What a difference a YEAR makes... and then there was JOY...

 A year ago we posted these photos sharing that we were hoping to expand our family through adoption... We were waiting to be matched...

Little did we know that a mama had already contacted our agency after seeking out alternatives to carrying her baby full term... but it was too costly for her to end her pregnancy... She had now decided to seek out to make an adoption plan...

Little did we know what the Lord had already put in place and that just a mere 3 1/2 weeks later we would get a call that we had been chosen by this sweet mama to raise her baby...

Little did we know that in less than 3 months we would hold that babygirl in our arms...

All we knew that day was that we had opened up the door for the Lord to work...

We were just going to step forward in faith waiting on God's plans to unfold and His will to be done...

(Truth be told when we first had started to pursue finding an agency to do our Illinois homestudy, I was flat out told that "NO ONE would pick our family with 7 other kids in the house" 

Truth be told, I was discouraged that day... but within minutes of that really downer conversation, our case worker from Isaiah's adoption agency had called to talk to me about something new their agency was going to possibly try in a different area of adoptions... 

God knew I needed to talk with her and my heart was immediately encouraged in what I already knew but needed to be reminded of... It was all in His perfect hands... The BEST place for it to be...

Little did I know that He was already working much out behind the scenes... 

And work He did... and fast!  

And just like that (with a whole lot of added drama, a birthmom changing her mind on Christmas day, an extended 5 week stay in Arizona to get paperwork through... ) She was in our arms!!!

Kaliyah Joy, is just that! Filled with JOY!  She is such a little sweet heart! 

She has become a bit more serious as of late and she checks out people who aren't family with a little more intensity than normal:)

But she knows her family... She knows loads of attention... Loads of hugs, holding, kisses, snuggles, laughs, and LOVE!  

We can't get enough of her and her sweet squishy self! 

God knew she needed us...

And more importantly, God knew we needed her just as much!  

She is a perfect fit for our family! 

Adoption isn't ever easy... but worth every penny, sacrifice, heartbreak, stretching, and beautiful moment along the journey! (I have a story of God's incredible faithfulness to provide that I will share soon! We are blown away!) 

We are BLOWN away by the gift of this sweet sweet baby girl...

BLOWN away that He chose us for her...

And that just like we have adopted her and taken her as our own...

God does the same for us...

adopts us as HIS children...

Just like we love her... He loves us a million times more!

Just like God saw sweet Kaliyah so close to not ever having a chance to live a full life outside her birthmom... 

God saw us with out any chance of living a full life in eternity and He redeemed us through His son...

She is ours... and we are HIS...

My heart is full... 

My heart is overflowing...

Just a year later... What a difference HE can make in our lives... 

A get away with the bigs!!

We were so blessed a couple of weeks back to get away for a very short and quick weekend with our four big kids.  We know adopting four kids has added an abundant amount of blessings to our family... but also an abundant amount of babysitting, diaper changes, bottles, messes etc. for our bigger kids to help with.  So after some talking we decided to give it a shot and try to find some special help to watch the 4 littles! It worked out great!

Caleb spent the previous night with his cousins and best buddy Logan and went and did a college visit with them. We met them all, including my sweet friend Kimmey Sue when we picked him up in Milwaukee!  What a treat to see Kim after so long.  We spent the 5 weeks in AZ while we were adopting Kaliyah with them in their home... (MOST GRACIOUS HOSTS EVER!!! And oh how I miss her!)

Then it was off to Door County Wisconsin!  Eating out was even a treat with out the littler guys:)

We were blessed to stay at the farm home of some friends from church:)

Lake Michigan is really beautiful... You really feel like you are on the edge of the ocean at times.  We stopped at a lot of shops, a lighthouse, let the kids skip rocks, and really took in the beautiful creation God has made:)

Anna and I ended the weekend hanging out in the hammock!  Talk about a beautiful day enjoying a beautiful property.  I was blessed to not have to cook all weekend!  HUGE TREAT! It was really a gift to hang with the 4 biggest kids!

When we got home these beautiful ladies had cleaned the whole house!  It was incredible!  Seriously, my heart was so blessed to come home and have the kids well taken care of and the bonus was a clean home!  It was awesome!  I didn't want these girls to leave:)

I am so thankful for each and every single one of my kids!  What a treat to have the big kids all to ourselves for a few days!

God's great provision... For Kaliyah

Sweet baby Kaliyah has been fed by many... LITERALLY!

We have a great Facebook page here in town for local moms which has been a HUGE BLESSINGS to our family! 

When Kaliyah was having trouble with every kind of formula we tried in ARIZONA, I had a friend reach out to this groups of mamas... And the amount of moms that came forward ready and willing to donate breastmilk was astounding!!

What a gift!  This sweet baby has been nourished so well by the gift of so many mamas. She hadn't been sick even one time:). Praise God!! 

Just the other week a gal brough milk to our home!!! Her name was Hope and she literally was delivering hope and great health to our little sweetie!!  

Kaliyah is almost 10 months old and she is still receiving breast milk.  She tolerates formula fine now and through this same site we have been given loads of free formula from moms who don't need the samples they receive. 

Adoption isn't inexpensive so we clearly have seen the hand of God in providing this great food for Kaliyah through the very generous hands of others! It never ceases to amaze me when I see the faithfulness of and the creative ways of our Gracious God as he provides for us!!:) 

This is happening....

And just like that our sweet little guy isn't so little anymore:)

We are finally getting around to Lou's graduation open house...

We are really proud of him and all of his hard work to finish school and work towards his future. 

We know God has great things in store for him and we are excited to watch it unfold.  

He loves working at Feed My Starving Children and hopes to continue working for them and has had a desire to go into mission work as well.  We will see where God leads him:) 

We would love for you to pray for him as well!  We are praying that God would continually draw him closer to Himself and that He would lead and guide him in His will for his life! 

We are so thankful for the gift that Louis is to all of us:) 

Summer nights

While the big kids are at youth group Jojo and I try to have some fun with the 5 littles.

We are so blessed by all of the great places to explore and enjoy practically right in our own back yard.  We literally walked about a quarter of a mile to this park area.  The kids loved watching the swans and ducks... as well as the people!  The highlight was catching frogs.

Jojo even said it was better than walking to Oberweis for icecream... now that is saying something!

Summer is passing by way too quickly.  Some of our friends are back in school... most go back on Monday and we are putting it off and going to enjoy summer for two more weeks.  Seriously, the kids and I even considered doing school six days a week to have a really long nice summer next year... we will see how that plays out...

But truly, it flies by entirely too quickly!  So we are going to cherish the last two weeks of playing, swimming at the pool, going for walks, and just spending time together!

Is she yummy or what!  Seriously, this girl is pure JOY!

The boys enjoying the park on campus... Isaiah has earned the nick name Kamikaze this summer... He is wild at the pool, wild at the lake, wild in the house... just down right wild a lot of the time... But I think Jojo might give him a little competition jumping off the swings:)

In honor...

There has been so much hurt directly affecting people close to me the last couple of weeks.  And literally after hearing of the 4th death in a two day time frame while at FMSC prior to our prayer time... I broke...

Those lost are not even people I know... Yet those I know and love are hurting deeply... so I hurt...
That is one thing that losing Samuel taught me... empathy...
Grieve with those that grieve, rejoice with those that rejoice... people don't have to hurt alone... We can help shoulder that burden...
My heart hurts for those that hurt...

This past Saturday we packed in honor of the Pals family... When the slide was up on the screen as I set up for orientation... it was almost too much... too much hurt... One amazing family wiped out in a moment... All at once... Read this amazing article that was written on the FMSC blog and take a moment to pray for their families... She says it all so well...

‘Now I Know in Part….’

August 2, 2016 by Katie Koranda

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

Death and life. Hunger and fulfillment. Sorrow and joy. At Feed My Starving Children, we wade in the mire of these dichotomies daily.

We know that more than 6,000 children a day die from hunger related causes. We grieve. We take action. We hope. We do it all again the next day.

We are about life, despite so often being surrounded by death.

This week we lost one of our own. Jamison Pals was a grant writer for FMSC for the past three years. He left us in April to pursue missions in Japan with his family. While here, he touched countless lives. He was about to touch countless more through ministry in Japan.

Not only were we inspired as staff by his heart for Christ, but thousands upon thousands of children will live because of the work he did as a grant writer.

He died with his family on a road in Nebraska. His wife, Kathryne. His two toddlers, Ezra and Violet. A two-month-old infant named Calvin. The thought is almost incomprehensible.

We are grieving with the families of Jamison and Kathryne. But we are not without comfort and hope — this is the wonder and the miracle of a life with Christ.

We know from God’s word that there is a time for everything “and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…”

Good and gracious God,

May we take time to mourn, to grieve.

Thank you for your grace — that there is room for questioning and anger in grief.

And that sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Be near to us as we walk the line between sorrow and joy every day.

Thank you for Jamison, Kathryne, Ezra, Violet and Calvin.

Thank you for the thousands of children who eat MannaPack Rice™ and the volunteers and donors who make it possible.

Thank you for the comfort and healing from your presence, and we humbly ask for more of it now.

Amen.

After traveling to the Dominican Republic with FMSC, Jamison wrote a blog post about fatherhood. He closed with this verse:

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

More on the Pals Family

• Read Jamison and Kathryne’s blog, For the Joy of Japan
• Support For the Joy of Japan
• Memorial Worship Service for the Pals
• World Venture Remembers the Pals Family
• Bethlehem Baptist Church Remembers the Pals Family

Summer

Summer is absolutely flying by at the speed of lightning!!!  Way too fast for me!:(  

I think we may not start our school till after labor day just so we can soak up a bit more of summer!  I think with teaching last year I was a bit behind even before summer began... 

It has been pretty non stop, especially for the big boys... In the above picture they were getting ready to leave for the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans.  They loved it... worshipping with 25,000 other Christian youth.  We were so happy they had the opportunity to go.  Literally, they were home for 3 days and off they went to Haiti!  

My sister and crew were up from St. Louis just for a day visit... But it was really special!  It is always a treat to spend time together... even if it is far too short!  The kids loved the toilet bowl slide at the pool.  We have spent countless hours there... It has been a perfect summer weather wise:)

Hope and Eli chatting it up... They discovered they really could get married since she is adopted... The conversations were hilarious!

Sweet baby Kaliyah Joy and her old man face... She was passed out cold at the pool.  She has been such a great sport... Goes with the flow and seriously is the happiest baby whether it is hanging at the pool or inside in her exersaucer she is a joyful baby! 

We were so blessed by this perfect little baby!

My two biggest helpers while the big 3 men are in Haiti!  They have been amazing!  I literally don't know what I would do with out them!  

The Haiti crew at 4:30 am as they headed out.  I spoke with  Greg for just a few minutes tonight!  They are all safe and well and having an amazing time!  I can't wait to hear all about it, especially from the kids perspectives!  I really miss them all! But we are so thankful that they have this wonderful opportunity to share the love of Jesus with the people in Haiti! 

I was amazingly blessed by the head pastor's wife Gretchen coming over and helping me with laundry tonight... What started out as towels ended up as the WHOLE bunch of laundry...load after load as we talked!  It was so nice to have some adult visiting and the helping hands with folding!  What a gift to my tired heart today!