CHANGE OF PLANS

SNUGGLIN' WHILE WATCHING A SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE... FUN TIMES...YEAH, THE GIRLS HAD A LITTLE FUN WITH JOJO'S HAIR:)

It looks like we will be staying in chilly OK for the week. Greg's mom is really sick with Bronchitis. ( We are praying for you mom... we will come visit soon and you WILL be able to get your hands on your new grand daughter:)

So we are hunkered down tonight with a fire burning in the fireplace and a movie on the TV... I love nights like this... so cozy.

I just have to say that it is so cold here... I think this week Thursday we are supposed to have a high of 17 and a low of -1. I know for my northern friends this is nothing, but down here it is is unseasonably cool. So much for global warming:)

The other random thing I want to share is that I haven't run in over 2 weeks. Yikes. I have been trying to get out to walk, but am totally lacking in the motivation department... very unlike me as far as exercising goes. I am hoping to put on those running shoes after the cold spell has passed... am I a slacker or what... the treadmill we have in the garage should be screaming my name... Oh well, Maybe a little break will be good for me.

Praying all my blog friends are staying warm and getting ready to jump back into the swing of things after Christmas vacation.

MAY THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE AS YOU TRUST IN HIM, SO THAT YOU WILL OVERFLOW WITH HOPE, BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. ROMANS 15:13

WELCOME 2010

JOJO, ANNA, AND COUSIN GRACIE

THERE WERE A LOT OF LAUGHS AND FUN TIMES HAD BY THESE KIDDOS THIS PAST WEEK! WHAT A TREAT TO HAVE THEM ALL HERE!
MY BROTHER JOHN, SISTER-IN-LOVE:) KATY AND MY SWEET HUBBY

I can hardly believe that 2010 is here. Just the other week I wrote October 2008 on a check... where did that come from?... this past week I numerous times called my sister in law Katy, Jane (one of my other sister in laws names) and referred to our town as Tomball. (The city Greg and I first lived in when we were married. We moved from there 10+years ago.) I am constantly telling people to not be offended if I forget something important or say something really off the wall. I think my brain is still recovering... Does anyone else have some of these same issues... or is it just me? Am I ready for 2010? I am not really sure:)

Do you know how hard it is to take pictures and not be able to post them here with sweet little HOPE in them. She has a cold... runny, runny nose... poor little girl. Even still, she is sleeping like a champ, she is amazing with that. We are just praying that she feels better quickly. We have seen her fussy side for the first time, now that she isn't feeling well. And she is starting to fuss for me... this may sound strange, but I am really thankful to see that. I think she must be bonding and attaching to me. I think she realizes I am her caregiver and momma. Does that make sense? For the first couple of days, she wanted nothing to do with me. (That was a little tough for me, the baby lover, to swallow) She loved Greg and was really soothed by him, which was great, but usually I have ALWAYS been the one to be able to settle our children. This was different, but thankfully has changed. She still loves Greg, and even grunts for him, when she sees him in front at church:) (I think that is kind of cute... she is grunting for her Papa:) But she loves being with me too. That makes my mommy heart leap for joy... this adoption road is new for all of us... it is quite an adventure... one we are so happy to be journeying through.

We had a lovely time with my brother John, Katy, and their girls Ella and Grace. The kids were thrilled to be able to spend time with their cousins. We checked out the local hot spots, like Atwoods, Bass Pro, and the Coweta Boutique. The older boys went down to a homeless shelter with them to serve a meal. (I love that they had that experience. They had so much to say about it when they came home.) We also hit the aquarium yesterday. We had kind of a quiet New Years Eve, enjoying Katy's delicious New Year's Eve Bread... so yummy. Katy was such a gem and really helped me organize my kitchen... she inspired me to really get organized in general. This past year I have really let things slide... it hasn't been good, so hopefully that can change in this coming year. I was blessed to spend some time talking with my precious niece Ella about all of the changes for her with entering High School this year. I love knowing how I can pray for her. She is growing into such a sweet young lady with a deep love of her Savior and others. What a caring heart she has.

They even went out and picked up something for their new niece, HOPE. With her gift came a sweet homemade card sharing in the goodness of the Lord in bringing her to us. They also acknowledged our sweet Samuel. It was so nice to see that they realize that having Hope, though it fills us with great joy and thankfulness, doesn't just magically take away the loss and pain we still feel over not having Samuel with us. (That has been one of my BIGGEST fears with having another child in our family, is that people will just assume that will make it all better for us. I know it sets their mind at ease to see us with a living baby in our arms... but it will never take away what we experienced and continue to experience with losing Samuel) I am sure that may sound odd to some, but it is reality for us. We are thrilled and joyful that she is with us, yet we still miss Samuel terribly. John and Katy seem to understand that... that in and of itself was a gift to us. It was so nice just being able to visit and spend time with them. What a precious treat for us. We were so sad to see them go today.

Tomorrow will be a busy day... I can't decide if we will take down the trees or leave them up for another week. Then there is lots of laundry to fold, and clothes to pack and on Sunday we will head to visit Greg's family for a bit... We are looking forward to the vacation and for them to meet Hope.

Looking forward to what 2010 brings our way...

A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS GIFT:)

I have been dying to post about this... and finally got the go ahead to do it... so here it is:)

We are so happy to be able to share with you about the sweet little (really not so little:) 10 month old Christmas gift we have received... Her name is HOPE JUBILEE HINTZ. We picked her up about 2 weeks ago, but due to the circumstances regarding her placement with us we were unable to really share anything about it until now. The agency director came and did our first post placement visit with us last Tuesday and she said she thinks it is now safe to say that she will be staying with us... hopefully FOREVER. She still wanted me to wait a little while to post a picture... (The circumstances of how she came to us are quite unique... so we need to hold off a little longer) As soon as I get a go ahead I will post a picture of her on here.

She is such a sweet baby girl. ( Really she is not a baby, she is over 20 lbs. and at times seems more like a toddler) She is already doing a lot of walking... it is crazy, none of my other kiddos walked this early. She is super good natured and really goes with the flow... she fits right in with us in that regard. She is a very easy baby. When we went to pick her up we were praying that the Lord would set her mind at ease with us and that He would fill her with peace. We spent a lot of time in prayer those first few days. But He certainly answered those prayers. She was very quiet the first few days... but did very little crying. About 5 days later, she really started to come out of her shell. She is quite noisy and boisterous now... it is so cute. I think she feels comfortable and is cutting lose.

The kids are over the top in love with her. And I think she really loves them too. They have been the perfect distraction to her in getting used to our home, and adjusting to a new environment. The kids almost fight over who gets to sit by her, hold her, and walk by her when I have her in my arms. It is pretty precious... They have been waiting so long to be able to shower a little one with love... they are truly enjoying it.

When we first got her, we knew we maybe wouldn't be able to keep her. But immediately Greg said, "It is going to be hard not to fall in love with her." It just melts my heart to see this little girl in his arms. He is such a good daddy. When she sees him up in church she just reaches out and grunts for him.

So much of this is not how we had envisioned it to go... her to not be a newborn... and even how she came to us. When we woke up in the morning of the day that we got her, we never could have imagined the day to turn out the way that it did. Yet, we have been praying for this precious little girl for months, actually about a year. We didn't know how God was going to grow our family... but we have been praying that He would answer that prayer... and who are we to question how He answers it? We are so thankful!

We are absolutely thrilled that HOPE is with us. She has brought much joy to our hearts already. We are so thankful to God for this precious gift. We can't wait to share our Savior with her as she grows and we can't wait to share about her big brother Samuel who touched us all so deeply and who still is such a big part of who we are as a family. I would be lying if I said that having her here didn't bring up a whole slew of different emotions... but right now we are reveling in JOY in the faithfulness of our God to bring her to us. THANKYOU GOD FOR THIS LITTLE MIRACLE BLESSING OF HOPE JUBILEE:)

THE CHRISTMAS SNOW:)

ANNA NOEL

THE HINTZ AND DINKLEMAN KIDS

ANNA OUT ENJOYING THE FRESHLY FALLEN SNOW...

YES, IN OKLAHOMA... WHAT A TREAT.

CHRISTMAS CRAZINESS...

AT HOME LATE CHRISTMAS DAY

THE KIDDOS HAVING BREAKFAST CHRISTMAS MORNING AFTER AN UNEXPECTED SLEEPOVER.

ME AND MY SWEET, CARING, UNBELIEVABLY FLEXIBLE FRIEND NIKKI:)



THE KIDS PLAYING

Wow, we have had a crazy last couple of days... here is the play by play...


Christmas Eve around 11:30 am we lost power at our house. We had plans to hang out with our friends, the Dinklemans, we would go there to feed the kids, all 11 of them, then go to 7:00 church, then spend and have dinner with Greg, back at their house. Then I would go home and Greg would go up to church to do the Candlelight service at 11:00pm. Well, all of that was the plan even with the impending snowstorm.

So when we lost power, we decided to head to their house early... I really didn't want to be stuck at my house with all of the kids, with out any power, with Greg possibly stuck in town. We packed things, just in case we needed to stay over in town. By the time 4:00 rolled around it was already determined that the only service we would have at church would be the 5:00. We hurried and got all the kids ready and headed to church in the snowstorm. The roads weren't bad. But by the time we left church, it was like a blizzard outside, and blowing like crazy. We decided to head back to their house and not try to get home. Our big white van has rear wheel drive and I almost got stuck in the parking lot. And what still surprises this northern girl, is that here in a city like Tulsa, they just don't get to the roads. The one plow we saw on the way home, didn't even have the plow down... weird. We did encounter a car abandoned at a stop sign..., it was still running, but he owner just left it there in the middle of the road.

We had a delightful night. We had lots of good laughs, good food, and really just enjoyed visiting and hanging out. The kids all slept well. Christmas dawned bright with a beautiful blue sky and a blanket of white snow. A white Christmas in Tulsa, we didn't see this much snow at all last year... I loved seeing it, and quite honestly, just the snow energizes me, it felt like a Wisconsin Christmas... so nice!

We had kind of an episode (that is an understatement:) with one of the foster girls in the morning. Wow! We sent the kids out to play in the snow and decided we would try to head home in the afternoon. Our friends were incredible to open up their home to all 10 of us... They were so incredibly gracious and hospitable, all on Christmas. They didn't bat an eye at all the extra commotion. I am sure it was much more peaceful once we left, but they made us all feel truly welcome.

When we left for home yesterday afternoon... we made it to our city, but couldn't get our van home. We would hit a small hill and just spin like crazy. We were going no where on those hills... Anna was scared and crying in the back... (that totally would have been me as a child) The roads were slick and not at all cleared. We know how to drive in snow, we have done it for years... but boy our big van is terrible in the snow, and the fact that they don't put sand or salt down... made it even harder. We had to call our neighbor to shuttle all us home. We were so thankful.

Greg and I then wrapped all the kids presents... we hadn't gotten that done. We had a nice Christmas evening. Today the kids had a blast in the snow. They were out for hours. Now we get ready for company to come, my brother and family tomorrow... Yeah, can't wait. I will try to post some snow pics... and then I have been given permission to share some great news, hopefully tomorrow.

Praying that you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

UPDATED: GOOD TIMES AND A WHITE CHRISTMAS:)

LOUIS, ANNA, AND GRANDMA SKIPPING THROUGH THE LIGHT TUNNEL, I JUST LOVE THAT I CAUGHT THEM IN ACTION:)
VERY TYPICAL JOJO:)

UPDATE: IT LOOKS LIKE TULSA WILL HAVE A WHITE CHRISTMAS... YEAH, A PREDICTED 3-8 INCHES!!! THAT IS LOTS FOR A CITY THAT CAN'T REALLY PREPARE FOR IT... WE WILL SEE IF IT MATERIALIZES. WHAT A FUN CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR THIS NORTHERN GIRL... AND THE BUNCH OF KIDDOS WITH US THIS CHRISTMAS:)

We have been really busy... I want to get a post up about a little early Christmas present that we received... but seeing that it is past 2:00 am, I better leave that for another night. The kiddos, all of them will be up early, much earlier than I will want to be if I don't hit the hay. I will try to post tomorrow.

Merry Christmas everyone... I can't believe it is Christmas Eve... I still have all the presents to wrap... I think we may need to pop in a Christmas movie tomorrow so I can get that done:)

CHRISTMAS WEEK!

THE KIDS WITH THE FAUST FAMILY FROM CHURCH... THE NEIGHBOR YOUNGSTER AS WELL... YEAH, FOR CHRISTMAS BREAK AND THE ABILITY FOR PLAY DATES:)... DO YOU STILL CALL THEM PLAY DATES WHEN YOUR KIDS ARE 12 YEARS OLD? THE KIDS HAD A BLAST PLAYING... AND I LOVED GETTING A CHANCE TO VISIT WITH MY FRIEND SHELLEY:)


YES, THIS IS A REMOTE CONTROL CAR... AND YES, YOU WOULD NEVER GUESS WHAT IS ON TOP OF IT... "THE BUNNYMOBILE" IS WHAT CALEB CALLED IT. THE KIDS TAPED A BOX ON TOP, PUT ONE OF THE SWEET BABY BUNNIES IN IT, AND COVERED THE TOP WITH TAPE SO THE BUNNY COULD "FALL OUT" OR "ESCAPE". SO THE BUNNIES GOT RIDES DOWN THE STREET... I LOVED THE CREATIVITY, BUT WORRIED A LITTLE FOR THE BUNNIES SAKE...
EVERYONE SURVIVED... INCLUDING THE BUNNIES:)


JOEY CRUISING THROUGH THE TUNNEL UNDER OUR DRIVEWAY... I JUST LOVE THAT LITTLE GUYS CHEEKS.

WHAT A BUSY WEEKEND... IT WAS SO NICE TO HAVE MY PARENTS HERE, IT WAS TOO SHORT OF A VISIT. WE HAVE HAD THE 3 GIRLS FOR THE LAST 3 DAYS... WOW, THEY ARE FULL OF ENERGY, BUT REALLY SWEET AND PRECIOUS. ANNA IS ENJOYING HAVING SOME OTHER GIRLS IN THE HOUSE. WE ALL SAT IN THE FRONT ROW OF CHURCH... AND SURVIVED. REALLY, THE KIDS DID VERY WELL. JOJO DID FALL ASLEEP IN MY SWEET FRIEND NIKKI'S LAP...MY HANDS WERE A LITTLE FULL:)

I CAN'T BELIEVE CHRISTMAS IS JUST A FEW DAYS AWAY... HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS, WE DON'T GO OVER BOARD ON CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, JUST A FEW FOR EACH CHILD. HERE IS THE NOT SO GOOD NEWS, IT IS JUST 4 DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND I HAVEN'T CONSCIOUSLY SHOPPED FOR ANYONE... YIKES! (I DID GET FOR EXTENDED FAMILY, JUST NOT OUR LITTLE FAMILY YET.) I LOOKED OVER WHAT I HAVE IN MY STOCK PILE:), BUT I AM GOING TO HAVE TO GET OUT AND GET A COUPLE OF THINGS. I AM KIND OF, MORE LIKE TOTALLY, DREADING THE CROWDS. IT IS A LITTLE LATE FOR ONLINE SHOPPING. MAYBE I WILL JUST HIT THE WALMART IN TOWN. WE SHALL SEE...

MY EMOTIONS HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THE MAP... I MISS SAMUEL SO MUCH! EVEN WITH ALL WE HAVE GOING ON, AND ALL THE DISTRACTIONS, HE IS NEVER FAR FROM MY MIND. I HAVE LOTS I WANT TO SHARE WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT (NO I AM NOT PREGNANT) , AND I AM THANKFUL FOR ALL GOD IS DOING IN OUR LIVES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT IS HARD TO JOURNEY FORWARD KNOWING THIS MISSING SAMUEL WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF ME. I LONG FOR THAT DAY WHEN WE WILL BE REUNITED... THAT DAY WHEN ALL THINGS WILL BE MADE RIGHT! AHHH, WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE:)

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THAT SWEET LITTLE BROWN HAIRED, FULL FACED SAMUEL WHO WAS BORN JUST OVER A YEAR AGO AND CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER!

I AM ALSO SO THANKFUL FOR THE BABY THAT WAS BORN SO MANY YEARS AGO WHO CHANGED THIS WORLD AND MY HEART FOREVER. WHAT WOULD I DO WITH OUT THAT HOPE THAT WE HAVE FOR THE ETERNITY WE WILL SPEND WITH HIM? I AM SO GLAD THAT WE SERVE A GOD WHO TOO WALKED THIS EARTH... CAME AS A LITTLE BABE, BUT GREW TO BE A MAN, WHO KNEW DEEP SORROW, PAIN AND SACRIFICE. I KNOW OUR SADNESS DOESN'T GO UNNOTICED BY HIM. THAT BRINGS ME COMFORT THIS CHRISTMAS AS WE CELEBRATE HIS BIRTH. PRAYING YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!