Busy... love filled days...

Anna has been so blessed this Spring to run track with St. Peter's team...
This is Anna and her great relay team... I think they won their relay race at every meet!
Speedy little ladies!

Isaiah is proving that even little men can rock the African man band...
(I have to laugh... that was one of my big boys greatest finds this year at the African market in Uganda... now Zay can be like his big brothers:)

Jojo received this great gift from one of his God mommys... a solar balloon...

It is like a huge black garbage bag that you fill with air, it heats up and starts to float...
Super fun and man can that huge thing soar...
We can't wait to try it on an even warmer day:)

It has been non-stop tramp fun for the last few weeks... 

Oh I am so thankful for a great place for the kids to get the wiggles out and get rid of lots of energy:)  

You would think that all you could do on a tramp is jump... but It is pretty amazing all of the fun games that they come up with to play on there... I love it!

Our pace has slowed and we are grateful to have a bit more time to rest, work towards finishing school and just relax!  We are praising God for that... rest is so good for the soul!

What an amazing story...

I have been following this sweet young mama's story for the last few months...
It absolutely screams... "Dont take a thing for granted in this life!"  and it encourages my heart...

Please take the time to check out her story of loss, faith and miracles...
It is a beautiful story...


http://kfor.com/2015/05/07/a-mothers-faith-why-this-widowed-mother-believes-in-miracles/

"I Can Only Imagine" (Mercy Me) Human Video

Here is an updated link to the human video that the St. Paul youth did when Greg was preaching at their 150th anniversary celebration... I know the one I previously posted wasn't working anymore:)



I am still so touched that they thought to include our Samuel... man I miss that little guy...

Blessings friends!

Mother's Day 2015

This year my heart was torn in two on mothers Day...

I have girls from my MEND group that were experiencing their very first Mother's Day without their baby here with them... Oh the hurt and sorrow...

I watched kids at church whose mother passed away years ago...

I looked into the eyes of my adopted kids and couldn't help but think of their very first mommies that gave them life... And then made probably the hardest decision of their lives to hand those precious babies over to someone else to raise...

There are moms who are close to their children and moms who are estranged from their kids...

I remembered the mothers days I really wanted so desperately to be a mom, but wasn't sure if it would ever come to be... Oh the longing and hurt of women struggling with infertility...

There are so many who hurt on Mother's Day, yet so many reasons to rejoice... 

I would not trade my job as a mom for anything in the world... NOTHING!  It is my greatest JOY in life!!!

I awoke to the kids bringing me breakfast In bed... It was Super yummy and super sweet of them...

Oh the sacrifice our sweet birth moms and donor mom (for Levi), made to bless us with the amazing priviledge of raising their sweet amazing babies... 

I am overcome with gratefulness!!!

My heart bursts with love for these seven amazing gifts from God...

And my heart rejoices that one day when ALL THINGS ARE MADE RIGHT... I will have eternity with all of my kids...

God was so good to make my dream of being a mommy a reality... My heart OVERFLOWS!!

Another HINTZ on the road...

This little pumpkin turned 16 yesterday...

Our negotiator...

Self starter... Self motivated...

Hard working... Orphans serving...

Mission minded... 

Young man Caleb...

After 3 tries to get the paperwork right and then trying to get the driving school to send things through to the Secretary of State... (Something that should have been done months ago)

One driving test later and we have another licensed driver on the road...

I was really proud of him keeping his cool, and not getting frustrated through lots of bumps in getting that accomplished...

(Caleb and his cousins at his 4th birthday party... And yes, he still makes that same look today!!:)

(Caleb meeting Anna for the very first time... I adore his expression here!!! So precious!)

Happy 16th to our sweet son Caleb... 

What a gift he is from our Father...  

What a priviledge it is to raise him...

I am so thankful God chose us to be his parents...

So thankful...

When my knees hit the ground...

Have you ever had those hurts... that still years later... still hurt...  Not all the time... but from time to time... you just can't deny that the hurt remains...

You know you have forgiven those who have hurt you... or it may not even be because of something someone else did, but just due to life circumstances...
Even though you have gotten through the initial shock of the hurt and maybe a lot of the healing...

Regardless of all of that... it doesn't mean your heart has forgotten the hurt...  or doesn't still ache at times because of the hurt... At first like a scab that can be torn off again... or later like scar that is still tender...

So much of those hurts for me reflect back on my time after losing Samuel... Oh how badly my heart hurt, and how broken I was as a person...

PRAISE GOD, He doesn't leave us in our brokenness forever...

Last night we had MEND and we talked a lot about Mother's Day and what that day is like when you don't have all of your children here with you...

This song is one I have been hitting over and over again on my play list as I run lately... It is so beautiful...

"I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground!" Oh, we are so close to the Father's heart when we are in prayer communicating with him... And my babies are with Him... Wow... how thankful I am for that...

And when I am at the table for Communion during church I can't help but think of communing with all the saints here on earth and in Heaven... All of us worshiping the Savior together at the same time... My Babies and I doing the same thing... Them in Heaven and me still here on earth...

 I have thought so often lately of What Heaven is like for Samuel, Joel, or the baby we miscarried...

 I know there isn't any pain or sorrow... I can't help but wonder if there are moms who had to leave their babies too soon that on this Mother's Day are hanging out with my mine...
or are there grandmas that never got to rock their grand babies that will  scoop them  right up on their laps...

 I know it doesn't really matter because whatever is happening...

 It is perfect...

It brings my heart comfort to think of those things...

Enjoy Touch the Sky... by Hillsong United...

Sharing MEND in Chicagoland:)

I am super blessed to have a friend that is willing to help promote MEND in our area...

Thank you Jen for helping us share MEND with others in the Chicagoland area...

We are always trying to get the word out that MEND is here and available to anyone in our area who is hurting from the loss of their baby...

Here is our most recent promo for MEND... Kind of funny, the whole mom of the month thing...
I know anyone who knows us knows the messes of our life, the messes of our house... and the JOY that abounds even in the new mess that every new day brings into our family... We are so happy, thankful, joy filled... but our days are always full of challenges too...

We (MEND Chicagoland) meets tomorrow... This is Mother's Day week... always bittersweet when you are a mom to a baby already in Heaven... If you know of anyone who needs support in walking the journey of the loss of a baby please let them know about MEND... We don't want anyone to grieve alone...

There is hope for healing... and having support along the way is a blessing to a hurting heart...

Much love friends...