THE SWEETNESS OF OUR FATHER!

 Last Sunday morning when we were up north we were blessed to be able to be a part of the Pretty Lake church service.  It was such a special time.  I helped my brother John lead worship... and a family friend did the preaching.  There were baptisms in the lake after the service and a great meal.

While Jay was preaching he pointed out this neat little pine tree growing right out of the middle of 2 other pine trees...It was nestled right in there.  Just like we are to be firmly rooted right in the palm of our Heavenly Fathers Hand.  He can protect us and care for us... We are sheltered right in His hand when the HARD storms of this life blow... And trust me they will blow!  It was such a beautiful reminder of the Lord's faithfulness!What a sweet gift of God's handiwork in this tiny precariously placed tree!

Thank you Lord for your faithfulness to us.  When the struggles of daily family life, relationships, lifes stressful situations come closing in on us, you are so compassionate to hold us in the shelter of your wing.  Father, I live for an audience of one... for you alone!

The Gift of another day!

Last Friday we were so blessed to be able to visit with Levi's donor mom, her new husband, and her kids at the zoo in Chicago.  I think that the highlight animal wise was the polar bear... He was the most playful, happy polar we have ever seen...

It was such a sweet time to get to see each other again.  It has been about a year since we have seen them.

Honestly, I am overwhelmed with God's goodness in bringing our families together to bring Levi life... I don't think it will EVER get old... He is a miracle... and we are so blessed to be a part of it!

Her husband was so sweet to hang with the middle aged kids, Anna, Jojo, and Hope.  Hope took an immediate liking to him and was holding his hand whenever she could.  He was really sweet about it!

She and I sort of hung a few feet back just visiting most of the day.

I was so thankful that Levi let her hold him.  He even snuggled right into her as he got tired:)  (He is at the age where you never know who he will be willing to go to or how much he will fuss.  So I was so grateful that he was sweet with her.)

She is so respectful of me being Levi's mom... Her maturity given the situation continues to amaze me.  It was fun to chat about Levi, but honestly, it is just as much fun just to talk with her about life in general. 

I am so thankful that I can actually call this sweet gal, Levi's biological mom, my dear friend.  She has given us the most amazing gift to enjoy every single day... I could never thank her enough... But God gave me a friend out of the deal too... It is such a sweet gift from God.  Never could I have planned it any better... He is so good!

All the kids hanging out together...

Of course the cotton candy was a big hit:)

Levi's donor mom, Levi, and me:):) 

Anna and Levi's biological sister... Levi looks a lot like her... These 2 were so sweet together.



19 years today...

19 years ago today... we pledged "Till death do us part!"

Never in a million years would I have thought the Lord would bring us through all He has in the past 19 years. 

There have been some beautiful times and some times that I honestly, can't believe Greg loved and held me through...the darkest of times.

God knew I would need a man who would hang with me for the long haul through the hardest of times...

I am so thankful that the Lord chose Him for me...

I am so thankful for a committed husband, an incredible father to our kids, an orphan lover, a lover of people, ultimately a man that wants the world to know his savior personally, a man that is truly committed till death parts us! 

The pastor at my nieces wedding this past weekend had the best message... It was so so good to hear just before celebrating our anniversary.

Unfortunately, we are celebrating apart again this year... I celebrated with my 2 sister in laws and sister over tea and coffee cake this morning... It was such a treat!

My hubby and I will celebrate together when we get home later this week... I can't wait to be in the same house again!!!

Greg, here is to the next 19 and more... I am committed and excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in the future... I know He has great plans for your life and ministry.   I am so glad to be experiencing this great adventure with you by my side... I can't wait to see the child that the Lord will add to our home soon, for you, me, and the kids to make our own... What a gift from HIM!  (It thrills me to know He knows exactly who that precious pumpkin will be!)  Babe, here's to being one in HIM... 19 years together here... 19 years closer to eternity our real HOME!

Love isn’t a feeling but a tying.

The practical translation of “I Love You” is “I am Tied to You” — no matter what breaks loose.

Love never gives up but lays itself down.

A FIRST...

 Yesterday Anna was a flower girl for the first time...

 Yesterday, the first of my nieces got married...

 Yesterday, Louis shot his first wedding... (these are just a few of the pictures ... totally unedited at this point.... I think he did a great job and I know that they will look even better after he can work with them on Lightroom:)

We have laughed and laughed at the facial expressions in this one...

 The wedding was held in a beautiful Women's Club downtown...

Will, getting ready to go in and shortly see his bride...

We have had some busy last few days...

It started with Louis and a trip to the ER after he got hit in the head with a golf ball while golfing.  It literally caused him to briefly pass out and fall to the ground...Praise God it was only a concussion and he has been doing fine... Crazy though...

We have been enjoying tons of sleepovers and cousin time! 

Friday we had a very special :) visit with a very special family... more on that to come:)

Yesterday was consumed with wedding preparations...

This morning I helped my brother lead worship at the church service here on the lake where my parents live... It was beautiful looking out over the water...

Tomorrow my parents leave for up north with out us...The truth is, at this point I am too tired to drive with them.  I think the fact that we have been separated from Greg so much lately has added to it a bit... And honestly, I feel a little emotionally tired... So we will miss getting to spend more time with my parents, which is a big bummer.  But we will get to spend a lot more time with my sister and her family.  So that will be a blessing...

Ok... gotta run, literally I fell asleep on the phone with Greg tonight, so I think I better hit the hay!:)

SUCH A SWEET AND PRECIOUS TIME

 God is so so good!  This is what you get when the Lord allows two orphan loving families from separate parts of the country to converge on a park in Tulsa for a picnic...

 This is one of my new favorite pictures... The two Elijahs encircling an Isaiah:) 

 Look at those smiles...

Beyond precious...

 I love how kids can instantly become little buddies...

 And look at these precious girls...  Isn't it amazing how creative our God is???  To create all these beautiful kids...

so beautifully...

so differently...

so precious in His sight...

Kids from all over the whole who love HIM...

My sweet friend Linny...

We had such a blessed time with the Saunders family on Monday... It truly was a precious gift for us on so many levels to get to spend time with their whole family.

I love picking Linny's brain in person on some different things that she has far more experience than I do with...

We laughed and laughed as we sat over pizza, watermelon, and fake girl scout cookies from Walmart:)  (Goodness Linny is so funny and witty in person:)

Lou and Greg loved being reunited with their fellow Africa mission trip friends Dwight and Emma:)

It was beyond precious for us to sit and fellowship with like minded friends who share many similarities with us... They fully understand what ministry life is like.  (With it's joys and challenges:) They understand fully life as a large family, and the blessings of adoption.  And ultimately it was such an encouragement to be with people that walk the talk... are the real deal... honest as all get out (I LOVE people who are real about who they are and aren't afraid to admit they aren't perfect... that day will only come when we meet our Savior face to face!)  ... and continually inspire you in life as they lay it on the line... as they love and reach orphans and others all out of the love that they have for their Savior Jesus! 

It was a blessed time... 

We ended our visit by holding hands in the parking lot and praying together... God is so good to knit the body of Christ together like He and only He can.

Then we all piled in our big white vans :)  and hit the road ... me for Wisconsin... and their family to continue their journey east:)   

LITTLE BUDDIES...

 Lots of days I picture a little 3 1/2 year old dark haired boy amidst these brothers and sister...  I think Samuel would be right in the mix... Maybe have the hootspa like Hope.  I am sure he would be causing trouble and chaos around here just like the rest of them:)  

I am so very thankful that those 2 littler bugs are here to snuggle up with Jojo...

Praise God that Jojo didn't turn out to be our last child to raise here in earth... 

God has been so good and faithful to bless us up Hope and Levi... to entrust these kids into our care...

I know eventually there will be a last child... a baby to our bunch... 

But right now, we are totally enjoying each and every one that he Lord has given us... And we look forward to whoever He has planned for our future...

The kids and I pray daily for whoever that sweet little one might be and for his/her birth parents... (I forgot that I never gave you more details on the upcoming adoption... shortly, I promise!:) 

 Anyways... I will leave you with a couple of pictures of our Levi... 16 months old... What a big boy!:)

MMMM... I could just eat him up!:) So sweet!

WISCONSIN OR BUST... but first a very special treat!

The kids and I will be on the road again today...

Will they be holding on for dear life like this poor grasshopper was last week? (right before I got pulled over by a police officer who was kind enough to just give me a warning on my way home from the blue hole)  You should have seen the kids panic when those light came on...

We will be covering 4 states in 12 hours while the daddy of the house keeps the home fires burning... 

But first, before we actually hit the road, we will be picnicing with the Saunder's family from http://www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/   We are sooooo excited!!  Louis and Greg are super excited to be able to see DW and Emma again... and the rest of us can't wait to get to meet their whole crew.  Can I just say what an amazing and much needed surprise it was to make these last minute plans last night... It totally made my day... I have been feeling somewhat burdened lately about some things that I just can't share about at this point... So this is the perfect, fun distraction before the kids and I hit the road...

I can't wait to lay my eyes on their miracle girl Ruby... Well, all of their precious treasures, that is for sure!  You can read her story here http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Miracle%20of%20Ruby ... it is downright amazing!   Make sure you read the whole story and scroll down so you can see the amazing work the Lord has done in Ruby's life. 

I will make sure to post from the north woods...

The last of them...

Here are the last of the pics from vacation... Hopie, Anna, with Uncle Dale and Aunt Lisa:)  I was blessed by getting a chance to have a good heart to heart with my sister in law...

Anna with Grandma and Grandpa Hintz... they always take such good care of us while when we are in Texas... The trips down always pass WAY too quickly!  At least this trip Grandma didn't injure herself while playing soccer or jumping on the tramp with the kids... She loves to get in the mix with them...:)

Jojo and Anna after watching the fireworks from the driveway!:)

Caleb and his cousins doing some sparklers:)

Jojo and Daddy relaxing after the fireworks...  We miss him, that daddy of ours... He has been away all this week and it has me so thankful that really he doesn't have to travel much with his job... generally only to things that he really wants to go and do, like mission trips and conferences and such.  I am so glad that he has a heart to continue growing and learning, but we sure do miss him when he is gone.  

Making edible playdough...

 Take 1 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk...

18 oz. natural peanut butter...

 5 T. honey...

1/2 cup powdered sugar...

and mix:)

 Typical Hope... she says," Hey doesn't this look like a baby's buns??"  :)

And Jojo made a caterpillar:)

It tasted so good, we melted chocolate and made peanut butter balls:)  Yummy!

I sort of went off of a recipe that I found on line... but changed up the amounts of the ingredients as we went along...

All of the kids enjoyed playing with it.  I always love how when you bring out the baby toys again or do something with the new younger ones, that the older ones did years and years ago... the older ones still want to participate.  Obviously, it isn't something they would want to do everyday now... but it was fun for the afternoon:) 

Honestly, all of the kids but Levi hung out at the table for over an hour, making things, playing and laughing with each other.  It was great!  

Sweet Summer Memories!

THANKFUL THURSDAYS...

 The older I get, the more thankful I am for SUMMER VACATIONS!!

The older I get the faster they go... It is downright crazy how fast this summer is going... makes me sad...

I know some moms that are ready for their kids to go back to school after the first week of summer...

Even though I home school the kids, I still love summer for the flexibility and freedom that summer allows us!  I love that the kids and I can really pick up at anytime and get away for a bit:)  

The above picture was taken 5 years ago when we took a camping trip to the Grand Canyon... Such sweet family memories were made:)  Some of the craziest, want to poke your eyes out moments on that vacation are the things we laugh hilariously about now!

 

The 4 littles and I at the splash pad a few weeks back:)

Cousin in love...

 One of the main reasons we headed south was to jump on over to Louisiana for Greg to do the baptism for his cousin Ryane's baby Liam... She is Greg's cousin, but I am so blessed to call her one of my dearest friends.  We literally headed over to their place Friday morning and had to leave less than 24 hours later... 

But it was so worth it!!!  Ryane and I stayed up way too late into the night making food, burning pigs in a blanket, laughing and catching up... Love Love Love her and her family so much!!!

Greg did Ryane and Blake's daughter's baptism in his parents yard 2 years ago... so we did the same this go around.  It was so special... just close family and friends and totally private in their gorgeous back yard...

 Louis swinging with Levi...

 This Picture does not do this tree justice... It is hugely wide and totally covered in green fern... BEAUTIFUL... Quite the handiwork of God:)

Ryane and Blake are both pilots... Blake's uncle called to tell him that he was going to fly over and drop cotton candy out of his plane for the kids.  (Can you see the little blue bag to the right of the plane?) How cool was that?  Literally about 10 minutes later there he was flying by REALLY low and sending down the cotton candy... You should have seen the kids running.  It was really fun!

We were so honored to be able to be a part of Liam's special day and to be able to have the quick chance to spend time with them... When you live away from all of your family... these are precious times to be treasured!:)

JUST BECAUSE...

JUST BECAUSE...

 MY HEART STILL LONGS TO KNOW WHAT YOUR FINGERS WOULD FEEL LIKE WRAPPED AROUND MINE...

JUST BECAUSE...

THE PRINT OF THAT PRECIOUS LEFT FOOT WILL FOREVER BE ETCHED ON MINE...

JUST BECAUSE...

 THE EYES OF YOUR SWEET BIG SISTER STILL SHED MISSING TEARS FOR YOU OFTEN...

JUST BECAUSE...

 I STILL LONG TO FEEL THE WEIGHT OF YOU IN MY ARMS AND THE TOUCH OF YOUR SOFT SKIN ON MY LIPS...

JUST BECAUSE...

THIS WHOLE FAMILY STILL TALKS OF YOU DAILY AND MISSES YOU SO SO VERY MUCH...

JUST BECAUSE...

THESE BIG BROTHERS TALK OFTEN ABOUT THEIR SPECIAL DAY WITH YOU...

JUST BECAUSE...

 EACH AND EVERY INCH OF THIS SWEET PRECIOUS BODY WAS LOVINGLY KNIT TOGETHER IN MY WOMB... ONLY TO LIVE IN MY WOMB AND IN ETERNITY

JUST BECAUSE...

THERE ARE STILL MOMENTS AND DAYS WHEN MY HEART BREAKS ALL OVER AGAIN... 

 I AM SO THANKFUL THAT NOW I CAN SMILE AND HAPPILY WONDER WHAT SAMUEL IS EXPERIENCING IN HEAVEN... HIS PRECIOUS SHORT LIFE BRINGS ME JOY NOW!!!  THANK YOU JESUS FOR THAT!!!  BUT OH HOW MY HEART STILL MISSES HIM HERE WITH ME IN THE FLESH... I LONG FOR THE DAY WHEN HE WILL MEET ME UPON MY ARRIVAL INTO HEAVEN AND GET TO SHOW ME AROUND MY SAVIOR'S HOME...   I AM SO THANKFUL HE WAS SPARED THE DIFFICULTIES OF LIFE HERE... IT REALLY IS HARD SOME DAYS!  I DON'T KNOW HOW IT IS POSSIBLE... BUT I MISS HIM JUST AS MUCH AS THE DAY HE LEFT... BUT MY LOVE FOR HIM CONTINUES TO GROW...

LONGING FOR ETERNITY...

In my own bed:)

 Dairy Queen on the way to Texas to celebrate Lou's 15th birthday...

 The eyes say it all:)

 Sparklers on the 4th of July:)

 One Happy little 4th boy... Levi loved the fireworks this year... a big change from last year:):)  And he loved the food... as you can tell:)

The bigger boys with their cousins Maddie and Meaghan... They really enjoyed getting the chance to hang out with them:)  The times are so few and far between that we get to see them...

We are so thankful to have made it home safely...  

All the kids are finally silent... 

Greg is still up working...  

 Just finished unloading the cooler...

Loads of other things that will have to wait till tomorrow to be unloaded and unpacked...

I think when I start the laundry I will just repack and keep the suitcases in the extra bedroom till the kids and I leave next week for a wedding with my side of the family...

G leaves tomorrow for a week away for work..

Our timing has stunk this summer on planning/timing of commitments...

I think the littles will be going on 3+ weeks without daddy in the last month...

 I know it could be so so much worse... 

It is just for some reason this summer... I feel like summer will be over and we won't really have had too much down time with just our family...

 We love getting away to see our family all across the country and it is so cherished... but it really has me cherishing the time we had in Colorado with friends where we just sort of plunked down in one place and explored right around there...

Maybe it is just the shear fact that nowadays with 8 of us... just getting out the door is quite a small feat:)  

I wouldn't have it any other way...

Seasons...I know this one will pass way too quickly and I will be longing for it back:)

I am about to crawl in my own bed... There is something about sleeping in your own bed that just can't be beat:) Ahhh...  More vacation pics soon...