Happy Mother's Day

I love my kids-
I love that my boys took the time to write cards and give their mommy some fabulous gift cards
I love that the teachers at Elle's school were so thoughtful in having the kids make cards

I love my mom.....a woman who has poured her heart into both her children and grandchildren-
I love Matt's mom...a woman who is incredibly strong and gifted in so many areas
I love my step mom Debbie...a woman who has a tender sweet heart that loves her family....
I love and am so grateful for Ellie's Birth Mom Heather...I see her everyday when I look at our Ellie

I love being a mother- a gift the Lord granted me the August before my 20th birthday...
it is the hardest, most demanding blessing I have ever been bestowed....

Thank you Lord Jesus for the gift of Motherhood....it is breath takingly hands down AMAZING!

Happy Mother's Day

sippy cup spill on the card :)

Kidnapped, Starved, Widowed....The Gracia Burnham Story

Our family had a full day on Saturday- A mother/daughter tea in the morning for Ellie and I (enjoyed hearing my Aunt Petra speak at it),  then off to a baseball game to watch one of Eli's good friends play (Awesome job T.), and dinner at my parents house....Sandwiched between the baseball game and dinner was The Voice of the Martyrs Conference at our Church.  It had started earlier in the morning but because of our commitments we were not able to attend until just after One in the afternoon.

For those who have not attended a conference, the main focus is to bring awareness to the persecuted church around the world.  This is done by the testimony of several Christians who had undergone significant persecution- Men and Women who have suffered torture, starvation, and other atrocities and have lived to tell....not only lived to tell, but lived to tell it through the breath of forgiveness for their captors. 

One of the special afternoon speakers was a woman by the name of Gracia Burnham.  Gracia and her husband Martin were aviation missionaries in the Philippians.  On a whim, she decided to book a one night stay at a nice resort in the Southern Philippians so she and her husband could celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary.  At 4 a.m. during this one night stay they heard a loud knock on their door- It was a group of terrorists coming to kidnap them and several others....this began a 1 year 11 day captivity that would separate them from their 3 young children.  Tragically, on the last day of their captivity a gun battle broke out that would take the life of Martin (Gracia was shot in the leg during the battle) and release Gracia.

While Gracia spoke on Saturday, to the packed out Sanctuary of people at my home church, we learned about the hard times she and Martin went through during their one year captivity.  We learned about the forgiveness she has extended to her captors, about the Organization she started after getting home- to bring Jesus to people she was treated so wrong by, and most astonishingly we learned about the passionate love she has for the Lord- How the Lord has allowed her, in His strength, to take all of her hard experiences and present them in a light that gives hope- Hope that no matter what we go through in life God is with us and will give us strength .......

I have a small list of Hero's in the Christian Faith- People that have walked our earth in recent generations who have been more than 'faith' conquers in Jesus Christ... Corrie Ten Boom is on my list among a few others....Gracia is also on that list-
A woman who has been kidnapped, starved, emotionally battered by her captors, widowed, and left to be a single mom to 3 children
A woman who through all of the above did not let her Faith fall away and become bitter, angry, and isolated
A woman who has allowed the Lord to heal her, comfort her, restore her
A woman who has also allowed the Lord to fill her with forgiveness for the ones that persecuted her and has brought this forgiveness story to thousands and thousands around the world.

Thank you Gracia.

Gracia has written a book about her experience while in Captivity (In the Presence of My Enemies)- A book that has made the New York Times Best Seller list....

It's a must read!!

P.S. Here is a comment (facebook) from my sister Jodi:
What ministered to me the most was what Martin told her while in captivity when she asked him why the Lord would allow them to go through this to only die in the end. Martin's response was that it was their captors day of grace. Each day that they were in captivity was the Lord's extended grace to their captors. What an amazing revelation. We get so bogged down in our trial that to see what the Lord may be doing in the life of the one hurting us and to realize that your testimony during that trial may be what turns the heart of your enemy to Him. That just hit me like a ton of bricks b/c I'm the one plotting revenge when I get through the trial. My "persecutor" will wish he/she never messed with me. To look through the lens of Christ is such a gift.

Martin and Gracia during their captivity

marriage encouragement.....MAKE OUT!!

Last night I was telling my boys how hot I think their daddy is- It went something like this:
'Your daddy's HOT!'
'That's disquesting!!'
'Someday when your married you will appreciate me telling you how HOT I think your daddy is- you'll appreciate that after close to 20 years of marriage we still have passion for each other!'
'YUCK!'

I busted up laughing and they both sat looking at me with cringed up faces...........

Life get's busy- kids, work, school, sports...
Marriage can get messy- unresolved arguments, irritations......
Combine those two year after year and it's a recipe for marriage distance and indifference.

When Matt got home I'm like:
'Wanna make out?'
He smiled and was like 'YEAH!!!'

and we did....
kissed for a good 5 minutes.....
it was wonderful....

Ladies, when your husband get's home today- no matter how long of a day you've had- no matter if your kids are watching- no matter if you are mad at him- no matter if you don't feel like it.....

MAKE OUT WITH YOUR MAN :)
if he is out of town send him a text telling him how hot you think he is- how much you love him- how much you appreciate him....

HAPPY MAKE OUT WEDNESDAY!!

Toddler Selfie's

Not even three years old and already taking Selfie's :)

Didn't even know she had taken these until downloading pictures this afternoon.....

My daughter is so stinkin cute!!

 

 

the thing about mother's day is this....(by michelle)

My dear friend Michelle is our guest Blogger this morning-  Michelle and her husband Jake know the heartache of infertility and the joy of adoption- She speaks candidly from her heart about celebrating Mother's Day.

May you be as encouraged as I was after reading- Thank you for sharing Michelle and love you!

For many years Mother’s Day was the hardest day of the year for me. While I watched all of the moms in church stand up to receive a rose, I remained seated, crying inside and begging God to bless us with a child. Years of unanswered prayers left my heart longing for the peace that only God could offer. I recently ran across an old journal entry that read, “Lord, please place your loving hands around my breaking heart.”

The thing about Mother’s Day is this…

Not everyone who prays for children is blessed with them. Not everyone who carries a child has the opportunity to raise them. Not everyone who raises a child watches them live a long full life. Some are never able to conceive. Some conceive and are faced with the reality that they do not have the resources to care for a child. Some raise a child, only to watch them go to Heaven far too soon. 

Mother’s Day is precious, but Mother’s Day can be tough. It may remind us of women who are no longer with us or of broken relationships that have yet to be healed. It may bring reality to our emptiness or even bring to mind past regret.

I am so blessed by the relationship I have with my Mom, Mother-in-law, and Grandmas. They poured into my life which helped me become the woman I am today. However, for me, Mother’s Day has changed. Now I can stand in church to receive a rose, but I do so in honor of the women who helped me become a mother. These are the three special women who carried my children in their womb, but placed them in my arms. God used their love and sacrifice to build my family. They chose us to raise these miracles and entrusted me to be the Mother they could not be.

As you reflect on the precious women in your life, give thanks to God for both the women who have impacted you as well as those He wants you to pour into.  And if you are sitting in church broken hearted on Mother’s Day, take a look around. There are many women willing to share a hug and grieve with you over yet to be answered prayers.

Michelle

Jake and Michelle with their children Brady, Josiah, and Jaylee

getting used to cow poop, honkers, and outhouses

Since moving out here to the farm/ranch.......the fanch........getting used to 'new' things has been the norm. 

• Getting used to the perpetual smell of cow poop in our mud room- the room where we take off our shoes just before walking into the kitchen...That's where all the boys, mine, and Ellie's bog boots stay...one or all always seem to have cow poop on them (even after washing off- that stuff is sticky)
• Getting used to the Honker Ducks Geese Honking all during the night.  I love animals and in general do not agree with the killing of them (never mind that my boys are avid hunters)....At three in the morning when the Honking just won't stop I've had thoughts of firing random shots into the lake with the hopes of hitting one or all of the honkers- feeling guilty would be smothered by feeling the relief of getting to sleep a night through.  I wonder if there is a surgery similar to removing the bark from a dog.....maybe I could round up all the honkers on the lake and bring them to the vet to have their 'honkers' removed!!  p.s. a few days ago I saw 2 of the honkers looking extra proud as they swam out onto the lake- upon further inspection I saw they had babies swimming by them...................NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!   
• This one has been the hardest to get used to....There are certain cow antibiotics that MUST be refrigerated....we have only one refrigerator at our house- Before we moved out here we had 2 refrigerators...1 in the house and 1 in the garage- the garage fridge went out and we have never replaced it.  There is something just gross about knowing animal antibiotics are sharing the same tight air space as our eating food...After opening the produce drawer and seeing the antibiotics I recoiled just a bit and had to reason my way through not throwing all of the food in the fridge out....I did throw it out of the produce drawer though- no touchy touchy when it comes to animal antibiotics and our food.

While on the subject of getting used to 'new' things.....I started thinking about a conversation my sis and I had a few weeks ago- I was out visiting her at their new farm and we both had to tink.....my sis and her family are in an unique situation right now in that their facilities consist of an outhouse- Sitting in a small enclosed area where you are breathing in the smell of yours and others excrement would only be done because somebody's life was at stake and that was the only way to save them....oh my goodness can you imagine if the way to save them was to eat brown eggs while sitting in an outhouse on a 100 degree day........there would be no saving....sorry :) :) :) :) Back to my sis and I both having to tink (we went outside- squatting side by side talking the whole time)- after the fact we stood up and looked at the goings on...we noticed that the ground soaked right up Jodi's and mine just sat- like oil against water.  My sis joked that I ate too many pesticides (she is organic) and the ground would not accept what I had to offer...We laughed and carried on....My sis and her family have been getting used to lots of things in their new venture in life- My sis is adjusting like a champ (doesn't even complain about the outhouse) Good Job sis!! I'm proud of you and love you.

how cole haan shoes bought fancy nancy

My sis in law Liz bought Ellie a book for her first birthday...........I was so focused on loving the personal signatures on the inside front cover that I never took the time to read the book.  It was tucked away with my books for when Elle's got older.  Over the past couple of months Ellie started going through my books- a few weeks ago she came across the book from her auntie....

Fancy Nancy 'Tea for Two'

At some point during the winter it struck me that I rarely wear high heels anymore- This was bothersome because before we moved to Hawaii I would wear high heels almost everyday....flats- the type that make even long legs look short and stumpy were dominating the bottom of the closet.  On an urge I went to my favorite shoe store Goodwill looking for a pair of 'trainer' high heels.  Super high heels that would only be worn around my house- The goal was to be comfortable walking in heels again before a debut anywhere public.  It was a good shopping day when my bag contained a pair of 4 inch, black, leather Cole Haan wedges...............the little neon sticker on the bottom said $5.99.
They were the perfect trainer because if a 4 inch heel could be mastered you would be good to walk confidently in anything.  Much of the winter, if you stopped by unannounced you would have seen me walking around in them.  If Matt was home when I was wearing them he would always give me the same 'your really weird' look to which I would put my hand up by my eyes (like I was shading my eyes as I looked out into the distance), look down and call out 'Matt! Matt! where are you?'....Matt and I are only 3 inches apart- the heels would make me an inch taller.........he would roll his eyes and I would bust up laughing (usually wobbling away in a stumble fashion trying not to let my heel roll)
A month or so ago, when the confidence of walking in high heels was back, I put the Cole Haan's on e bay and sold them..........for exactly what they were bought for plus shipping ($5.99 + $12.95 shipping)- They would have sold for more EXCEPT on one of those wobbling stumbles the kitchen cabinet met the back of the shoe..........the damage was un-repairable

OUCH!

The Sunday before last my cousin Sally was having a graduation party for her daughter Olea- during the party Liz, my cousin Becca, and I were talking.  As I was telling Liz how much Elle's like the Fancy Nancy book Becca said 'Claire loves all the Fancy Nancy Books' (Claire is Becca's daughter who was born 3 weeks after Ellie)......I didn't even know Fancy Nancy was part of a series!!

Ellie and Claire
 

Becca Liz and I

Since the sale of the heels the money has sat in the pay pal account....collecting dust and being whittled away by random pay pal fees.  When we got home from Olea's party 'Fancy Nancy' was still on my brain......

4 hard back books in the same series as what Ellie has were in our mail box today from an e-bay seller.....all 4 were a total of $17.00 with free shipping!

So that's how it went...how the Cole Haan shoes bought Fancy Nancy books :)