Mission to Haiti!

So last week amidst the company visiting my G hopped on a plane for Haiti...

Internet access has been sketchy, phone conversation brief and easily lost, but I am so thankful for the few minutes of phone conversation with G, and for Jeff, a friend also along on the trip who has updated Facebook:). Yay for just being able to see G's face.... and it doesn't hurt to see a precious little pumpkin like this one pictured below, in his arms... Isn't she a doll??

The whole Haiti team... Three members from St. Peter along with some others from Palatine and Normal Illinois:).  The kids and I, on the road to Houston, were just praying a little bit ago for God to do a mighty work in and through them all as they serve the people of Haiti!!

Here is G hanging out in a rural village with some of the locals... No foreigners/white folk had ever been to their village... How amazing is that? 

I know that besides the main missions of the team, that our St. Peter crew was hoping to make some connections and start to build relationships for further service in the future...

I have been praying for The Lord to clearly direct their steps to the place He may have for Our church to connect... 

And where there is a great need... Personally I can't help but hope there is some sort of orphanage connection:) 

Please Pray...

Hello friends,
I am sure that you have heard about the devastating tornado that hit Moore Oklahoma yesterday...

They say the damage is worse than the Joplin tornado... I went to Joplin to help... I CAN NOT imagine anything worse...

So here we are in sunny California, driving the gorgeous Pacific Coast Highway today... but I know that Greg, myself, and my older two had really one thing on our mind....  Those hurting people in Moore Oklahoma... which is about 2 hours from our home..

It is hard to enjoy vacation when you know people just like you just...

lost a child...
lost a home...
lost all their material belongings...
lost EVERYTHING...

Greg and the older 2 boys have been up to Joplin at last 5 times to help in whatever ways were needed...They were actually there the first weekend following the tornado back 2 years ago...

So in their hearts, and I knew this would be the case... they want to go home early to have a chance to go there and serve this weekend before we move next week.  At least at this point that is the plan...

As much as I love family vacations...

 I love so much more that the Lord is weaving a spirit of service, care, and compassion into my boys.

 I love that they are willing to put themselves out there to work really hard, whatever task is asked of them all just to show the love of Jesus to those that are hurting so deeply right now...

Photo shoot with the little guy...

 

With those deep penetrating eyes...

 

 

and such perky expressive eyebrows...

 

 

And yummy chubby cheeks...

 

 

and a smile that will melt your heart...

 

We are one step closer to making him ours forever...

We had our last post placement visit yesterday...

 

Now we just wait to get a court date to finalize...

 

Since his birth parents rights are already terminated there really aren't any worries... It is just always such a paperwork mountain... long wait... and when he is finally in your arms... It is SUPER NICE to make it official...

 

(Louis took some pictures of Greg and I the other day and we scooped up Isaiah for a few:)  

Levi declares...

 

 

   Levi declares, "Easter Week just got a little... 

 

 

CRAZIER!!!"

 

(Funny thing about that is that Levi really doesn't declare much yet... that sweet little guy will be so much less frustrated when he can talk:):)  But if he could talk that is what he would be saying right now!!!

 

Yesterday in church it was announced that Greg has received a call to serve as an associate pastor at  another church in Illinois...

 

Now the praying begins... We plan to take the whole crew up there in a couple of weeks to see what it is like.  We wanted them to be able to check it out... especially the older kids.

 

Moving is never easy... In fact... my heart starts pumping just thinking about the possibility... But we want the kids to know that their thoughts and feelings are being considered as well! 

 

So we are praying that the Lord makes it ABUNDANTLY clear to us where He desires us to be.  We TOTALLY want His will to be done in our lives and we want to be used by Him in the way He best desires...

 

We plan to make a decision in a couple weeks or so... We would love your prayers as well if you think of us...

 

 Prayers for Greg to manage all the extra things he has to do this week with extra services and considering and praying over this new call and his call here... Prayers that Satan would keep his sneaky claws away... (I can feel the added stress in the way the kids are interacting... whew... Hopie had one heck of a day at preschool:):) ... And prayers for our kids, that the Lord would impress upon their hearts a real desire to be as a family where God desires us to be... Thanks so much friends!

 

 

 

 

 



BREAD FOR LIFE

Well, my socks were literally knocked off last Sunday at church.  It was orphan Sunday so we decided to steal an idea (with permission of course) from a new friend who went with International Voice of the Orphan to Uganda last June.  We decided to jump on board and bake bread... sell it... every penny going to help the orphans we will serve in Uganda in January...

Thursday I asked a friend... how many loaves of bread should be plan on baking... I sort of thought around 50 would be good... She said 100... I was floored and thought that was way too many... (Oh me of little faith)  Between 2 friends, some of the youth kids, and our crew we had 57 loaves to sell last Sunday...

We sold out before the Sunday School hour even started... Literally no one from Sunday School or late church even had a chance to smell the bread... $1100 was given to the orphans... Praise God!  He is so good!  And we are so thankful to be able to have a chance to give to those kids who really need it...

So needless to say, this coming Sunday will be BREAD FOR LIFE take 2... Bread will be available during Sunday School and late service... We can't wait to see what the Lord will do this week...

Greg preached on Orphan Sunday... The Lord has done a miracle in His heart... I laughed out loud when he was preaching...  I remember when we were first married and talking about kids I had to TOTALLY TALK him into 4 kids... Here we are with 6 living here with us on earth and waiting on another little one... also knowing full well that we would love more if the Lord saw fit...

God wants to see orphans in families...We just want to open that door and let the Lord work through that open door or close it if that is His will... but it really isn't our decision to make... 

I can not tell you the stirring He is doing in my heart... Between reading the rest of Kisses From Katie, the book Seven, our family beans and rice challenge, and getting ready for our mission trip to Uganda... The thoughts I have are some that I NEVER would have had just a year or 2 ago... Maybe I will get to share more on that at some point...

I am so thankful to be at this point in my heart and life... and for G and I to be on the same page... the funny thing is we really have no idea what it means for our future, the ministry He has planned for our family, or our family in general.  All I know is that it feels good to be TRULY more open to whatever the Lord might have for us... not really what I thought I wanted Him to have for us:)  He is so good...

Right now... I can not wait to take the gifts that God used His people to give on Sunday and in turn knock the socks off of some of these precious little ones come January...

Quite a day... actually a fairly normal day for us:)

Happy 42nd Birthday to my sweet hubby!  We are so blessed to have him as the daddy of the house and the leader of this home!  I know it may seem like he is taken for granted sometimes... but I know how easily we never could have had a married life together or these precious kids together had he passed away from his cancer 20 years ago... I DO NOT take his precious life for granted... I need to make sure my actions show him that loud and clear!  Sorry babe, for when in my humaness I fail in that arena... You are loved and treasured!

What a day... He spent all morning helping build the pre-schools new playground up at church... (totally my Greg to WANT to do that on his birthday)  He wouldn't have missed it:) 

All of that while I got the house ready for a showing (yes, I think I have failed to mention here that our house is for sale) not an easy task with 4 little ones at home... and especially when they arrive early.... ahhhhh!  

I went grocery shopping, come home... unload groceries on the counters... start feeding the kids, get lunch going, put dinner in the crock pot, and low and behold who is at my door??? The realtor.  I totally thought she forgot something here... Nope, they wanted to see the house again... 

Well... literally the house looked like a tornado had hit in the 15 minutes we had been home... Rushed to pick up food off the floor, tried to get a hold of Greg who was on his way home... no answer... pile kids back in the van... meet Greg in the driveway... tell the realtor to excuse all the little messes that  occured in that short time... 

Head to sonic for slushies... Greg had also brought home a young man from church who is staying with his grandparents for 2 weeks... A homeschooled kid from the DC area... who had lost his father a little less than 3 years ago... INCREDIBLE  kid... offered to help me at least 4 different times today... a total joy to have here in our home:)  The boys were already planning a potential sleepover in a few days!

The rest of the day... much more relaxed... ate Greg's birthday meals and had red velvet cake, Granny's recipe which NEVER turns out like hers... it was still pretty tasty though:)  

After dinner life consisted of a little role reversal... Greg cleaning up the kitchen (I know... sad on his birthday) me and the older boys cleaning out the garage... I had mentioned to Greg earlier that just because we are a big family (meaning numerous bikes, scooters, bins of clothes etc) that didn't mean our garage had to be a walking nightmare:)  

He wasn't sure we could make it look any better... So the boys and I tackled it in about an hours time... Wow... Greg's first words were, "What did you do with it all!"  (I think he was truly afraid it had pitched everything)  Literally, just a few things to good will, all the garbage out, cardboard to the car to take to recycling, the stack ready for Craig's list, and all the rest put up on the shelves we have in the garage...   It just needed some serious organizing.

Now to some... it is still probably a VERY full, somewhat messy garage... but it was HUGE progress for us... and the kitchen was amazing when G was done!  Ahhh... my mind is more settled now with less messes...

Never did hear back from the realtor... oh well, God knows exactly the family who needs this house:)  But I would love for him to bring them here sooner, rather than later... because it is so hard to keep a house show ready at the drop of a hat with 6 kids at home... But honestly, I am just so thankful to have a house to keep clean at this point:)  We will see what he has in store...
So now off to bed...

THE BOYS WILL BE BACK IN TOWN...

 LOU, LAST OCTOBER WORKING IN FRONT OF THE OLD JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL...

 CALEB WORKING IN JOPLIN

GREG AND JO SPORTING THEIR I LOVE JOPLIN T'S... YOU CAN SEE THE OLD HOSPITAL BEHIND THEM... TO MY KNOWLEDGE THEY STILL HAVEN'T TAKEN IT DOWN...

Our older 2 boys are back up in Joplin tonight for the next week with our youth group.  Greg will join them after church tomorrow.  This will be their 5th time serving in Joplin in the last year.  The pictures above were taken last fall when the littles and I joined them for a couple of days!  

I love that our youth lady (Woohoo Tracy!!) puts a strong emphasis on serving.  I think that their themed shirts for this trip hit the nail on the head "More of God... Less of ME!  I love it, especially since teens seem to be a little self focused... I love that she is teaching them to take their eyes off of themselves and to see the needs of others...

It will be interesting to see what kind of work that they get to do this go around...  I know that there is still MUCH work to be done... The devastation from that tornado in May of 2011 still astounds me...

Praying here on the homefront that the Lord works mightily in the kids hearts as they work mightily for HIM!!!

I will hopefully update in the next couple of days on this next journey our family is taking on the road of adoption:)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY HOUSTON:)

 Rocky Mountain National Park May 2012

 When we were out west a month ago, this is how my honey and Hopie walked for miles upon miles... Hand in Hand:)  They were a team... And with Greg's encouragement, that little girl hiked like a little trooper:) I was amazed:)

I remember back when Greg and I met in college, I think every single person on campus knew him as Houston... me included... When we started dating 2 1/2 years later and he wanted me to call him Greg, it seemed soooooo strange... He was Houston to me:)  (Funny, my sister-in-love Janie still calls him Houston:)... I love it!

We are so thankful this Father's Day that God chose to make us a family and that He choose to put Greg at the helm of this crazy vessel:)

 I am so blessed to have him as my husband and father to our kiddos:)  We have come a long way from the days of our premarital marriage counseling when I wanted 4+ kids and he thought:) he wanted 2:)  And... we still have a long way to go:) God has an amazing way of refining, growing and changing us... Not an easy process... but it sure if much nicer to walk this beautiful, yet challenging journey together...

  
Happy Father's Day Houston:)

Relay....

Some of the luminary bags...

All the relay walkers from our church... Cancer survivors in the purple shirts in the middle...

My survivor and our baby:)

The released butterflies right before the walk began and later Hopie got to hold one:)

Our Luminary bags in memory of Greg's grandpa and in honor of my hubby...

The relay for Life was great... up until about 12:00 when the lightning rolled in and they had to shut down the event.  I was amazed at how quickly we got our churches area taken down... Everyone really pitched in and it was so nice to see:)  The boys and G rushed to take down the pop up camper... ( So our very first night in the pop up wasn't exactly a success, although I did have Levi down...  But Hope was so jazzed she was literally rocking it from the other side while I was putting Levi down and she was still awake when we had to take it down  at midnight... that little pumpkin doesn't want to miss a thing. )  

It was a great night before the storm came in.  The Survivor dinner was really delicious.  I can't believe Greg has been cancer free for 20 years.  When he was diagnosed just 3 months after we started dating I never could have imagined the journey the Lord would take us on as a family.  I continually praise God that He saw fit to heal Greg and allow us to have a family!  Back then we didn't know if that would be the case...

Life is such a gift... and something we are not guaranteed will last long here on earth.  At the relay they do a great job of honoring those who have passed, have fought the disease or are still fighting the disease.  I think my favorite part is the survivor lap... Seeing all those courageous people bravely making the first lap of the night... I love it!  

I HEARD HIS VOICE...

Man I love that man...

I heard his voice about 15 minutes ago... for all of 30 seconds.. It was great... He sounds great... He doesn't at all sound tired... He sounded alive!!!  I can see it and hear it all over my husband when he is struggling... and to be honest... He hasn't sounded more alive for a long time!  

I know that he has always had a heart for missions... If I am honest, I know that I have held him back... Admittedly, I personally have never felt the call myself to the mission field.  I have always been more than happy to let him go for short term trips.

I got an email from him the other day, it said... "2 things... 1... you should not have let me come... I LOVE IT!  and 2... we have not had diarrhea's since Easters... (That would be an infamous line from Nacho Libre:) 

I knew he would love it... I can't wait to hear Lou's perspective... But my response to him was , " Where you go I go, Where you lead, I follow"  And I mean it wholeheartedly.  I want him to follow his life's passions no matter where they lead.  I really want him to fully feel beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is doing what the Lord wants him to do and where He wants him to do it...

I am not at all saying that isn't where we are now... I just know that the Lord is growing and changing my heart right along with Greg's while he is gone...  I feel like so often I get bogged down, hurt by people, longing to make situations right that I have no control over.

 What I have come to understand is that the Lord has to work on people's hearts... No matter how hard I try... I can't do it.  I can do all I can on my part and then it is in the Lord's hands... This is hard for me... I am a communicator... I want resolution from conflicts... I have a sensitive heart... probably too sensitive.  And I have spent far too much time worrying about situations and relationships that I can't control...

I just want to be in His will for me and our family... Wherever and however that may be... :) We have one shot at this life to make a difference for the kingdom... and i don't want to waste it:)

 It is kind of exciting when you give up that control and just say go with it God... have your way... not mine!

Pics of Uganda

I couldn't help reposting some pictures here that Louis had posted on facebook... Oh it does my heart good to see my boys and to see them loving on some precious kids.  Wild, they are on the other side of the world.  It makes my heart so happy, knowing that they are sharing the love of Jesus with these kids.  It absolutely breaks my heart to think of kids with out parents or kids with out a family.  It is not right and is totally not ok with me...

 How did we get so lucky to be born into the families that we are ...and into the country that we have been?  It is mind boggling to me and just does not seem fair at all... I know I would want to scoop them all up and bring them home with me.  I continue to pray that the Lord would open up the teams eyes WIDE open to see who needs that extra special loving and that the Lord fills them up with supernatural strength, endurance, and love so that it just flows right from the Father and then out of them to all those they are ministering to. 

DW spoke to some of these same things today on the IVO blog... http://www.internationalvoiceoftheorphan.blogspot.com/  It is a must read for sure!

My heart leapt with joy to hear of the new believers and how there must be a party going on in Heaven today! 

Thanks so much for praying friends! Much love!

UGANDA BOUND...

As I write this, Greg and Louis are down at the health department getting their yellow fever and typhoid shots for their trip to Uganda in February.

We are all so excited for them to have this amazing opportunity.  Any of you who read sweet Linny's blog www.aplacecalledsimplicity.com have read about the opportunities that they have had to minister to the orphans and street kids over there.  Well, Louis and Greg will be heading over with Linny's husband DW.  My sweet friend Abbi went last January and said that he has an amazing heart and totally restored her hope in Pastors.  While financially this is quite a stretch for us, we know deep down that this is what God is calling the men in this house to do.  And it couldn't be more perfect timing for each of them.  We know God will provide...  he always has, above and beyond our needs:)

While they are there they will be working in at least 3 different orphanages, one with at least 1000 kids... BREAK MY HEART!  They will also be feeding the street children... again... BREAK MY HEART!   Can you believe there are kids upon kids, little kids, even as young as 2-3 fending for themselves... homeless and with out food?  They will also be helping to put on a Pastor's/leaders conference.  They are anticipating 700-1000 leaders from 5 different African countries.  They will be teaching on the Life of David and integrity and character.  Their prayer before they go is .... Break my heart for what breaks your heart God!!!

My amazing hubby has such a heart for missions... One of the first words out of his mouth was... What if I don't want to come back???  I said, "We will deal with that bridge when we come to it if that is the case."  I am thrilled that they have this amazing chance to minister to the people of Uganda.  Of course, I would ask for you to pray with us for safe travel, their protection through out the trip, and for the Lord to work mightily in their hearts and He uses them mightily over there. 

VACATION MEMORIES

The kids enjoying the beauty of Fence Lake and the Northwoods:)

A photo of all the cousins that were present at the land for a few days together... The older kids watched all the little kids... they were brave and did a great job while the adults all went out to eat:)

Sibling dinner, all of us except for Greg who was home in bed with Pneumonia... poor guy, that was such a bummer... more on that in a bit... Oh my, it was a night to remember, lots of laughter cruising around all together in my big white van... GOOD TIMES...

I am so thankful for the healing that the Lord has done in my heart to allow me to feel like I can finally FULLY participate in fun times with my siblings again. There have been 3 other baby boys added to our family, 4 including Levi, in the last 3 years since Samuel died and at times that was more than difficult for me. God has been so faithful to restore joy to my heart even amidst the sadness of still missing Samuel. My family is such a gift from God... such neat people, grief has a way of making even the best relationships hard at times... Bummer, but it is the hard truth...

I gave them all, including my parents the book, Tear Soup... it is in my opinion one of the best books on healing after a loss. I am hoping that it will continue to help my family and others understand where I am at even now almost 3 years after Samuel died.

This trip was one of such sweet times with my family and I am so thankful...

The kids outside of Paul Bunyans... why are trips home to Wisconsin all about the food at times?? :)

Jojo blowing out the candles on Greg's cake. We didn't want Greg spreading any germs to the rest of us. By far the biggest bummer of the trip was that Greg was sick almost the whole time. He literally spent the first 5 days in bed... We went up from southern Milwaukee to northern Wisconsin and he went right back to bed for the next 2 days. After a trip to urgent care, a blood draw, a chest x-ray... it was determined that he had pneumonia. I have not seen him that sick since his cancer 19 years ago. At one point, I found him in bed on his hands and knees with his face in the pillow. He said it was the only way he could stop from coughing. POOR GUY!! How is that for vacation time huh?:(

The last 2 days of vacation he did make it up to the couch and even twice outside with the rest of us. Needless to say, the family time was almost non existent... big bummer... the kids and I had a great vacation, but it was not at all the same as it would have been had Greg been able to hang out with us. I went from taking care of and playing with the kids, to checking on him. We are hoping and praying that some how the Lord will bless us with some sweet times together in the next few weeks before school gets into full swing for us.

He is still really tired, but thank God for His healing touch on Greg that he seems to be on the mend now:)

On the way up to Wisconsin when we stopped in St. Louis for me to share our story at the seminary, I was blessed to have a couple of hours with my sweet "blog in real life friend Ebe" She and I met in Georgia about a year and a half ago with our other blog friend Tonya (we missed you so much Tonya:(

Since the last time I saw her we have both added healthy, living, precious children... It was such a sweet time to just visit and know that the other "gets it" She and her husband are now in St. Louis at a different seminary than we were during our time there:) It was a gift to get a chance to visit with her again... God has been so good to bring friends into my life because of Samuel that I never would have had the chance to meet otherwise...:)

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

Ahhhh.... I love Greg more now than the day I married him almost 18 years and 7 kids ago...
Happy Father's Day Greg...

He is such a good daddy to his kids...

Such a good provider to his wife and family....

He puts up with a whole lot of craziness each day:)...

These kids are so blessed to call him daddy today and everyday!! :)

I wanted to also wish my sweet papa a Happy Father's Day up in Wisconsin:) I miss you daddy! Life was NEVER dull with you as my dad... it was and still is downright fun:) We will celebrate next month together:)

And we wanted to wish Greg's dad a Happy Father's Day as well...I owe him so much in raising up my hubby to be such a great husband and Father to all of our sweet precious gifts from God!

MY SURVIVOR:)

MY GREG WITH HOPIE ON HIS BACK...

GREG WALKING THE FIRST LAP WITH THE REST OF THE SURVIVORS.... (I KNOW... NOT THE BEST PICTURE:)

THESE WERE ALL THE SURVIVORS WHO STARTED THE SURVIVOR LAP... THEY HAVE BEEN CANCER FREE FOR A YEAR OR LESS...

MY SWEET SURVIVOR WITH HIS NEWEST LITTLE GUY:) I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN TELL, BUT HIS HAIR NEVER DID GROW BACK FULLY IN THE BACK AFTER HIS RADIATION...

A week ago we participated in the Relay For Life, a cancer walk to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. It was really special for us.

My sweet husband has been Cancer free for almost 19 years. That is absolutely crazy to me. I remember as clear as can be, when he was diagnosed just 2 1/2 months after we started dating. I remember his parents calling and telling my parents before they called me, just not sure how I would take the news. I had only met them for the first time just 3 weeks before. I remember my parents being at a marriage retreat the following weekend and hearing my mom say that when they requested prayer for Greg, that my dad just lost it... it was one of the first times she had ever seen him cry... I remember almost passing out as I watched some of the tests they did to determine what stage the cancer was in... I could go on and on and on.... all distinct but very distant memories of the battle my honey was in for his life... Wow... I can't believe all God has brought Greg through... brought us through...

What a strong and amazing man I am married to. When we first planned on getting married Greg had wanted to work for the American Cancer Society... it just never worked out that way. God had other plans for him. I was a proud wife watching him walk the survivor lap. I am always amazed at the story the Lord is writing in Greg's life... He is such a willing and humble servant... really I learn so much from him in those areas...

It was a really cool experience to be a part of the Relay for Life. Members from our church have a huge part in it. Greg had to do the opening prayer... next year we hope to be more involved or even just stay longer or even over night with the kids. I think we need to celebrate each and every bit of what the Father has brought us through... He is the great healer...

Tonight, I just want to ask you to pray for my sweet friend Mary's mom who is fighting lung cancer and our dear friends Matt and Janet and their 2 girls. He is a pastor in Illinois and is fighting Multiple Myloma and the battle is intense right now. Please pray for the Lord's healing, comfort and peace for their hearts, and His will to be done in their lives through this difficult time.