Pleasant surprise

I was able to watch a precious video of the children at our little one's orphanage today.

I can not tell you what a pure blessing that was to this mommy's heart!

Chloe was in there quite a bit. I was able to hear her sweet little voice and watch her 

interact with the other beautiful children around her. It was so precious. She just picked up

her little dress and seemed slightly shy. Her tiny feet were attempting to walk in some very over sized

pink slippers. She looked happy. I can't say I saw her smile yet but she still looked very happy...

UNTIL

We saw her in a few more minutes after she was clearly pitching a FIT in the dirt. All of the other

children had run quickly to look at themselves on the camera. She is one of the youngest and it appears that she felt like she wasn't fast enough so just just throws herself face flat into the dirt. Hands out body completely down for the count. She was devastated ( 2 year old style) Then her 

sorrow turned super two year old. One of the men attempted to pick her up to stand and she began arching her little back. We then saw that this had also made Eli cry. He was not about to let her get all of the attention. 

I can not tell you how much seeing them meant to me. I have longed for just a piece of their life. I ache to know something. The video showed a little more of where they live and also several of their precious friends. All of the children seemed so happy and full of life. It was such a reminder of how the Lord has protected these babies and how He has such an amazing plan for lives. 

In a few weeks the family that has our care package is going to be heading to Congo to pick up their little girl. I am so thrilled that Chloe and Eli will finally see our faces. It may mean nothing to them for now but it does something great to my heart just thinking about it.

The Color Run...or MY DEATH

Yes indeed!

It is that MOST AWFUL time in my life again 

when I am talked into participating in a race.

I thought being part of the HUMAN race would cover it but NO

Some people out there feel that actually running with others is fun

and encouraging.

If any of you have been following my crazy life for a while..
you may remember my running history.
For those of you that haven't...you can read that HERE

Sitting at dinner with my family one night, my brother in law Matt
pulled out his phone and showed us a race that he was participating in.
Watching the video I was immediately taken to a world without three children and 

high school abilities. I had said yes before I even thought about it! 

I went on my first run a few weeks ago and within the first FIVE miles ( oh, I mean MINUTES)

I knew that I had signed my life away! The reality hit when I thought I was running like this

For a while there I really felt the wind blowing through my hair,

my pulse was pumping and I was flying by every car I saw

Then something happened. 

The wind stopped blowing, the light turned green and my heart actually began feeling like 

it might explode. The light pumping that I had felt earlier was quickly taken over by a HARSH POUNDING...which basically was my body sobbing at this sudden desire to move faster than normal

I soon realized that i was no cheetah but instead

an OLD OLD lady

All I know is that so far my prep experiences have been less than ideal.

I took out to run the other night which ended up being LATE. So, I called

my brother in law and he said he would take me. No creepers for me!

So, we went downtown to run. 

Immediately upon stepping out of the car, we heard the first quite clap of thunder.

It wasn't horrible and Matt laughed and made a comment about how we better hurry

Well, as you found out above...my translation of hurry is not everyone elses :)

We had gone about 1.5 miles when the rain, thunder, lightening and WIND came down!

Something i HATE is wind. I know...that might be stupid but I really hate it. So, now

my fluffy self was running downtown, in the sideways rain, thunder and dodging lightening.

We had to head into a parking garage..were the security guard yelled that we should be running on the sidewalk NOT in the garage. ( Im pretty sure he was kidding) Then we made it to an ATM machine where we stood for a few minutes hoping the rain would decrease. IT ONLY GOT WORSE! We then sprinted ( and that for me is anything more than a jog) to the next inlet which happened to be a staircase. Standing there for a minute things got a little crazier. We then saw a man run by with only socks on. We looked down the road to see our next hole to duck into. It was a bank. We ran and stood there for a while. We still had 5 blocks or so to go. The wind was picking up and it wasn't getting better! There was a security guard standing inside and so Matt decided to leave me there with his phone ( that I didn't have the code for) and he sprinted and got the  car. I stood there like a baby scared to DEATH, praying, tearing up and shaking. The security guard came close to the door at one point when the wind picked up but then went to sit back down. Ahh...then, MATT SHOWED UP!!!

So, this LONG story to say. This race better be worth it! I am hopeful that it isn't the death of me. I have been working hard and hope that I won't end up leaving in this

Only time will tell friends!

My thighs are worn out just thinking about this.

Ahhh...but there is hope 

Does this book ring a bell :)

 Just sayin!

WD-40 Gets the rusty out

I believe that I came to this journey with rusty armor

I truly felt that I had a pretty good grip on myself. I was so arrogant in thinking that! I knew that the Lord had called us to bring a little one into our family but when I got the green light from my husband, I took off running FULL FORCE, armor lumped in a rusty pile on the floor.

It was foolish of me to feel that I could walk/RUN into this journey with SELF shining.

I do such a pour job of humbling myself and daily asking God to help me walk this journey in the way that I should.

I feel that so often I get caught up in signing the next paper, making the next payment or waiting for the next email. I forget that there is an enemy that is walking around like a lion..looking for someone that he can devour. I have to remember to turn my life..EVERY part of it over to the Lord. I have to put on the armor of God. I would never walk on the battle field without the proper gear so why would I ever begin such a journey of faith with half of my armor hanging off. 

WHO KNOWS?!?! But ladies and gentlemen...I think I did

I think I've recovered

So, I thought that signing on for teaching Sunday School in the youth department would be JUST that

TEACHING SUNDAY SCHOOL

Oh, no ladies and gents, that is not it AT ALL

I have now signed up for kickball, blacklight dodgeball and now..

a LOCK OUT

It has taken me a few days to write about this because quite frankly 

IM OLD and its not easy to recover from an all nighter

Well, we started the night at our church's gym at 9:00pm

stayed there for a few minutes going over a few rules

( that I don't remember) 

and then we headed out to the movie theater to watch Spiderman

We went from the theater to Partyville which happens to be a local inflatable FUN FILLED place owned by some great people at our church. Whew, we were there from about 2am-4am which was WAY past my bedtime. Then, we went back to church and played some four square and basketball

By WE...I clearly mean NOT ME! I was not participating at this point. I was simply trying to stay awake and not fall over. The students then played a few games of hide and seek ( or sardines) and then it was time for their mommas to pick them up.

Oh man, I am just now recovering but my sleep schedule is still 100% off! 

The thing I will say about this is that I had a great time. I am so excited about all that God is doing in and through the students at our church. They are amazing young people and have such amazing hearts. I continue to be impressed with their desire to love the Lord and others. It is an honor to be around them and walk through life with them.

They see my CRAZY and are TOTALLY not bothered by it :)

You gotta love that!

Put Your Hands UP

We are heading to ATLANTA in the morning!!

Our biometric fingerprint appointment is bright and early 

9:00am 

That is obviously NOT early if the trip was right down the road...

HOWEVER, we have a good 2 hour drive or more to Atlanta, so we are going

to be getting up and hitting the road early!

We were going to attempt to make this our 10 year anniversary trip but that is NOT happening!

With our appointment being so early in the morning..and us having to leave SUPER early it just wasn't looking promising! Our families are always AMAZING to watch the kiddos but this IS the middle of the week :) My sister has a commitment that is NOT child friendly but would have been able to watch them tomorrow afternoon. My mother in law could watch them all after 11 and my mom was working but would of course be wiling to watch them after work. They were all scrambling to try to help but in the end we just didn't see how it was going to work. My mother in law went ahead and let Alyssa stay with her and she is taking her to a sewing/quilting group tomorrow. The boys around sewing machines is NOT the best idea :)

So, all of that to say...we are going to enjoy having our sweet boys with us. They are actually very excited about going OUT OF TOWN. They think that is the coolest idea EVER. Little do they know we are having an appointment that may require them sitting for quite some time. We are excited to make the very best out of it. 

So, it looks like no BIG 10 year celebration in the way that we thought. 

However, we know that traveling to Congo and picking up our sweet babies is the BIGGEST celebration we could have! We will make it somewhere...sometime. Just the two of us ;)

Ok, the ten year post is coming...just been TOO busy and that one is going to take a WHILE!

OH...WE GOT Eli's BIRTH CERTIFICATE this week!!! Not the one with our names on it...just his precious name! HOWEVER, I LOVED IT!!! Made me cry, smile, and flip out a little!! We didn't get Chloe's and our agency said...it is somewhere out there..so FOR NOW...that is good enough!!

Have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY everyone! If you think about our family today..please say a prayer for travel safety and a great time!!

Singing In The Rain

Happy 4th of July from our crazy crew!

We all had a great day at MiMi and PawPaw's house

No rain was going to stop these cousins from having a good time!

Alyssa, Bryson, Karlee, Caleb and Cooper! Our little stair steps :)

My sister, her husband Matt, my parents and ALL five kiddos were able to enjoy some wonderful family time. My poor hubby had to work today but we saved him some BBQ so I think that made him

feel a little bit included :)

While we all had a wonderful time playing and enjoying each other's company, we were so aware that not all families are together this 4th of July. Our hearts turn to the MANY men and women that have sacrificed SO much to defend and protect the freedoms that we hold dear.

Thank you for those that are serving or have served our country!

GOD BLESS YOU

Didn't see that CRAZY coming :)

As reported in an earlier post

WE BOUGHT A PUPPY

remember her?

Ok, well I also believe that I hinted towards the crazy that was brought forth by her arrival

I was too tired to really go into all of it the other night but tonight...

 I have nothing but a quiet house and some alone time

So, we brought sweet little RockC home and all was going well

We were all excited and the kids were in heaven having a new little puppy around the house

We took her to the pet shop and purchased some chew toys, a leash and a collar.

I mean, we were SET

We had a great afternoon of taking her to meet the family

Well, my sister, her hubby and kiddos.

It was a great evening of newness and fun! 

When it was time to settle in for the night...

IT HAPPENED

( the crazy that is)

I began really losing it 

The kids had been tucked in bed and now it was up to Cameron and me to figure out how the night was going to go with this new little creature.

We put her in her crate right next to our bed and just sat there watching her. She began whimpering. Her whimper quickly turned into an ear piercing YELP

Cameron just chuckled and decided to sweet talk her to see if that would work

He then got her out of the crate and put her next to us in the bed. He decided that he was going to take a shower...which then left me to face the puppy alone :)

What I AM ABOUT TO SAY SOUNDS CRAZY... I KNOW THAT

Watching her in her cage clawing to get out and listening to her yelp sent my heart and head into a HUGE panic!  I immediately realized how much ( in my mind) this was going to be like bringing our little ones home.  The night before... we didn't have her and then...that night she was just THERE!

Knowing nothing of where she was the night before or how she liked to sleep. I didn't know if she liked to sleep with a blanket or a chew toy. Did she like chew bones or tennis balls...I mean... I was snapping :)

As Cameron went and hopped in the shower, he left the puppy next to me. I scooped her up and cuddled her. She turned and licked me but then BIT me. Which sent me into a full blown tear fest. 

There have been times when I have questioned what it will be like to have Chloe and Eli home that very first night in our home. For some reason having the puppy and not knowing how to make her settle down and sleep or stop screeching in her crate made me question my ability to parent these two precious babies. Then I stepped out of the crazy fog and realized Im already a pretty good momma to my three and the Lord would help me walk through it. HOWEVER, the crazy was intense there for a time.

There is a realization that there is a life that these babies have lived that doesn't involve me. They have developed routines, coping skills and have found comfort in things that I know nothing of. I must admit that scares me a little. Umm, when I say a little, maybe I mean a lot :) I know that with each baby  that you bring home, there is a huge learning curve. With my children that are 9,7, and 4 I am still learning. There is just something that is a little scary about bringing little ones home that you so badly want to feel safe, loved and happy...only to realize that there is so much to grieve, work through and heal from.

 I think that this has been a great eye opener for this crazy momma! I truly feel that this has shown me a side to this journey that I had shut out. You know, the realistic one! The reality that after this part of the journey is over...the real journey is just getting started!!! That makes my heart soar! I am thrilled to be Chloe and Eli's mommy. Now more than ever I just see that I will NOT be able to do this apart from the Father! I will have no idea how to comfort them sometimes, I do not know if they will like to be held when they fall, cuddled when they are sleepy or hugged when they are sad. I will have no idea! The great news is that I am fully aware that I don't have to know all of those things. I know that God, who began this good work in us will be faithful to walk the path with us. Will it be hard...YES! I fully expect that. 

However, I know that God redeems what is lost and heals broken hearts. I have seen it first hand. I praise Him for all that He is going to do in and through our family and especially our chidren...

all FIVE of them