If you love(d) Laura. . .

I LOVED Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was a child. I read The Little House Series over so many times that I completely wore out my cherished boxed set (I still have it though; couldn't bare to throw it away!).

I'll have to admit here that I still REALLY love to read any of the Little House books aloud to my children and I always hope they will love Laura just as much as I did (oh, o.k., as much as I still DO!).

I'll have to admit, I've never really thought about the political views of Laura before, but this post is quite enlightening and has got me wondering how much her writings may have actually helped to form some of my political views! LOL! Who knew!

Check it out!
The Politics of Laura Ingalls Wilder

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New Names

With our Liberian adoption we were often asked if we were going to change our children's names once they got home. We thought about it and heard some of the reasons for changing or not changing them but when it came down to it, after months of waiting and praying and talking about "Big Jo, Speedy Mo, and Little Missy," their names (their real names - not blog names!) were a big part of who they were.

After they got home and settled in just a bit, we discussed the idea with them just to see how they felt about it. None of them felt strongly that they wanted to change their names except for "Speedy Mo" who thought his name should be Bob. Um, no, I don't think you are a "Bob." LOL!

Nothing wrong with the name Bob, but "Speedy Mo" was just joking around as we would come to find out was very much a part of his personality!

So, their names stayed the same and it (for us) has been a really good thing. There are, by the way, good reasons for changing a child's name too or for giving them another name and using their given name as a middle name, etc. . .

But, I am proud to announce that I AM giving new names to my 3 new girls. Well, really it is just new bloggy names since Miss C, Miss D, and Miss A were sort of boring and lacked a sense of their personalities. Now that we know them better, I think we will use the names "Smarty," "Sweetie," and "Spunky" here on the blog. . . if you know them in real life, I think you will agree that these are quite fitting! LOL!

Just Checking In

It does feel a bit like I just had triplets (or maybe sextuplets!). Some of my friends were joking that Monday (when we brought the kids home) it seemed like they were waiting for "the call" from a friend who had been in labor! The past few days have been really great but also a bit of a blur. . . again, sort of like bringing home a baby.

I just wanted to do a quick check in and let ya'll (yes, I once lived in Oklahoma!) know that things are good. The boys are wonderful! They are cute, happy, funny, and very responsive. My husband and I have decided that people who write "reports" about kids in foster care are mostly wrong (IMHO). . . everything we've ever read about our foster children has been pretty much just a case of them not being in a loving, stable, and structured environment. We have seen INCREDIBLE changes in the girls in the past 2 months. . . and these boys, who supposedly have all of these "problems," are doing GREAT. Not that we don't expect issues; of course there will be things to deal with, but we are really praising the Lord for blessing us with these wonderful children!

Thank you to all of my wonderful IRL friends who realized this would be like bringing home a baby and have organized and have been bringing meals for our family. That has been a lifesaver! We have been REALLY busy parenting each and every moment and I haven't been able to sneak in even an hour of cooking! I might have been able to get into the kitchen if it wasn't for paperwork that needs to be filled out. . . LOTS of paperwork and appointments for EACH of my 6 new children. . . let's see, today I was doing "clothing inventories" for each child.

So, here is the question of the day. . . are you ready?

WHY in the world does an 8 year old boy have 40 pairs of underwear, 12 pairs of really nice jeans, 8 pairs of shoes (PLUS sandals, Tevas, and slippers), and 30+ shirts? Really? this is crazy! I won't even start to tell you about Baby A's clothes! LOL! Let's just say that I could probably never do laundry again and I wouldn't run out!

God's Grace Last Night

So, this may not seem like that big of a deal, but one thing my wonderful dear husband was resigned to was the fact that we weren't going to be getting a lot of sleep around here for the next few weeks. BUT, Glory be to God (and thanks and praise to "the boys" former foster family) - Everyone WENT to bed last night before 8:30 and STAYED in bed and SLEPT. . . and are still sleeping! It is 8:00! Amazing! I have been able to take a shower, get ready, read my Bible and a devotional (posted below) this morning! My dh was pleasantly surprised and very thankful to the Lord!

Last night, Baby D and Baby A had bottles and cuddle time with Dad and then we took them to their new room. I rocked Baby A for a few minutes while he fussed a bit (he knew. . .). Toddler D (not really a baby) got in his bed. He said "I like my new bed!" We all prayed together and then I put Baby A in his crib. He layed right down but started fuss-crying (sort of half-heartedly) but I just rubbed his head and kissed him and then kissed Toddler D and asked him to tell Baby A it was o.k. He DID: "A, it o.k. night-night." and then we left the room. We were working upstairs getting the other kids to bed. Baby A cried for maybe 2 minutes and then went right to sleep.

Seriously, we are really praising God for this one. Our 2 weeks of not-sleeping back in March when we had our foster babies just about did us in! Praise God that this is one battle we won't be fighting. . . I'm SURE there will be others!

Thought for Today

I hope you are encouraged by this today.
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Bob Hoekstra

Reflecting on the Extensive Consequences of Walking by Faith

By faith Noah…By faith Abraham…By faith Sarah…By faith Moses…By faith the harlot Rahab…David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith…And others…Still others…all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith. (Hebrews 11:7, 8, 11, 24, 31, 32-33, 35, 36, 39)

God wants us to live by His grace. "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Therefore, we must walk by faith, since faith accesses grace. "Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand" (Romans 5:2). In a series of meditations, we have been considering the extensive consequences of walking by faith (and thereby drawing upon the effective grace of God). Reflecting upon the broad and diverse dimensions of these consequences brings encouragement and edification.

"By faith Noah" undertook an amazing task (building an ark) to prepare for an event never before experienced (a worldwide flood). "By faith Abraham" obediently left his familiar homeland for an uncertain destination. He also counted on God to do all the great things He had promised (including, blessing all nations through him). "By faith Sarah," miraculously (in her old age) bore a son for the fulfillment of God's plan. Later, by faith, Abraham laid the promised son upon the altar of God. All along the way, he lived as a pilgrim journeying toward an eternal, heavenly home.

"By faith Moses" forsook the privileges and pleasures of the world to lead God's people out of bondage. "By faith the harlot Rahab" helped the Israelites, identified with the true and living God, and was rescued from judgment. "David and Samuel and the prophets" (and others like them) "through faith" conquered nations, grew in godliness, experienced God's fulfilled promises, survived the den of lions, withstood the fiery furnace, were spared death by the sword, experienced God's strength in weakness, found courage on the battlefield, caused enemy armies to flee, and received resurrected loved ones.

"And others" (also by faith) endured tortures. "Still others" experienced mockings, beatings, bonds, prisons, stonings, severings, painful enticements, deprivations, impoverishments, general tribulations, and cruel torments. "All these…obtained a good testimony through faith."

Through these testimonies, God is showing us the limitless extent that His grace can work in our lives. Through these examples the Lord is encouraging us to trust Him to work comprehensively for us, as He has faithfully done for others.

Lord God of all Grace, my heart is stirred as I consider the great extent to which Your grace can work in lives that humbly trust in You. Father, I ask You to make of my life a growing testimony of Your abounding grace, through Jesus Christ, my Lord, Amen.

The Missing Toddlers

Guess what? Our family has been missing some toddlers and we didn't even know it! But, don't worry. . . we found them and now all is well. I totally know what Michelle Duggar meant when she said she always hopes to have a toddler in the house. You just can't beat the belly giggles of 2 and 3 year olds!

Doesn't this look like a Daddy who's been needing some toddlers around again?

And this was the man who was going to be a "bachelor until the rapture." Do you think God might be chuckling at that one tonight?

The Trip

Well, here we are at 8 a.m. - our last ride in the car with "just" the 9 of us. I was actually having thoughts yesterday that I was a little sad about it being the last day that it would be "JUST" the 9 of us. Jeff asked me if I realized how crazy that actually sounds. . . yes, I suppose it does sound a little crazy. But I have loved the past 2 months (mostly!) and I will miss the sweet time with "just" these 7 precious ones!

So. . . then we drove for 4 hours and picked up the boys and went shopping and ate lunch. . . and I TOTALLY blanked on taking any pictures! Aughh. . . I realized about 2 hours into our car ride home that maybe a few pics would be good - duh! and, so, you get this lovely picture. . . you will notice that we had 7, picked up 3 and ended up with 6. LOL! that is because 4 of our children spent the day playing with their wonderful Auntie Shawna! Thanks, my friend!

So, our carseats are full and our hearts are even fuller (is that a word?) And who is the amazing man who does a thing like this? Drumroll, please. . .

Ahh. . . I love him!

Chunky Braids and Bagels

Well, here is Little Missy on her way to her "Auntie's" house this morning. . . we picked up bagels for all of the kids and then dropped off our younger four at "the farm" for a fun play day while Mr. Z, Big Joe, and C.C. went with us on a four hour drive (each way) to pick up our three newest additions - Mr. J, Baby D, and Baby A.

I had to snap a few pics of Little Missy's latest hair-do. I am calling them "chunky braids." They are actually cornrows with extensions (in multiple colors: black and gold) but I just did them extra "chunky" to save time. I think they turned out really cute. Little Missy put them back into low ponytails today, but they look great down too. AND, it only took me about 3.5 hours instead of the 12 hours it takes me to do 100 little extension braids!

and 3 more makes 10

just a quick update here. . .

We are all set to pick up our 3 boys on Monday. For any new readers out there, these are the 3 biological brothers of the 3 sisters we have had with us for the past 2 months. . . we are adopting all of them out of the U.S. Foster Care System. Everyone around our house is thrilled and we hear that the oldest boy (Mr. J - age 8) is really excited to see his sisters again and to finally get to be a part of our family. The other boys are quite young (2 and 3) and we aren't sure they have any idea what is really going on, but we are all ready to pour on the love and are praying that they will receive it and that the attachment and bonding process will move along well, according to the Lord's will.

We would really appreciate your prayers, as we have definitely had a bit of a spiritual battle going on here lately (especially with our health). Also, if you would please pray for Kim and Ben and their family, that would be awesome. They have had a hard couple of months but continue to faithfully serve Him and trust Him. What a blessing to be able to lift them up and intercede on their behalf.

Advent Conspiracy

Have you heard? Join the conspiracy. Rethink Christmas this year and truly celebrate the season of Advent!

Handsome Fellows!

Pretty in the Pumpkin Patch

We had a GREAT time visiting the pumpkin patch this year! Here are some of our favorite photos from the day. . . (more to follow)

more pics for my sis

These are for my sister

you said you wanted more pictures. here are some from the last few months. leave a comment if you want to see more.

More Dress up Fun

Just a few more fun photos from our "fashion show."

Mr. Z as "Billy Bob" (I have NO idea where they come up with this stuff). He is wearing an adult women's 70's style polyester outfit covered with a purple men's blazer and this weird hat we found at a yard sale that has blond hair attached to the inside of it! However the funniest part of this outfit was the two pillows they had stuffed in the seat of the pants and the little dance he did (like Miss Fannie in the movie "Robots"). EVERYONE kept falling down laughing at this one - Even Mr. Z!

I had to stick this one in here too. I LOVE Speedy Mo's expression and you can just barely see Miss C. in the background (she almost always turns her head at picture time!) - but she does exist!

Dress up Fun

Ugh! I had a great post all typed up and downloading to blogger when my power cord somehow slipped out of my computer! Since I'm really sick (PLEASE PRAY), I'll just give the basics here:
We dress up a LOT and have tons of dress up clothes. These pics are actually not from this past weekend since we decided to forgo all of the Halloween festivities and instead opted for a fun, yet low-key evening with friends: soup, a back yard "candy hunt," and a movie (It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown).
So, here are Miss A and Little Missy all dolled up. Notice the Belle dress coupled with the spiderman glove and pink fuzzy hat and one boot on Miss A! Little Missy went for the very beautiful Cinderella dress and high heel shoes complete with grandpa's old fishing hat. LOL! Miss C. played the wardrobe assistant and fashion show emcee but didn't make it into any of the pictures.

Here is Miss D. in Jeff's old Fred Flinstone costume from our college years. Also, she is sporting some olympic style warm up pants, a letterman jacket, some kind of "veil" and the afro wig that our dog always attacks.

Big Jo loves any kind of hat and also has a fondness for this cape lately. He wears it at least a few times a week!

Speedy Mo - if you know him in real life, you can see the classic "Speedy Mo" look on his face. He is sporting Daddy's old leather pants (also from some past halloween) and the jacket that matches the pants Miss D. had on.