FLYING BY....

DAYS ARE FULL...
MY HEAD IS SPINNING...
TAKING IN THE LAST BITS OF SUMMER...
EXCITED FOR THE SCHOOL... YET... I THINK I AM STILL A BIT IN DENIAL THAT THE SCHOOL YEAR IS UPON US:)

HE IS SO DELISH!  SERIOUSLY, HOW DID WE GET SO BLESSED??

SHE HAS HAD A GREAT FIRST WEEK AT ST. PETER LUTHERAN SCHOOL STARTING KINDERGARTEN... WE ARE REALLY PROUD OF HER... SHE HAS BEEN EXHAUSTED AT NIGHT AND IT SHOWS... BUT WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT... :)

LAST NIGHT WE DID THE CHEESEBURGER CHALLENGE FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS... LEVI'S BIOLOGICAL DAD PASSED AWAY FROM CF IN 2008... WE WANTED TO HONOR HIS MEMORY AND THE MEMORY OF A SWEET MISSION HEARTED FRIEND, ALICIA HALPENEY, WHO WENT TO AFRICA WITH US IN 2013, AND WHO ALSO LOST HER BATTLE WITH CF JUST LAST NOVEMBER :(  THANKFUL FOR HEAVEN:)

GO TO
http://fightcf.cff.org/goto/cfcc2014 TO DONATE:)

WASN'T ALICIA PRECIOUS?

THE DAYS ARE FLYING BY AND THE BIG FESTIVAL IN TOWN STARTS IN JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS... 

LIVING THESE BUSY DAYS IN A FLURRY OF ACTIVITY...

LIVING THESE BUSY DAYS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART...

THE 2014 HOMESCHOOL YEAR OFFICIALLY STARTS NEXT TUESDAY:)   READY... SET... GO!:)

The BBS award:)

If there was an award for the Best Big Sister...

She would win it... My Anna Noel!!

Seriously, she loves these little guys so much, takes great care of them,  and is so thankful to have a sister in Hope.  

She gets extremely hurt by Hope's  shenanigans at times... She just wants them to love her back in the same way...

Which sometimes happens and sometimes doesn't 😞 when you are dealing with kids that are 20 mos, 3 years, or even 5 years... We are working on that:)

She loves to cuddle with the little guys.

I am so thankful God chose to bless us with my sweet, sensitive, tender hearted Anna... She is a huge helper!  What a gift!

Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights...  James 1:17

Thankful for a smooth surgery...

Louis' wisdom teeth removal went really well...

I seriously couldn't believe how quickly they can get rid of four teeth...

I bet we were called back to the recovery room within 40 minutes...



He is a bit swollen and has a little bit of pain but is fine with keeping ice on it and staying on top of the pain with some meds.  But all in all he is doing really good!  I am so thankful!



I will say that we had some hysterical conversations at the office and on the way home... but Thank the Lord that medicine doesn't stay in their system too long...  Thank you so much for the prayers!  We really appreciate it so very much!



Some viewing for your daily entertainment... Louis, after getting his wisdom teeth pulled...

asking for prayers...

The biggest boy in this house will be getting 2 of his wisdom teeth pulled this morning...
Along with two molars that are damaged by the next two wisdom teeth coming in too quickly... ergggg....

We would love to have you pray for Louis...
Praying for a smooth surgery... peace for his heart (he is surprisingly nervous)... and a speedy and easy recovery for him...

His surgery starts at 9:00 am tomorrow... Thanks so much friends...

She is....

She is...

My joy...

A promise of love fulfilled...

A healing balm to my aching heart...

A total handful some days...

Full of the dance moves...

Our HOPE JUBILEE!!!  

A sweet GIFT FROM GOD!!

Photography credits go to Lou for capturing the beauty of our sweet, spunky, and sassy hope!!  Truly the girl has a cheesy grin on her face most of the time... But here's to Lou catching a still and  calm Hopie:):)

This next one is my favorite!!

I am always amazed how Louis can make just the plainest of old doors  and quaint little spots on our church campus look like such a cool setting:)

I am continually overwhelmed, blessed, and so incredibly thankful for the miracle and gift of adoption!!

LOVE HER!!:)

Estes... A little bit of Heaven...

A little step back to recap the end of our vacation to Estes park:)

Day 1 Estes Park... Total rain and fog:(:(

Noooooo!!! We only had 2 days there... 

Soooo....We hit the charming town... Left the Chinese restaurant because my child "dropped his fork".  A story for an whole other day... Went night swimming in the heated outdoor pool... It was warm and freezing all at the same time...:):). Making memories:) 

Day 2... Woke up up to quickly pack and quickly got set back by a killer migraine...

Ergggggg!!! No good when you are down to your last day to conquer some hiking trails... I was so bummed...

Praise God!  For His speedy healing a good nap and we were off to Rocky Mountain National Park to do one of our favorite hikes... I was still pretty nauseas... But thankfully it passed pretty quick once we were on the trail:)

Isaiah and I loved checking out God's amazing creation... SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

Can you believe this reflection... This was dream lake on the nimph, dream, and emerald lake trail... It is the perfect hike for a crew like ours... A decent workout especially with an extra 30 lbs tacked on your back... But easy enough for Even Hope to do on her own... And gorgeous!!

At the top at Emerald lake:)

This guy and 5 of his friends joined us on the trail:)

Hopie girl found this really cool tree trunk:)

Caleb and his hiking partner... Until he filled his pants... Then he became my partner for the hike down:) bad mom move... All the diapers were left in the car:)

Seven of my sweet blessings!!  What a treat to experience the beauty of Colorado with them:)

A little time away!!

Someone doesn't mind the long drive to the cabin... :)

The "super moon" over fence lake... 

Wow, we have been blessed with some beautiful moonrises over the lake every night and eagles perched in the pine tree right at the end of the pier during the day.  

God's Amazing creation:)

This is the face of one little guy thrilled with his Paul Bunyan dough nut... 

Pretty much a face replicated 8 times over around our table... Sugar overload... But so delish!! 

Sweet brothers enjoying the sand together... 

Some one is ready for grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.. This kid TOTALLY cracks me up!!  He is enthusiastic over pretty much everything:) 

Thankful to share this week with my sweet Anna... Many games of solitaire, sequence, garbage, and life on the farm happening around here... 

Enjoying the shallow sandy shore around the point on the lake... Collecting clams, snails, and playing football:)

The chase is ON!!!

A boy and his little brother:) 

Thankful for the chance for some family r and r ... So thankful to my parents for letting us use their place... What a gift!

Summer lovin...

\

My heart is full of loving on these little men...

I am so thankful to be their mommy!  

That was a first in Estes trying to keep both happy in the ergos...

There are moments, like right now:) of teething, ear infections, grumpiness and utter joy all in a matter of minutes... Such is the life with little ones... (And quite honestly with the big ones too, even us adults at times:)  

And out come the back packs for a quick trip with the daddy of the house joining us this go around... We will be so thankful to have him with us! 

Now if we could just get on top of that laundry pile and dishes we could be out the door in no time... Thankful the for the everyday reminders that I have that laundry and dishes because our house is full of the sounds of happy  healthy kids... what a gift:)  So thankful!

Feed my starving children...

Did you know that 6,200 kids die every single day in our world because of hunger?
That would be a horrible number if it was per year.... but it IS per day!
(And to think of the food we waste:(:(  it makes me sick to my stomach...

I know this ministry is old news to many, especially in our area... but tonight was the first time that I had a chance to experience Feed My Starving Children... (Greg and Anna have already volunteered there in the past, in fact Greg went and served there when he came up for an in person interview... cool opportunity for him for sure!)

When we walked in we were sooooo thrilled to see that we would be packing food that would be sent to Uganda... Ahhh... a land we love so dearly and feel so connected to so many Ugandan little ones!  Truth be told... it made me want to jump on an airplane tonight and head back...

I LOVE that they let children serve too!  What a perfect opportunity for kids to actually be the hands and feet and get in there and work, serve, touch lives and learn how good it feels to do something for someone else:)

My kids were raving about how much fun they had and the amazing impact just tonight's work will have for the hungry kids in Uganda...

Everyone does their part in cleaning up... many hands make light work:)

  

Praying around the boxes of food that were packed!  I love that we covered actually praying for the safety of the food making it there to Uganda, the kids that will receive the food, the parents of these kids who wish they could provide enough on their own... but just can't... 

What a precious picture of the body of Christ truly being the body....

So tonight we packed 64 boxes of food in an hour, that is 13, 824 meals and will feed 38 kids for a WHOLE year... Amazing!  Amazingly awesome!

If you have a Feed My Starving Children check into serving there, I know you find yourself being blessed!

Special wedding day...

What a beautiful setting for two to become one...

Hot, sunny, rustic Arizona...

5 precious teens united in their love for missions, orphans and the Lord!

A few of my kids with their friends the bride and groom, Savannah and Graham...

What a blessing for my kids, especially my older boys, to witness the this precious young Christian couple tie the knot.... just 19 and 20...

I was young when I married, just 21, and I would never say it is better to marry young or older... Marrying when the Lord provides the "right one" for you is the perfect time to marry...

Sometimes, that might mean marrying younger and sort of growing up together so to speak... and marrying rather than dating on and on and on saves a relationship from  a whole lot of temptation...

It was so special to witness the father of the groom, our Go Team Leader Dwight, the founder of IVO, marry them... I remember so much from his message to the bride and groom.  One of the neatest things he said that I think is true for EVERY married couple is...

That God has a special, unique, and wonderful plan that the two of you can fulfill together that could never be fulfilled by either of you alone... So precious to think of the unique potential for each couple that just couldn't be fulfilled by any OTHER two people!  Makes me so excited for the wonderful plans the Lord has in store for my marriage, my friends marriages, and this brand new marriage:)

So it was special to see these two commit to FOREVER together!

The new "Mr. and Mrs." entering their reception...

Two dear friends of mine... Linny and Kim... time with them is so rare... Sharing in this special occasion together was so precious to me... I am so very grateful that God gave us this time together!  What a treat!  I miss them so much already...

Some of the little men enjoying eachother... The kids had so much fun together!  I love that the Lord allowed us this sweet time of making memories with sweet friends and family!  What a gift to my heart!