The first time...

 

One year ago today... November27th,  2012 our lives changed for ever...

 

 

 

This was the very first picture we saw of our soon to be son... (emailed to us by our adoption agency representative)  I literally had just been in Greg's office,and left with the youngest 4 to head to the sprint store... no more than 2 minutes away and got a phone call from him... The agency had called him with Isaiah's  birth mom on the phone saying that she had chosen us to be Isaiah's parents... Greg relayed all that information to me and I literally sat on the curb outside of the Sprint store, first of all saying... YOU'RE KIDDING ME... YOU'RE JOKING... and once I realized he was for real...

the tears started falling... disbelief... and pure elation!

 

Then we proceeded to the gym where Louis and Caleb were practicing basketball.  With computer in hand we did what any proud brand new parents would do... we kept motioning from across the gym ... pointing to the picture on the computer... "You have a new brother!!!"

 

Oh my the excitement... after practice off we went to the store to grab a few preemie outfits, which believe it or  not, were too small for him... he was such a peanut...

 



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One day later Greg and I drove the 2 hours to meet Isaiah's birth mom for the first time...

She was emotional... understandably so...

She asked if we minded a biracial baby...

  We told her how excited Hope was to have a brother that would look more like her... This made her happy...

We laughed... she honestly told us that while she was looking at our profile book and seeing the pictures of the kids, she told her friend... word for word... "You can't slap that kind of happiness into kids!" 

 

She was witty, funny, sweet, tender hearted, and broken...

 

So were we... we left her room and I just collapsed into Greg's arms in tears... I could hardly take the sacrifice she was willing to make to give her son a better chance...

 

Then we got to scrub into the NICU and  meet Isaiah for the first time...

 

People say... protect your heart... you don't know for sure this will go the way you are hoping...

ahhh... not a chance with this mama...

He had my heart from the moment I saw him...

In love...

(I would deal with the heartbreak later if it didn't pan out how we hoped)

 

I will never forget having been briefed on his rough start in the womb and having received all the information of possibilities he might face in his life in the coming years... and had already faced...

 

Greg just said over and over again... It is ok... This is ok... God's got this... We can do this...

 

Who would have dreamt that Isaiah would be so perfectly healthy a year

later...  What a gift from God!



 

(I think he wanted to give me a high five!!)

 

My 10 day stay with Isaiah in the NICU was a learning experience for me. 

What a gift to have all that time just with him... He took to nursing right away... and his birth mom loved that I was going to nurse him.  He got down to 4 lbs. 9 oz. at his lowest and had some issues with jaundice... but all in all he was one tough little fighter and slowly improved with each

 passing day!

 



 

(What a cool little cat sitting under the bili lights for a couple of days)

 

He had some of the funniest facial expressions... I kept imagining him saying... "Huh... I am gonna have 6 siblings at home???  What am I in for???"

 

 

 

 



 

Pure bliss... pure baby love...

 

How good and faithful is our God to bless us with this sweet little miracle, Isaiah James Hintz one year ago today...

 

He is a total joy to our hearts!

 

Adoption...

 

 has changed our lives...

 Has opened our eyes to a different kind of love...

Has opened our hearts to fully grasp how our Heavenly Father has adopted us as His own...

Has enriched our lives beyond what I could ever imagine...

 

The love that I have for this little guy amazes me... He is perfect for our family... I have to remind myself that he didn't grow inside of me... We are so very thankful for the beautiful gift that Isaiah is to our family!



Special day...

Special day...

Who would have thought that when we had a move in our family's future that we would move so much closer to Levi's biological family...

Today we were blessed to spend the day with Levi's biological grandma, aunt, and cousin...
Honestly, I am always amazed how at home we are with spending time with new friends...   And these are special new friends...  It was a total joy to get to know them better, to hear more interesting, funny stories about Levi's biological dad... (I love learning more about Ryan... it is like a bit of a glimpse into some of what the future might hold for Levi... and I love that as he grows we will be able to share those stories and bits of the his background with him)

We had lunch together, lots of laughs, and the kids played great.  It was such a nice day... delightful!

I am so thankful that God has opened these doors for us... and I love that for Levi's sake there won't be these blank wondering spaces about his background.  It is such a blessing to us!

Just more people to love our son!

quieter than normal... after a late night

 

We are having a quieter than normal day after a late midnight showing of catching fire with these 2 and a couple of friends last night...

 

Now that was fun... It was such a treat to be able to hang out with my older two and get to do something fun with them...

(I had to laugh... they were not thrilled with me taking this picture... both in desperate need of haircuts:)

Then today off they go with dad for a"'MAN'S WEEKEND" of hunting at Grandpa's farm. 

Both are just hanging with others in the tree stands because we have yet to get them into a hunter's safety class... that will come first before they get to shoot at the BIG BOY!:)

 

So it is just me and the 5 littles (and my niece) till late tomorrow night when they return. 

 

Quieter than normal???  Yes...

 

Quiet???  Definitely not:) 

But I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

 

 

A few fall pics from a couple of weeks ago...I just have to laugh at the expressions and that Hope is literally going wild in both pictures:)  This is right out our back window on the church campus... What a beautiful back yard we are blessed to have! 

Prayers needed...

The photos above are from the tornado that hit today in Washington Illinois, just 2 1/2 hours SW of us. 

You see this kind of devastation fairly often in Oklahoma where we just moved from last summer... But up here in the Midwest this is out of the ordinary. 

We know that at this point there are at least 6 confirmed dead... I can not help but think of all of those families that are mourning the loss of their loved ones tonight... In an instant life can change... And obviously... there are hundreds of families dealing with the loss of their homes tonight. 

I have a friend that I taught childbirth classes to about 8 years ago that lives in Washington... I am thanking God tonight that they are all safe... the tornado hit about a block away. 

The timing of things amazes me... Just Friday, Greg was met by our head pastor in the driveway with a congratulations... and a beer:)  Greg had written to apply for a grant to put towards a trailer that St. Peter Lutheran would equip with tools and supplies to help with various kinds of disaster relief across the nation.  I know he said they plan to do some training specifically for that in January.  Anyways... we just heard that they did get the grant.  Yay!!!

Obviously, we won't be able to get it done right now in time to help here in Illinois... but maybe soon.  I know the wheels were immediately turning for Greg, Louis, and Caleb for how they could get there to help as soon as possible.  It is so close, we literally could go for a day or two... It is shocking to have this devastation so close to home. 

Tonight we are...
Praying for all those families who are missing a loved one lost today...
Praying for peace for those who closely witness the devastation today...
Praying for those who lost their home or maybe even their livelihood today...
Praying for those who are displaced or with out power...

The devastation from a tornado is far reaching and takes years for a community to recover fully from... Please pray with us for the people of Illinois that were affected today... May God give them comfort and peace through this difficult time...

The Prayers of a little boy:)

He melts our heart...

 

The other night as we were praying after dinner... we couldn't help but pray again...

and again...

and again...

Everyone wanted to see Levi pray. 

 

The way he squeezes his eyes shut...

The way he loves to boisterously shout AMEN at the end...

The way that you can clearly see the faith of a child:) 

Precious memories!

Precious boy!



Our plans...

Last year at this time I literally was thinking... (honestly the morning we got the amazing call about Isaiah being born)... that there was NO WAY a birth mom would choose our family... why would she when we already had a little crew...

But God's plans are so not ours... His ways so not our ways... His thoughts not our thoughts...

His ways are so much better...

Ultimately His ways are perfect for us... even when they may not seem anywhere near perfect in our eyes...

And then out of no where... the call... some precious lady was choosing us... choosing us to raise that sweet little man in the middle in the picture above...

We are forever grateful and in awe of God's plans being revealed for our family...

So not what we would have imagined 20 years ago...

Greg and I had agreed to 4 children...

Here we are with 8... one in heaven... 4 living from my womb... 2 from the wombs of some of the most unselfish women I have ever met... and one not mine biologically mine, but that I miraculously had the amazing experience of growing within me and birthing just like my oldest 5 children...

There are so many days that when we hope and dream about the future we can not help but recall the past... So many experiences I never would have dreamt up... but the one thing that has remained through it all is the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father.  

So thankful that even though we don't know what the future holds for our family... We know WHO holds the future... It is so much better in our Heavenly Father's hands....

What a day...

UPDATE!!!
Wow... I am blown away... our precious friends who I mentioned in the post below asking for prayers for them got a beautiful answer to their prayers...  God showed up big time and answered our prayers in an even better way than I had been praying for... It looks like this little girl WILL indeed be a part of their future!  We are rejoicing with them and praising God for His faithfulness!  Such an answer to so many prayers... there was cheering in this house! 


Today has been a good day...

I received answers today to two HUGE prayer requests and my heart literally rejoices over both... our God has been so faithful to provide in ways that knock my socks off over and over again...

I am so grateful and I DO NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED! 
(Hopefully I can find time to share about one of the answers coming up soon...)

Yet at the same time... my heart is heavy at the same time.

We have dear friends who are in the process of adopting...
I have said over and over again, that adoption is not for the faint of heart...
But this precious family has loved and cared for this precious little bundle for the last 9 weeks...
And they will hopefully have some answers to the what if's within the next couple of days.

I will never forget how my heart was on the line with Hope... 6 months of tucking her in at night , standing at her bedside wondering, if I was playing house, so to speak, or if she really would remain "ours" forever. 

It is a delicate balance of loving them fully, while you have them with you, because that is really what each child deserves... but knowing that you are giving your heart away piece by piece and it is going to hurt more than you can think imagine if things don't go the way we are hoping. 

Even amidst the craziness, stress,  and pain of the adoption process, it is so worth it!  Hard, but so worth it!

So while God was so faithful to answer my prayers today and I rejoice in that... my heart is also hurting for these friends.  Countless prayers are being raised on their behalf... Will you join me in praying?

Our loss... Heaven's gain...

Yesterday while picking up diapers after Louis got his temporary license... I got a text from my niece Ella... "Did you hear about Alicia?" 

 

Immediately, I knew... I knew she had gone to her real home Heaven... I don't know how I knew... but I did...

 

You see Alicia had Cystic Fibrosis, a deadly lung disease.  We met last year when we were both a part of the GO team serving in Uganda.  Right away when I heard she had CF she held a special place in my heart. 

 

Levi's donor dad Ryan died early due to that very disease... Ryan's memory is so special to us so I immediately felt a special connection to Alicia.  We were so blessed to also have her parents on that trip as well...  A beautiful family indeed...

 

 

 

This is a photo of the GO Team from last January 2013...

 

Alicia right below me in the black t-shirt and her sweet parents to the left of me in the picture above...

 

 

This is a picture from our trip of 2 amazing young girls Emma and Alicia (both in their early 20's)

 

 Emma is serving in Uganda as a full time missionary.  Alicia had gone on 2 short term trips with International Voice of the Orphan and and then last June made the decision, despite her poor health, to to go serve there for a longer period of time. Alicia was a nurse and was using her education to help the orphans in Uganda all the while suffering just to breath fully.  I was and am still so touched by seeing these young women on fire for the Lord and following the Lord's call on their life to go and serve.   

 

 I love this picture of Alicia.  this was taken during our time with the street boys in the slums of Kampala!  She had such a beautiful heart and she always served with great joy. 

 

 

She was an amazing young lady... such an inspiration to me.

I can not wait to see her again in Heaven...

 

Go check out her blog about her time in Uganda and read the touching post her sister posted for Alicia about her last few days on this earth... I was absolutely blown away by the miracle she posted that the Lord did for Alicia the day before she died.  Oh it did my heart so much good to actually hear about the last few days for her.  I know that might sound strange... but please take the time to go read about it for yourself... 

http://aliciainuganda.blogspot.be/2013/11/she-finished-well.html  you will not be disappointed... He is so faithful!

As a parent with a child in heaven my heart has been aching literally for her precious parents Cindy and John...

 

Please rejoice with us that Alicia is home safe and sound in Heaven with a perfect whole body...

Please be in prayer for her parents, sisters, friends, and special Ugandan friend Sammy...

 

May Alicia's story inspire us all to make every breath count for the Savior... and to not take this life for granted... 

 

Much love friends...

Beans and rice ...2 weeks down:)

Day 1... eating with our hands like most kids in third world countries...

 



 

The aftermath with out Hopie girl... Wow... that was a mess... only ate with our hands on Day 1:)

 

Honestly, the beans and rice challenge for the month has been going much better than I expected...

 

I don't think I have heard a single complaint... (my kids aren't big complainers... but the fact that I haven't heard one yet... kind of shocking:)

 

The few things I have heard...

 

From Hope... I want to have beans and rice for my birthday meal.

 

From JoJo... Can we do beans and rice for lunch everyday?

 

Day 1... the older boys were saying... For a real challenge we should do beans and rice for every meal for a month... (to which I replied... I think we need a little more balanced meals...)

Then they said maybe we should do eggs for every breakfast and beans and rice for every lunch for a month... (then my wheels were turning... we might need to step it up next year:)

 

We will see how they feel another 2 weeks from now...

 

 

I could not help but post a picture of sweet Isaiah... eating apples:) 

Be still my heart... those BIG brown eyes!

CAN NOT BELIEVE HE IS ALMOST ONE! 

What a sweet gift... every one of them:)

Uganda fundraiser for a friend... I think it sounds like fun!:)

Hello friends...

One of our friends that will be joining us on our mission trip to Uganda is doing a really neat fundraiser ... it is a handmade Christmas gift exchange...

 

Believe it or not... I already have our gift idea brewing...

Please consider joining in on the fun... :)  I know that they would really appreciate it!  And you will have a really neat gift at the end of it:)

 

And do not be overwhelmed at the idea... it doesn't even have to be handmade by you... She explains it all on her blog...

 

 

Go here for all of the information on how to get started and join in on this great opportunity  to bless the orphans in Uganda.  Thanks so much friends!:)

A beautiful day...

We had a beautiful day remembering the precious life of our sweet boy Samuel...

 

Greg switched days off so he was able to be home with us... I appreciated that so much....

 

 

We released balloons like we normally do... I did decide to skip the sky lanterns... Since we are now living in the city, Greg was worried that they could start a fire... and after some research I did realize that they are banned in Illinois... Hello!?!?!  Who would have thought... obviously, my husband... 

 

I love seeing what the kids write on their balloons, the things they remember or the things that they would want to say to Samuel... Yesterday I caught Jojo in the kitchen at around 9:50 am... there he was quiet wishing to the air..."Happy Birthday Samuel...  Oh, I miss you so much!"  He remembered that I would have had him at around 9:40 in the morning... I don't think he had any idea that I had overheard him... I can't tell you how many moments through out our days where the kids ask, "Why did Samuel have to die?"  or " Doesn't it seem like someone is missing?"  even Hope who wasn't a part of our family yet when Samuel died knows she has a big brother in Heaven. 

Daddy surprised us all by taking us to this Elk preserve about 10 minutes away... You literally just had a fence between you  and them... they were so close...

 



 

We had lunch out, which was a big treat for us (beans and rice for dinner that day:)  We saw a movie and came home to decorate Samuel's cake with our neighbors who just happen to be the head pastor, his wife, and son. 

 

There are so many times I am blown away by the Lord bringing us to serve in this church.  We knew the head pastor and his wife during our time at the seminary... I have asked for prayer for them before on my blog... They have lost 2 children since we have known them.  Here we were in Oklahoma literally praying for them every morning for over 2 years... And here we are now serving together. 

 

It is such a blessing for all of us to understand the loss side of each other's life.  Jerry and his wife have to be some of the most positive, enthusiastic servants I know... All that they have been through and they serve with great joy!  There is sort of a camaraderie in knowing we both have been there (the heartbreak of losing a child) We are able to share in all that means for our lives, the memories, the sadness, the thankfulness for the time we both had our children that are now with Jesus...

 

We all proclaimed what we were grateful for as we placed the skittles on the cake.  It was really special to have them here to do that with us. 

 

Grateful for the Lord's work on the cross so eternity with my Savior and Samuel can be a reality someday:):)