JUST 2 FAMILIES

 

BEFORE WE LEFT THE CABIN TODAY WE WANTED TO CATCH A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF GRANDMA AND GRANDPA WITH OUR KIDS AND MY SISTER'S KIDS.  FOR WHATEVER REASON IT LOOKS LIKE A HUGE BUNCH... MAYBE IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL GETTING BIGGER... (CAN'T HELP BUT THINK OF WHAT KIND OF SILLY FACE A FOUR YEAR OLD SAMUEL WOULD HAVE BEEN ADDING TO THE MIX!)

 



 

WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL, RELAXING, FUN PLACE TO GET AWAY TO WHEN WE ARE ABLE.  IT IS A HUGE BLESSING, SOMETHING WE CERTAINLY COULD NEVER AFFORD TO DO IF WE HAD TO PAY TO STAY AT A PLACE LIKE THAT...

 

AND WE GET THE ADDED BONUS OF SHARING THAT TIME WITH SIBLINGS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND GRANDMA AND GRANDPA... (ALTHOUGH I KNOW THEY NEVER REALIZED THAT THEIR 5 KIDS WOULD END UP TOTALING 26 GRANDKIDS SO FAR... I KNOW IT GETS TO BE A BIG BUSY AND NOISY FOR THEM AT TIMES!)  WE ARE SO FORTUNATE THAT THEY STILL LET US COME... EVEN AS THE FAMILY CONTINUES TO GROW:) 

 

NOW THAT WE LIVE CLOSER THE KIDS ARE ABSOLUTELY LOVING THE FACT THAT WE COULD MAKE IT UP THERE 2 TIMES THIS SUMMER... AND ALREADY THEY WERE ASKING ABOUT WINTER... WE WILL SEE... :):)

FENCE LAKE

HOURS AND HOURS WERE SPENT PLAYING IN THE SAND... MOSTLY BY JOJO, HOPE, LEVI AND THEIR FELLOW LITTLE RASCALS:)

 



 

SOME COUSIN TIME BY THE CAMPFIRE, GETTING READY FOR A COOK OUT... HOT DOG, BRAT ROAST, SMORES AND ALL:)



 

CALEB AND ISAIAH CHILLING IN THE HANGING CHAIR...

 



 

BROTHERS EATING SMORES!  OH WE LAUGHED OVER THIS ONE... LOUIS IS A BIG KID...  BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE ANGLE AT WHICH THIS WAS TAKEN MAKES HIM LOOK ENORMOUS AND LEVI LOOK LIKE A TINY LITTLE GUY... REALLY THEY ARE BOTH TOTALLY NORMAL IN SIZE...

 



 

ANNA AND HER UNCLE JOHNNY BOY!  SHE HAS A SPECIAL LIKING FOR HIM...:)

 



 

ROASTING HOT DOGS AND BRATS FOR LUNCH... GOOD TIMES... I AM NOT SURE IF YOU CAN SEE JOJO'S EXPRESSION... BUT HE HAD SOME WINNERS WHILE WE WERE COOKING... HE IS SUCH A FUNNY KID!

 



 

I QUICKLY GRABBED A PICTURES OF MY SISTER, MOM AND I WITH THE 2 LITTLEST BEFORE WE HIT THE ROAD TODAY... MAN... 2 DAYS AT THE CABIN IS  JUST NOT ENOUGH TIME...

 

WE HAD A BLAST AT THE WEDDING (I HOPE TO POST A FEW PICS AFTER LOUIS EDITS THEM) AND THEN WITH FAMILY AT THE CABIN... BUT AS USUAL IT WENT TOO FAST...

 

WE ARE BACK AT HOME... SOAKING UP THE LAST 2 WEEKS OF SUMMER AND GETTING ORGANIZED FOR SCHOOL... AHHH... INSERT INSTANT HEAD ACHE...

 

NO REALLY, I AM EXCITED FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR... BUT JUST THE THOUGHT OF HAVING TO GET ORGANIZED TO SCHOOL THE OLDER 4 AND KEEP THE OTHER 2 BUSY WHILE HOPE IS AT PRE SCHOOL MAKES ME WANT TO PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON JUST A BIT:):)

 

THIS SUMMER HAS JUST LITERALLY BLOWN BY... SO THANKFUL FOR GOD'S PROTECTION OVER MANY MILES THIS LAST WEEK...



LOVE IS IN THE AIR... IN THE NORTHWOODS

 (GOOGLE IMAGE)

 

We are getting ready to haul it up north tomorrow for the outdoor wedding of a childhood friend of mine and my sister's.  We are all sooooo excited and have been for a long while.  Greg has the privilege and honor of performing the wedding.  He has said over and over again what a great couple they are and that they are perfect for each other.  What a sweet gift!

 

The bride and recently her fiance have been so so supportive of our trips to Uganda.  They have been such a blessing to us! The bride has to be one of the funniest people I know.

 

We can't wait for them to become one in the Lord!  It is sure to be a great time.    

 

 

Then we will get a couple more days up at my parent's lake house with my parents and some of my siblings and their families.

 

These are pics from  the last time we were up over the fourth of July.  Ahhh... a little slice of heaven up there on the lake:) 

We won't be shaken...

Today I had the blessed time of taking my 7 plus 3 kid friends to the pool...

Honestly, as I sat in the kiddie pool with Levi, Hope and Isaiah I could not help but think..."This is the life!"  It was such a sweet time.  I was reveling in the sweetness of wild and crazy Hope flying around the pool... Levi's sweet squeals... and Isaiah's ginormous toothless grin... (Goodness, he gets this huge smile and it literally is so big it changes the shape of his nose... so cute!)

The big kids were having a ball in the big pool and were off and on checking in with me or me with them.  I am treasuring these last few weeks of the more relaxed days of summer.  School is just right around the corner...

After we left, we literally scrounged up enough change from the car to hit Aldi's and buy a box of ice cream bars... as we left the parking lot this song by building 429 came on the radio...

WE WON'T BE SHAKEN! 

It hit me so suddenly the reality of who was in my car... and the words of this song that were being proclaimed loudly as we drove...


Whatever will come our way...
Through fire or pouring rain...
We won't be shaken... We won't be shaken...
What ever tomorrow brings...
together we'll rise and sing that
We won't be shaken... We won't be shaken...

We will trust in you... We will not be moved...  We will trust in you...

I had one young girl... not even a teenager yet, who lost her father recently after a long battle with cancer...
I had another young girl getting ready to head to college who had lost her mother suddenly just a few years ago...
I had a young boy who has lost 2 siblings in the past few years...
And then our bunch having lost a son/brother...

Wow, the faithfulness of the Lord was surrounding me quite literally as I could see clearly joy in these sweet kids faces...

They have survived so so much in their short lives already...
They have survived more than most may in their entire lives...
They have survived surely by the grace of God...

I know that when I look think on the sudden shocking loss of my son Samuel and then having to deliver him no longer alive, I truly can not believe I am standing... When I remember the horror and details of that devastating day I know it is only by the grace and faithfulness of our Lord that we continue to move forward...

And dare I say, move forward with  JOY in our hearts...
A deeper joy... a richer love... a fuller heart... a more grateful heart...

I KNOW that losing Samuel has made me appreciate the faithfulness of our God in a way I can barely describe sometimes... It you had been a fly on the wall in the middle of those nights after losing Samuel you would get a clearer picture... there are very few that I actually share those thoughts and feelings with... too much... I am sure Greg remembers it clearly...

 I remember all too well standing in the ultrasound just 9 months later as the sonographer was searching for a heartbeat in Joel's little body, the baby we were to adopt, knowing full well in my heart that his sweet little heart was no longer beating. Then just months later suffering the miscarriage of a baby we so badly wanted.  There were questions... heartbreak upon heartbreak ...

To have been in that place and to be where we are now...

Nothing short of a miracle in my heart!  He is so good and faithful!  I can say that fully knowing I don't know what His plans are... I could have another child die... I could lose my dear husband... None of us are guaranteed tomorrow... and because I have seen and felt that first hand... I hold my Savior's promises more close to my heart than ever... He will carry you and sustain you through life's hardest times.

He is faithful!  He can transform lives... He can heal BROKEN, SHATTERED hearts!   And because I know that He will work good from our heartache...  I can loudly proclaim... We won't be shaken...

I know those kids in my car may not have even realized all I was thinking today... all God was showing me... But I see the faithfulness of our Lord clear in their life... They may not even fully see or realize it till they are even older... But wow... did God bless me by being witness to His faithfulness in our lives and in theirs! 

If you are in one of those places in life that you can barely see out of... please hang on ... be encouraged that He will NEVER leave you... He will walk right along side of you, carry you when needed... He will bring beauty out of your pain... somehow, miraculously he does... If you are hurting, I would love to pray for you... email me, leave a comment...

Now take a moment and listen to this sweet song... I pray it blesses you today...

The body... being the body

Something happened a while back that gave my heart such peace...

Although it was a very hard circumstance... God's faithfulness and His plans were precious...

I love seeing the body working as it was designed... (due to our own human sinfulness, a lot of time I think we TOTALLY can hinder the Lord's work from being fulfilled)

I love seeing Christians doing the hard things... willingly having the really hard conversations... to ultimately lead themselves and others into the best possible relationships with eachother and their Heavenly Father...

I have sooo many times in the past seen the hurt of broken relationships that even with so very much effort  (at least on one end of the broken relationship) to work towards restoration... where that healing  just can't ever happen...

I have seen sooooo many people just not willing to communicate or have the hard conversations that would lead to a healthier future...

I have seen people who would rather just brush things under the rug than deal with them to work towards a better/healthier relationship with someone...

I have seen so much pride that stifles the work that the Heavenly Father  or the Holy Spirit could do...

But in this situation,  I saw the total opposite...  It was hard... it was uncomfortable at times... but it was exactly what it should be and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!

I saw God working forgiveness, restoration, love, redemption, and the start of the healing process...
What a blessing and precious gift it was to my heart...

I haven't doubted for a second that the Lord has called us here and it was the right decision in every way... but this was like an added bonus to see in action believers wanting God's very best for everyone, working together... having the hard conversations, humbling themselves (all the way around) and with willing hearts praying for the Lord's blessing and healing...

Beautiful to see the body of Christ... be the body... Thank you Lord!

Bonus Blessing

 

When we arrived in Schaumburg, we were given a pass to the city pools... Hello??? Best gift ever!  I think we made it worth our while just in the first 2 visits for what it would have cost us to go with out the passes... There are 3 pools and today we finally tried out the water park pool... Hello???  What have we been waiting for... It was the best yet for our crew. 

 

They had the greatest water park area for little kids... so bright, colorful, and fun!  Even Levi, who is a bit fearful of the water, loved splashing around.  Hope and Jojo of course were going gang busters!

 

Anna alternated between riding on the big slides and hanging out with us in the littler kid areas:)

 



 

Such a typical Hope expression...

 



 

 

Jojo and Isaiah chilling in the kiddie pool... It was a bit breezy today, but the water in the kiddie pool was much warmer:)  Doesn't Isaiah have the greatest smile ever!?

 



 



 

 

 

 

Levi's routine is to go up and down the slide again and again and again... of course he won't even budge from the top with out my hand holding his to come down the slide...  At the beginning of the summer he was afraid of it all... Now he actually enjoys a lot of it!:)  He has come a long way:) 

 



 

What an amazing gift to be given.  It is something we never would have known about or maybe even spent money on this summer with still owning our home in Oklahoma and all!  (Which by the way is set to close on the 16th, Lord willing) 

 

What generous hearts to bless us in this way... even having the pool pass has helped us get our feet wet here so to speak... making us a part of the community... sort of forcing us to take a break from the unpacking and organizing to have some fun... allowing us to visit with people at the pool... not to mention it has given us loads of fun and great memories... such a gift and such a sweet blessing! 

TWO...

Yep, he is two alright...

loads of fun, sweetness, and preciousness...

 

but also...

 

a fair amount of screaming, temper, and anger these days.  I think that his lack of talking doesn't help his frustration level...

 

Not all of my kids have had a rough two year old year, but I would say Levi is giving me a run for my money at times. 

 

He is getting a lot better with some training... and I am so thankful for that... Daily I can't help but think, it is such a blessing that he is just so cotton picking cute that I can't help but love him through his tough moments...

 

I couldn't help snap a few pictures a couple of weeks ago as I tried to get all 8 of us out the door for church on Sunday...

 

This is typical Levi... going from happy to sad to angry to back to absolutely precious in a matter of minutes:):)  What a gift... every last sweet and crazy moment with him...