knew my other kids would need me, but they were also more independent.  I planned on schooling them, reading to them, playing with them, but thought that would all be done with a little one in my arms.  So when Samuel died my arms literally ached, ached with a pain I never thought was possible... I felt like the main things I planned on doing in those months was gone... I missed nursing a baby, holding, cuddling, comforting, rocking... all of it... and it hurt so bad.  On top of that I missed all that he would be to our family as our son and brother. 

This year though with Levi here, my arms are finally full.  I am busy caring for a baby, nursing a baby, loving on a baby, snuggling, comforting... all of those things I love to do and treasure doing.  So a part of my heart still misses that I didn't get to do that all with Samuel, but I am doing it in the here and now with Levi, and I love it, and am so thankful to be doing it ALL. 

So this year with Samuel's birthday I don't find my arms aching for that baby... I do find arms aching for the 3 year old that should be running up, barreling me over to hug me... And I miss HIM... who he would be at 3, all that he would be to our family now and in the 3 years past...

But I am so thankful that my arms don't ache like they did... They are full of a beautifully, uniquely, miraculously created gift from God... And I am soooo thankful...