Bella is one!!

Wow! Isabella is now one. It has been an amazing but very hard year. About a year before she was born we knew we wanted another child. We began praying about it and 9 months before she was born, I felt God telling me that we would soon be blessed with our third child. We felt God telling us He had a special way to bring us our child and that would be through adoption. We loved this child even though we never had met. Our love grew until we got the call that our child was born and it was a GIRL!! We so much wanted a girl but trusted that the Lord knew who belonged in our family. A week later we flew to Guatemala and held her for the 1st time. It was such an amazing day that I will never, ever forget because I knew she was my daughter and I loved her so much. We had to go home for 7 of the longest months until we go the call that it was time to bring her home. I can't even put into words how hard it was to be without her. We missed her so much and our love for her grew daily. We relied on God to give us the strength to get through it all. I am so thankful to her birthmother who gave birth to her and found a way to make sure she got to the family that God always intended her to be with.
We brought Isabella home and saw her transform daily. It was so wonderful to see how she would light up when we came into the room and become sad if we left the room. She is now resting her head on our shoulders and asking us to pick her up with outstretched arms. I just love it and feel it shows that she knows we love her and that she is safe.
She is so loved by her brothers who kiss her tons everyday. I also love to see how much her daddy loves her. His eyes sparkle when he sees her. My prayer is that she will always know how loved she is and has always been loved by us. God chose a very special path for her to get to us and for that I am eternally thankful. She is my heart. She brings a smile and joy to our life. She was handpicked by God to be our sweet baby girl and we love her to pieces.
There are so many things I love about her:
I love the way she runs to the stairs if she doesn't think we are looking and the gate is open. I love how smart she is and how fast she has picked up sign language. I love how she makes kissing noises when she kisses me. I love how she pushes her baby stroller around and kisses her baby. I love how happy she gets when I go to get her out of the crib. I love how her hair stands straight up like a rooster's. I love how she goes and grabs a bow for her hair when I tell her we are going byebye! I love how she waves byebye to everyone. I love how she throws her whole body down on top of her brothers if they are laying on the floor. I love how she tries to put necklaces on. I love how she stands and models after I dress her in the morning and just smiles as I tell her how pretty she is. I love that she will then go to her dad and brothers so they can tell her the same. I just plain love everything about her.

Catching up on blogging

I haven't posted in awhile. We have been on the go. We celebrated my birthday, Easter and the church plant's one year anniversary. God is good and I give Him all the glory. Now I have a bit to catch up on here and definately more to catch up in laundry(ick!)

Happiness

Everyday do at least one thing that makes you happy!

Although this is not a philosophy that I would endorse it was a sign that I read while out on a day trip with my family. I would think that if that was my goal in life I would be more focused on my own happiness than I should be or already am. But I did get happy from reading this sign because I asked my 5 year old if he had done something that day to make him happy. He replied "Yes, I spent my day with you." Wow, I have been soaring from that for awhile now.

It was my 35th birthday and my husband took the day off to spend time with me. He took me out to breakfast. This is one of my favorite things to do and with getting three kids up and going in the morning it is truly a rare and special treat.

We then went to pick strawberries at an orchard. I had never done it before and was a bit weary what the boys would think. We all had a blast and the strawberries were the best I had ever had. Bella loved them and would scream for more when James stopped giving them to her. Now that girl definately knows what makes her happy.

It was really neat seeing the strawberries growing and the nearby peach trees which are now being worked on to provide fruit in the summer. We got to share many spiritual lessons with the boys and they got to see with their own two eyes the difference between good fruit and bad fruit.
I really felt such joy from spending the day with my family. They brighten each day of my life and although I am definately not always happy, I cherish them and the blessing they are in my life.

Fun with friends

Fun with friends! Bella is now walking quite a bit. She is hard to keep up with.

I got together with my friends and their kiddos for some fun time. Rebecca and I had a great time catching up with Terri who moved away and came back for a visit. When I told Justus that Mrs. Terri was coming with the kids he said "I am glad Mrs Terri isn't a liar!" He then added "When they moved she said she would come back to visit and she did". Thanks Terri for being a woman of your word. It was fun seeing our kids have a great time together!

Easter!!

Easter was a great day. We really focused on the new life we have through Christ's death. The kids had a great time learning at church through an Easter egg hunt. Then we went to my mom's to celebrate. The kids have so much fun being silly with their cousins.

Last month we dedicated Isabella at church. At our church we start the baby in the moms hands to introduce the child. We then transfer the baby to the dad to show that he is the head of the house. We then give the baby to the pastor to show that the baby really belongs to God and the church is to come along side us in teaching her about Him. It really is a neat picture.

I really wanted James to be just the dad and since he is the pastor of our church we waited until we had a guest preacher. It really worked out great because our guest preacher had dedicated our other two children when James was a youth pastor. Below is our commitment to Isabella and more importantly to God.

Believing that our daughter was given to us as a priceless treasure from the Lord, we are dedicating her back to our God, knowing that she belongs to Him. In acknowledging this, we are dedicating ourselves, as her parents, to raise her according to biblical standards and to do our best always to be Godly examples for her to observe all of the days that God would allow us to be together here on this earth. -James and Elizabeth

Cool Adoption Stories.

While we were considering adoption I would ask people who adopted the most random questions. I realize now that some of those questions might have been offensive(from reading adoption forums and hearing how these types of questions have offended them) That was never my intention and if you were one of the offended I apologize. I just wanted to make sure that adoption was something that was for us. I wanted to know everything about it.A few weeks ago I saw a movie on T.V. One of the characters in the movie was adopted and the channel had a small box on it that pointed me to their website. There are many stories from families who went through adoption. I think it really gives a good picture of the joy and heartache of the adoption process. If you want to see them click here!

3 months, 3 steps, 3 words and 1 perplexed heart

My precious Bella has now been home for 3 months. Time has flown by and part of me feels like she has been here forever. Tommorrow she will be 10 months old. She is doing so well. In the last few weeks she has begun putting her head on our shoulders when we pick her up. This has been so special to me. She used to only do it if she was about to fall asleep but now does it to just be close to us.
She has been cruising around the house going from furniture to furniture. Four days ago she stood up and took three steps. I was watching her but all my guys were in the next room. I didn't want to scream and scare her but that is just what I did. Down she went and she didn't want to try again. Since then she has taken a step here and there but she is being cautious. Joshua asked me how old he and Justus were when the began walking. I told him 14 months. He cracked me up because he responded that he thinks God just makes Guatemalan babies smarter. Of course, I think all of my children are bright and wonderful. After all, I'm their mom!
She has picked up a few more words through sign language and has begun saying duh,duh when she is signing that she is done eating. She also says uh,uh when she signs to be picked up. Last week a phone rang on the television and she put her hand to her head and said hi. I wasn't sure if I imagined it or not so I rewound the program and she did it again. So now she does it with a play phone or the remote control when she gets her hands on it.

She has grown up so much in the last three months. I rejoice in it but it is hard because I feel like I missed so much of her being a baby. I don't want to seem ungrateful for all of the blessings that God gave me and knowing that I brought her home way earlier than most people who adopt bring their children home. I finally found the courage to admit it to my gal friends at lunch the other day. I am so glad I did because my friend told me she knows of someone who went through the same experience. But I would do it all over again because I know this precious girl is a total gift from God and she brings numerous smiles to my face everyday.

My romantic date with my 5 year old.

Justus and I had our date. Not only did we have a date. We had a double date.
We decided to go on a double date with James and Bella. We had a great time together and prayed that Josh was having just as much fun at his friend's party.
Justus was such a gentleman. He opened and closed the door for me the whole night. He also held my hand wherever we went. Which he hardly ever does now that he is 5 and usually running 5 steps ahead of me.
Justus had previously stated he wanted to take me somewhere romantic for dinner. He changed his mind from sandwiches to mexican food.(YEAH!!!) He thinks chips before dinner are romantic plus there were flowers on the table. We got him a gift card so that he could "pay" for dinner. He walked right into the restaurant asked for a table for 4 and pulled out his wallet to show he meant business. The receptionist said he could take her out for dinner anytime. He said he is going to start saving his allowance up so that he can take his mom out again. He is one sweet kid!

The whole picture

Today my son began watching The Karate Kid for the first time ever. He had only watched about 30 minutes of it before he had to stop it so that we could go run errands. While in the car he began to chuckle. I asked him what was so funny. He said the boy wanted to learn karate and his teacher told him his first lesson was to wax the car. Since he hadn't seen the movie he didn't realize Daniel(the karate kid) didn't think it was funny. Daniel actually got quite angry not understanding why he was waxing the car and painting the fence when all he wanted to do was learn karate.
But I know he got angry and I also know the purpose of these jobs his teacher had gave him. I know this because I have seen the whole picture.
Then I saw something else. I realized there have been so many times in my life that God has given me a job to do. I have often thought these tasks were somewhat meaningless or I felt that I was way beyond them. I am ashamed to admit it but I have not acted right and have often complained when I was in this position. I complained because I like, the karate kid, did not see the big picture. I didn't trust God enough to realize that He had begun a good work in me and wasn't done yet. I didn't trust Him enough to realize He was preparing me for something bigger. I didn't trust Him enough to realize He was making me stronger. I didn't trust Him enough to realize He was preparing me for another job that I needed to be ready for.
I have so much work to do in this area. I am praying that I will trust Him more in this area. To really be joyful in all circumstances and to do everything(even if I see it as meaningless) to the glory of God.
Just recently, He brought to mind a time about 4 years ago that I was complaining to my husband about his job's benefits. I was angry because I wanted to have another child and we didn't have group health coverage. I didn't realize God had given us a job to do at that church because not only was God molding James heart to be a church planter, He was molding our hearts towards adoption. The desire to adopt grew in the years that we were at that church that didn't have maternity coverage but it did have many, many families who we saw blessed through the miracle of adoption. The desire to adopt continued to grow until we knew He wanted us to add to our family through adoption. He faithfully provided a way for us to bring our precious Isabella home from Guatemala. Two months after we brought her home we got maternity health insurance. I am so thankful to see how He worked it all out. I praise Him that He opens and closes doors at just the right time. I praise Him for Isabella, our chosen child. Most of all I am so thankful that He blesses and loves me inspite of my whiny self. Thank you, Lord.

5 going on 10

My sweet Justus is 5 but at times I think he thinks he is 10. Yesterday one of Josh's came over to invite him to a sleepover. This boy is such a good kid and is so sweet to Justus. I think Justus was confused on why he wasn't invited. In his mind he believes this boy is his friend too. He doesn't realize that he is being nice to his friend's little brother. While Josh was looking at the invite, Justus looked down at his feet and really quietly said "If you want, you can invite me too." Ooh, that just broke my heart.

I have felt that feeling of not being included and although I know why he wasn't invited I did not want to discount his feelings. I knelt down beside him and whispered to him that he wasn't old enough for a sleepover yet. The tears began and then I told him that I was glad that he wasn't going to go because he and I were going to go on a date that night. The tears stopped and a smile crossed his sweet face. Which brought such a joy to my heart.

So now we are planning our date night. He said he wants to take me somewhere romantic. What is romantic to a 5 year old? That would be Subway. He wants for us to eat Subway by candlelight and then watch movies and eat Hot Tamales.

Justus woke up this morning and told me 4 more days until our date. I am looking forward to it too. I know it won't be much longer until he wants to take another girl to Subway. But for now he is mine!!

Wordless Wednesday

Adoption thoughts

Adoption has been such an incredible blessing to our family. It was hard in so many ways but I grew up believing anything that is worth it is hard(apart from salvation, of course!) If it is something you have even considered I would definately look deeper into it. If it is something that only you want to do and your spouse doesn't or doesn't know, pray for them. My sweet husband wasn't sure for so long. I prayed so much that God would unite our hearts on adoption. Since then James has thanked me for praying for him. He is so incredible with our sweet girl. I think in 2 1/2 months she already has him wrapped around her finger!!

Here is a list I read the other day that I thought I would share with you:

You know you are an adoptive mother (or you should be!) if:
1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has ever made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child, there would be no orphans in the world is convicting to you.
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child's "real" parents. (** I have only been asked this about my biological child)
7. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth (2 years!)
8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway knowing where God calls you He will provide.
9. You have ever taken a airplane ride half way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacy's you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have them in your life.
13. You know what the word Dossier means and you can actually pronounce it!
14. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
15. You know full well that the journey of your child coming into your family is one of the most wonderful, miraculous things that has ever happened to you

Mother of the Decade!!

• 
  I am the mom of the decade, well I guess it would be better said I have been a mom for a decade. Joshua turned ten! He is truly an amazing being. He has taught me so much in the past ten years. Because I am not smarter than a 4th grader here are some lessons I have learned from Joshua within the last year.
• Humbleness - I do not know everything and should wait more often before I speak. Joshua was telling me that when he becomes an adult he wants to be in a band and make lots of money. I took a breathe and was about to give him a lesson on priorities when he added that he would like to help many families afford adoption like someone had done for us
• Integrity and how important it is to stand up for what is right no matter the cost.- My son was told by a group of kids that he wasn't allowed to play with them. The reason they gave him was because he doesn't lie or cheat. He shrugged it off knowing that was ok not to be part of that group.
• Self sacrifice and not always having to keep everything for myself- My son Joshua will often give a portion of his allowance that he has made to his brother so his brother doesn't have to go without(Being happy that is). A few weeks ago at the zoo we bought them each a tee shirt. We told them that was all we were going to buy them. Joshua asked if he could use his allowance to buy something. We said yes. He checked in his wallet and then told his brother how much each of them had to spend.
• Character and standing out from others - He is often recognized for his behavior at school and even received a citizenship award a couple of weeks ago. He shows me how important it is for me as a Christian to stand out and to be different.
• Unconditional Love and how we should see their heart over their actions - He doesn't see me. He sees his love for me. He even loves to hear me sing and if you have heard me sing you would totally understand right now how unconditional that love truly is.
• Gratitude for what we have without forgetting about others - While we are in our warm homes eating our warm dinner Joshua will thank God for it and ask God to watch over the homeless and to give them shelter and food for that night.
• Wisdom and when to seek counsel - If he has heard something or wants to do something and he isn't sure if it is right or worthy of repeating he will seek counsel to help him make a decision. I so need to slow my pace in life and think more!
• Forgiveness and not making a big deal out of the small stuff - I do not do everything right or even close to right but I am still loved as if I do. I forget to pack snacks, sign papers and make birthday plans in time. He smiles, shrugs it off and says it is ok mom
  
  
  I thank God for this kid who teaches me so much. God uses Joshua to challenge me to become a better mom, woman and Christian.

Happy Nine Month Birthday, Isabella!

Isabella is nine months old today! She is now crawling and is on the go!! Oh my goodness! She is into everything! It seems like everytime I look at her she is chomping on something. A gum wrapper, a piece of paper, a little tree branch. Besides her great ability to mimic a baby goat she has also acquired some other skills. She has picked up some sign language. Of course, when it comes to food her favorite sign is "more"! She doesn't really do the sign for "all done" until she knows she doesn't have a chance at more food because mama is pulling her out of her seat.

She is such a sweet gift from God. She has now been home for two months and I still get choked up when I think about how God has blessed us with her life in our family. My prayer is that she will always know that she is exactly where God always meant for her to be. He created her to be part of our family. Thank you, Sweet Lord!!

Here is a little bit of Bella on her first attempt to crawl a couple of weeks ago.

My first post!

O.k. this is it! My first post! I am not promising anything extraordinary because as you know James and I are nothing more than very, very ordinary. Of course, we think are kids are extraordinary. So have fun reading but before you go any further you need to know I can't offer a money back guarantee.