OPERATION ATTEMPT TO SERVE... Maundy Thursday

So I have been wanting this passion week to come alive for my kids...

Maundy Thursday... Jesus washing the disciples feet... the last supper... Jesus serving his disciples...  Jesus saying, "Love as I have loved you!"

 

I wanted to actually do SOMETHING to serve someone else...

Too often we are about serving ourselves... YUCK!  It makes me sick sometimes...

 

So we set to work making snack bags for the homeless in our area..

 

Snacks were chosen, split up and put in little baggies...

 

 Easter notes were written by the four oldest kids... and stuffed in the bags with the snacks...

We wanted them to know first and foremost we were doing this because of Jesus... really for no other reason than to point them to the Savior that died for us and  for them...

 

 

 

And we took to the streets...

Now here is where the rubber meets the road so to speak...

 

I had a couple people's eyes grow big when I said I took my kids... to give some food to the homeless..

 

But honestly, deep down in my heart, I was feeling totally convicted...  If I am willing to hang out with the homeless in Uganda, serve food to HUNGRY kids in Africa, talk and engage with hurting people on the other side of the world...  for Pete's sake why wouldn't I be willing to do it here???

 

Why haven't I done it more often here?? 

Truly, I was overcome with the lousy state of my own heart and how self absorbed we can be...

But I wanted to show my kids something different... That it IS important to serve others like Jesus served us...

Important in Africa, the amazon, and right here in our own back yard...

 

We went to a safer area of town where we knew some homeless people hang out.  I was so proud of the kids... was it uncomfortable at times??? Sure... but was it worth it??? Absolutely!!

 

(Of course I don't have any pictures of the people we shared the snack bags with... Louis got a great picture of the grass and the bottom half of my legs as we talked with one man who was getting ready to celebrate his 57th birthday today March 29th...Good job Lou... but in all honesty,  we didn't want to be rude and photograph them...)

 

We shared snack bags with Pat who is abused and hurting and a friend of hers who was begging on the corner... She was wondering where their next meal will come from.  She rents a room from someone, but knew she would be kicked out soon and said she would be camping out... the nights were cold...

 

We gave 2 bags to a grandpa who wanted to share the bags with his grandkids... He said he knew Jesus loved him...

 

We shared with the gentleman I talked about above, who celebrated his birthday today... He was so excited to talk with us... He appeared to be blind, but was so very joyful in heart...as he spent his day just sitting up against the side of the building...

 

And we shared with more... Having conversations with them and hearing their stories was so good for us... we needed to hear that...

 

After we spent about 45 minutes just walking the streets we decided we would head downtown.  We were looking for a ministry in town that serves meals to the homeless and houses up to 100 people a night...

 

The minute we turned onto Easton street there they were... The boys ran inside and said that they were doing a chapel service with maybe 200 homeless and there had to be about 50  or more out on the street waiting for the meal to be served...

 

WOW!!! What a ministry John 3:16 has... We dropped a bunch of bags there for them to hand out inside and we saved one for a homeless gentleman we pass every Tuesday on the way to our home school coop. 

When we arrived at the bridge, that  Crystal lives under  (That is the name that some of the coop kids gave to him) he appeared to be sleeping.   It is a BUSY area with really no where to stop and we had to go around the block to pass right by him...

Louis was worried that we would have to yell out to him... but when it came down to it... he wasn't sleeping at all.   The minute we drove up... he hopped up and Louis gave him the bag and told him he wanted to share this food with him and wish him a happy Easter.

All in all our eyes were opened to the amount of hurting people right here where we live.  We had moments of just being together in the car of pure laughter...  of frustration and of sadness.  I had some great discussions with all the kids later that night.  ( Some of the kids even asked, "Why don't they get jobs or why didn't we give them money too??"  I know we could go on and on about all of the possibilities with that...  and you may have thought that your self or questioned my wisdom in taking the littles out with us... but yesterday wasn't about any of that... Making little food bags for them was no problem for us... and whatever they did with it is ok with us...I knew that we would be safe...)

 Our main hope is that they read the note, heard our message clearly that Jesus died for them and us... and that He loves them!  That maybe just for a day they felt cared for, loved, listened to... I think we all realized reaching out to these people here is something we NEED to do more often.  If we love Jesus like we say we do... then the natural response should be to be willing to hang out, visit with them, and share Jesus with them.  We have so much growing to do:)  Thankful for all the abundant blessings we have and for the grace the Father gives us!

Levi declares...

 

 

   Levi declares, "Easter Week just got a little... 

 

 

CRAZIER!!!"

 

(Funny thing about that is that Levi really doesn't declare much yet... that sweet little guy will be so much less frustrated when he can talk:):)  But if he could talk that is what he would be saying right now!!!

 

Yesterday in church it was announced that Greg has received a call to serve as an associate pastor at  another church in Illinois...

 

Now the praying begins... We plan to take the whole crew up there in a couple of weeks to see what it is like.  We wanted them to be able to check it out... especially the older kids.

 

Moving is never easy... In fact... my heart starts pumping just thinking about the possibility... But we want the kids to know that their thoughts and feelings are being considered as well! 

 

So we are praying that the Lord makes it ABUNDANTLY clear to us where He desires us to be.  We TOTALLY want His will to be done in our lives and we want to be used by Him in the way He best desires...

 

We plan to make a decision in a couple weeks or so... We would love your prayers as well if you think of us...

 

 Prayers for Greg to manage all the extra things he has to do this week with extra services and considering and praying over this new call and his call here... Prayers that Satan would keep his sneaky claws away... (I can feel the added stress in the way the kids are interacting... whew... Hopie had one heck of a day at preschool:):) ... And prayers for our kids, that the Lord would impress upon their hearts a real desire to be as a family where God desires us to be... Thanks so much friends!

 

 

 

 

 



Spring break coming to an end....booo!!!

 

Some mom and dad cuddle time with Isaiah:)

 

Some wanted and not so wanted cuddle time between Anna and Jojo:) 

They were having "one" of those mornings where they just seemed to be getting on each others nerves... this did the trick... they were laughing and having fun with each other in no time at all:)

 

 

Even though we didn't really fully take off of school this past week... we did lighten the load a bit and it was NICE for all of us!!

 

The boys had a work camp at church where they did various things to serve people in the community in some way.  One day they painted a ladies house and did some landscaping for her.  They made it on the 5 and 9 Fox news.  Louis was actually interviewed... it was really neat.  They are a great group of kids:)

 

This week it is back to the grind with school and onto some much needed jobs and Spring cleaning type projects around the house... It is a bit daunting and overwhelming... But I am hoping with everyone pitching in it won't be too bad:)

 

I love Holy Week... I am hoping to make it come alive for the kids this week... my plan at this point it to make some snack bags with some scripture and little note cards put in them to deliver to some homeless people around town.  The kids and I hope to do that on Thursday.  I want to show them a little here and now example of Jesus being a servant and washing the disciples feet... How can we serve someone in our community.

 

I have one homeless guy that I am going to try to get invited to church on Easter Sunday.  We pass him every Tuesday on the way to our home school coop.  Whether or not this will be feasible I am not sure.  He is usually in the same spot so we will see if either myself or Greg can catch him to invite him to Easter service...  Or it would be cool to deliver Easter Breakfast to him... We will see how it all pans out. 

 

I feel like life is moving in High speed... so much on the front burn in our minds.

This week is super busy at church with Church tomorrow, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then Easter Sunday.  We are usually so blessed to be invited by friends for Easter lunch.  It is such a treat after a busy week to just hang out and celebrate with special friends... It is like a gift from them to us!:)  We are looking forward to it. 

 

Remember that amazing gal I mentioned a few weeks ago that walked into our church clear out of the blue.  Well, she has grown to be a precious friend.  It is amazing the crazy similar circumstances in our lives or randomly where we have lived... She has been a total sweetheart to help with my kids on Sunday mornings, along with other faithful friend helpers:):)  I am super excited that she and her 2 kids will be getting baptized this coming Saturday at our Easter vigil service.  

 

She has this desire to grow and learn that is sooooo inspiring... I love seeing it!  It is such an encouragement to me:) 

Thanking God for so many sweet things in these busy days...

Jojo Says...

 

 

 

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU...

 

 

It was pretty funny the amount of time the 3 boys spent taking crazy pictures with Jojo, bubbles and balls:)  In the end they got some pretty good ones:)

 

The house is much quieter than normal and I can't tell you how strange it is to not have the older 2 boys home.  They are at the teen work in with their youth group for the next couple of days. 

 

It was pretty neat, fox news came and video taped them painting and landscaping for an elderly couple today and they interviewed Louis.  He honestly didn't even seem nervous... I was pretty proud of him...

 

I love that they are getting the opportunity to serve... but I miss them being here:)

 

There is so much going on here right now... we are super excited to hopefully finalize Isaiah's adoption in the next 6 weeks or so:) Yay God!! We are super thankful and really happy it has gone so smoothly:) bsp;

 

We are trying to stay the task on school and soccer is keeping the older 3 busy!:) 

 

Here is a typical Hope story for the record... so last night... clear out of the blue she wakes up in the middle of the night and throws up... thankfully she totally made it to the bathroom... It sort of seemed like a fluke thing... not something that was going to be reoccuring all night just by the way she was acting... And I was right... a single episode of getting sick:) Thank God!

 

Well today, I kept her away from the other kids in my room... I brought her some books to look at and videos to watch.  I could tell she was feeling pretty much normal and I should have known... She colored all over her legs and she got into the feminine hygiene products... Interesting for sure:):) Let me tell you... if she has a moment to herself, sick or not... she is curious and will come up with some craziness! Gotta love her!:) She totally keeps me on my toes!:) I would so appreciate prayers for a friend who will be induced tomorrow with another son after losing her first child around 5 years ago... (In the mean time they were blessed to adopt 2 boys:) Please pray for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby. Pray that the Lord gives her great peace and a beautiful day meeting her new little boy...I know how easy it is to be fearful after you have lost a baby at the very end of pregnancy... you don't ever really feel safe until that baby is screaming in your arms. Thanks so much for praying for my friend and her baby boy:) Much love!  

Bit and pieces...

 Check out that grin... It is official, Isaiah is totally smiling all the time now...

Oh...melt my heart!

He just keeps filling out a little more each day... He has yummy cheeks now and a bit of a double chin... pure sweetness... 

 

And on top of all of that, he has this personality that is unreal...  he is so sweet... easy going... I always said that Anna was like a little lump of clay... total go with the flow gal... but Isaiah rivals her for sure.  He really only cries when he has good reason to... dirty diaper, hungry, etc.  I think he has only cried 2 times where I couldn't tell why... maybe upset tummy or something...

He is easy peasy!

 

This week was CRAZY! 

 

We...

Celebrated 2 birthday boys in the house... We ended up doing them together since Jo really wasn't feeling great on his birthday... He was excited to do it together... I thought that was sweet!

 

Did some spring cleaning... mulch in the flower beds... and I attacked my bedroom... it was to the point, where it was about to attack me... it was horrible and is now soooo nice to step into...

 

Had my dinner divas class... helping 40 families get ready to feed their families for the next month:)  It is an added bonus that my freezer gets stocked in the process!:)

 

Visited with Isaiah's birth parents.  It was really nice to see them again...I think they took about 600 pictures of him in the hour we were together.  Not exaggerating.... I am glad that they can see that he is happy and healthy... We are so thankful for this amazing gift that they have given to us.

 

Had our 2nd post placement visit with the adoption agency:)  We love every single person at Deaconess Pregnancy and Adoption Services... they are incredible!

 

Enjoyed some good laughs and good study with our small group... Precious people to us!

 

Had the realization that I will have teenagers for the next 20 years of my life... Ahhhh!  Had some precious moments with my older boys that made me realize these are going to be fun years in so many respects. 

 

This is spring break week, but with the beauty of homeschooling comes the ability to skip spring break... booooo!  But with the busyness that will be coming up I think it best that we persevere and keep plugging away:)  Blessings friends!



miracles still happen...

 

This was our Levi when we first set eyes on him... most likely the little guy on the left:):)

 

But then again... he could have been one of these little fellas...

all of which survived the thaw when we did our frozen embryo transfer on July 14 2010... We had adopted all 7 of these frozen embryos on June 9th 2010...

(only 3 were transfered and none of the others took...  the other four had stopped growing either before transfer time or shortly after...)

 

Isn't that amazing... How the Lord could breathe life back into something that was frozen for 5 years and miraculously grow  him into this precious pumpkin below...

 

(Levi at Family camp at Camp Lutherhoma September 2011:)

The Lord has shown me over and over again through this sweetie pie His amazing faithfulness and power... Power to restore what almost seemed to have been stolen from me... Joy after such sorrow... He is my miracle! 

 

And today this little miracle man turns 2! 

(Funny, today Louis was telling him he was going to be 7 tomorrow... that would be since his life first began:) 

 

This little guy leaves me in awe...

In awe of a Savior who worked miracles in allowing me to meet  Levi's donor mom through the most crazy of circumstances... blog world...

(There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord knew all that would transpire in her life and ours, all the loss, that we would have an amazing connection, and that this little boy would be ours...   There are so many amazing things that He had to work out and none of it would have ever happened without God's working!  He is so good! 

 

In awe... of the sweetness of this little fella... That being said, we have said that he certainly is entering the 2's... I have never really believed in the terrible 2's... but he has a stubborn streak that is pretty astounding at times... :):) 

 

In awe... of the miracle of embryo adoption that actually allowed me to carry and deliver our adopted son... It is crazy and beautiful!!

 

  Tonight I was reflecting on what I was thinking and feeling 2 years ago tonight... I was hoping and praying that the Lord would allow Levi to be born alive... After living through a delivery where there hadn't been a happy ending or trip home from the hospital with a baby in my arms... I knew first hand there was no guarantee of that happening that go around either... And yet, the Lord allowed Levi's birth to be one of the most peaceful and precious experiences of my life... what a miraculous gift to me... I feared I would be a train wreck, yet it was amazingly sweet and exactly as God wanted it to be... perfect...

 

In awe... of so many things... the funny fact that Levi actually looks like us... that he eats like a little bird... can work my phone or the IPAD better than me... loves trains and cars like crazy...  adores his older brothers and sisters... Isaiah too:)

 

We did nothing to deserve such a sweet gift... totally a blessing from his donor mom and of course God... We are so thankful and blessed!

 

Happy 8th Birthday Jojo!

 

 

With a head of blond hair that makes people ask if he is the adopted one...:):)  ( I used to have blond hair like his:)

 

With blue eyes that will make you want to run to the neighbors beautiful pool:) (our only blue eyed sweetie)

 

With a sweet sweet nature about him that continual makes you so so thankful for the gift that he is over an over again...

 

With a goofiness that can brighten the darkest of days...

 

With the sweet deep thoughts this little boys thinks of Heaven and His siblings there, that touch your very soul...

 

And with a snuggle that warms your heart and makes you never want to leave...

 

This sweet once 9 lb. 6 oz. boy turns eight... Every year we have the discussion that HE HAS TO STOP GROWING UP!!!!  His response is always, "I can't, because God just keeps me growing!" 

 

He is an absolute joy... easy going boy!  He seriously is that under the radar kind of kid who can sit and build with  Lego's or play with cars for hours... I love to just watch him... This weekend we went dinner diva shopping together and had such a sweet time together... I treasure it! 

 

God was so good to give us our Elijah Thomas (yes, that is Jojo's given name:)  8 years ago today after a perfect, dare I say easy natural birth (It really was)... He is such a  precious gift to us!



That will knock the wind out of you...

 

 

Another Hintz trampoline bites the dust...

 

Literally not a single hole in it or weakened spot... and then boom, down goes the 15 year old right through it...

 

So now we have a very life size, Louis sized hole in it... There is no repairing that one.  

 

That tramp provided hours and hours of fun for the littler ones, and obviously for the big ones too...

 

Louis said it knocked the wind right out of him.... That is the worst feeling...

 

I remember that feeling as a kid... it always seemed to happen when I would wipe out running breathlessly for the can in a hard fought neighborhood game of kick the can... and my legs would cut out from under me and down I would go... I was fast and really clumsy:):) 

Good memories...

 

Off to feed the littlest:)  Praying you have a blessed day:)

FAMILY TIME

 

A few weeks back while we were having lunch at a friends, we asked their daughter Carlotta to take some impromptu pictures of the family... Our first family photo of our family of 9 (here on earth).  She did a great job considering none of us were at all prepared... I can't wait to have her actually take some this Spring at a park in town... she is a great photographer:) 

 

I was just happy to get a few "keepers"  and some fun ones too... I have to totally laugh, the funny pictures actually always capture each family member almost to a tee... Good times...

Crazy but great week this past week with my 2 nieces and 2 nephews staying with us for 5 days... I tell you getting 11 kids out the door to church and our home school coop was CUH...RAZY!  I am not cut out for early mornings out the door... We did it but it wasn't exactly calm or beautiful:)  We had some good laughs:)

My sister moved from Boston to a much closer location just 6 hours away from us.  I was sooooo blessed to have her help Greg while we were in Uganda (as well as my in-laws:).  My mind was completely at ease. So I was happy and thankful to be able to return the favor and get a chance to spend some time with my sweet nieces and nephews before the next member of their family arrives.

 It is such a blessing and treat for me to have them so much closer.  My sister is due with her 5th baby in 6 short weeks and it will be the first time that I can go spend a little time with her after the baby comes...  I am so excited!  We realized that while we have both spent time with each others kids, we hadn't seen each other in 7 months... that was too long... She drove down yesterday to pick up the kids, but we were able to spend a quick but really nice night visiting.  I missed her... family is such a gift!

Such a little old man:)

We all laughed so hard when this is how we found Levi the other day...

He totally looks like he should be sitting at the coffee shop drinking a cup of joe:)

After our,"On the go Hopie", Levi is complete mello jello:)  (Well besides the spicy temper he has:)

Truthfully though, he is so easy going much of the time, content to play with the trains, cars, little people... sit with books...

With Hope if there was a moment of quiet... look out... there was trouble..

But with Levi when there is quiet we have found him sitting in a pile of shoes by the front door looking at books. 

It amazes me how different each child can be...

 Honestly, I treasure each for their uniqueness knowing full well that God is going to use those special sides of them to make them who He wants them to be... Hopefully to do great things for the Kingdom and give Him the glory... Only He can do that in them... I am just praying that we as parents can do our part to continually steer them in the right direction and always point them back toward the Father:)

snapshots

 We love to have the music cranked...

 

 Our arms around each other... holding each other close...

 while dancing to the music... (Levi is a great dancer by the way... he loves it!!!  It is hilarious!)

Those sweet special moments... 

 between brothers and sisters...

are snapshots I try to sear into my heart....

 

If I am honest, which I like to be:)... the snapshots aren't always nearly as sweet at the above captured on film.  Our kids are just like most others... they bicker, get on each others nerves at times... but love each other like crazy too...

 

Our home is almost always messy... piles of laundry can usually be found clean but waiting to be folded... messy counter tops laden with snacks and crumbs... I do not pretend to have it all together or to have the perfect children, family, or life... That just isn't reality...

 

But what is reality and what I treasure continually in my heart is how far the Lord has brought us... only by His grace...

 

I remember dark dark days... lonely days filled with so many tears I thought my eyes would be permanently damaged, and my heart would be unrepairable...

 

But God was so faithful to lift me out of the mud and mire and give me a firm place to stand... He put a new song in my heart, a hymn of praise to our God!!!  Psalm 40:2 

 

I am so thankful that He has restored my joy... Honestly, it is miraculous to me...

Do I still have sad moments... for sure...

Do I still miss my son... absolutely...

 

But the Lord has done great healing and continues to... and amidst that healing He chose to do beautiful things and bless us in ways I could not have imagined...

 

I love the snapshots He gives me into the past, where my heart has been... and into the future... where our hearts  are going... 

FAITHFUL GOD!