Sacrifice, Service, and the Savior

Although it seems like a lifetime ago, Jeff and I were BLESSED to spend 3 1/2 years living alongside some of the most amazing families when he was getting his MDIV at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.  A few of those good friends were just having their first babies (and our son was just turning 5) when it was time for us to pack up and head out on the next adventure God had for us.  Now, two of these precious mamas have a great blog encouraging families to intentionally disciple their children (raisingdeeproots).  

Recently, Kelli asked for friends to share some ways they intentionally encourage discipleship in their homes and I shared a few thoughts.  Be sure to go back and read her post too!

What I said about intentional discipleship:

I think you are right, it is the simple things.

the daily living 

and talking 

and praying.

consistency.

telling The Story and not “the stories.”   

Not, "Moses was good, so be good. . . Daniel trusted God so trust God" 

but instead, 

"See how GOD is at work, see what God did, see that GOD is trustworthy and good - You aren't good, so trust God!"

and time. 

you’ve got to have time 

to talk and share and laugh and pray . . . 

and 

you’ve got to BE together and not apart all day long living parallel yet separate lives

 (and yet, sadly, that is SO prevalent in our cultural “norm” of family life today:  mom and dad off to work, kids off to daycare, sports, and friends houses).

and

keeping the things that matter at the forefront 

rather than on the backburner.

easy now. 

easy when the kids are little,

and you are motivated,

and have great intentions and plans. 

hard to hold-fast to as they grow. 

 we have wept as we have watched SO many fall away and towards the things the world says matter. . . 

and they forget that 

discipleship won’t just happen when life becomes all about 

soccer, school, and success 

rather than 

sacrifice, service, and the Savior.

More of What to Expect the First Year

As a follow up to my last post, I am re-posting what my dear friend, Shawna, added in the comments (in case you don't read the comments). She is 100% accurate on this.

What newly adoptive parents need the first year from their friends and church family:

1. The first year for parents who adopt children from "hard places" is totally consuming. Regardless of how old the children are, expect that the parents will be as consumed as parents of a newborn baby...with colic. If they are adopting more than one, it will be like having multiples....with colic...and probably food allergies too...just to give some perspective.

2. A wonderful "gift" for adoptive families is to free them up to parent. Intentionally parenting in a way that leads to healing for their children will be absolutely requires 110%, and no one else can do it. But, someone else can: cook, clean, organize clothing, shop, drive, take the dog to the vet, mow the lawn, etc.

3. Another great "gift" that a church can give is to completly release adoptive parents from any and all obligations they have to serve at church. They may think that they can continue to serve, but they can't. (And for that matter, release mom from any obligation to do anything for at least one year....including answer the phone!)

4. Also, during that first year, don't expect that adoptive parents will be able to get away without the kids much. As with a newborn baby, the children will benefit from mom and dad's constant presence in the short term. However, a trusted person who is willing to provide short-term child care, like while mom and dad grab some dessert after bedtime,or so mom can take a walk during naptime, can be helpful.

5. And finally, remember that for the first year, and beyond, these parents will be working so hard to gain their children's trust and win their hearts. As support people, believe it or not, some of what we intend for good can actually be detrimental to this process. Indulging the children with "stuff" or experiences, for example, can compete with the bonding process.

Your Questions Answered: Showers of Blessing

Q: We have a family in our church with four children who will soon be welcoming a sibling group of foster children into their home. We would like to have a "shower" for them, but we know they may not need more stuff (or maybe they do?). What would you recommend we, as a church, do to help them?

A: We have been INCREDIBLY blessed by our brothers and sisters in Christ as they have come around us this past year to shower us with blessings of help, resources, and encouragement. The Church can be an extremely huge blessing to a family entering the journey of fostering or adopting a large sibling group (or even a small sibling group!). In fact, I would say that the church is ESSENTIAL for the family to be able to make it through the hard first year.

Here are some things that I know would be very helpful:

MEALS - Deliver dinner every night. For a long time. Months, probably. Think of it as if they just birthed sextuplets!

If it is DHS, they'll probably be getting money for the new child(ren)'s needs
(like diapers and clothes),

but

try to think of gifts for the whole family. . . things they probably wouldn't purchase themselves.

-a "Summer Fun" gift box with new beach towels and a family pass to the zoo

-a "Winter Fun" gift box with sleds, hot cocoa, and matching mugs.

A shower to celebrate could be fun, but make sure the guests know that gift cards to Target or money would probably be appreciated more than a whole bunch of toys and gifts for the kids.

AND, keep the shower as low key as possible or have it before the new children arrive. There are a thousand reasons for this (I would be happy to expand on this if anyone wants - just leave a comment).

These are my thoughts, but another family might think something totally different,

so I think I would approach the family and say:

"Hey, we really want to celebrate with you and we were thinking that__________might be a fun way to do that. Would that be helpful to you, or would something else better meet your needs?"

Those are my thoughts based on what we have needed this past year. In retrospect, I had NO IDEA how much support and help we would need and I am so thankful for it. I am especially thankful for the help and support that was given before we had to ask. Most of the time I was so busy and overwhelmed, I didn't even know to ask or who to ask. It was nice that it just came!

View from a Treehouse

Last month we were blessed to be able to spend some time with new friends who just happen to have five children including one sweet boy they adopted from Uganda about a year ago.

How wonderful it was to pray and eat and chat and watch our 15 children enjoy the summer sun in their incredible backyard - complete with a blow up water slide AND a great treehouse!

Dad had to try out the treehouse too. . .

He snapped this INCREDIBLE picture of all of the children.

Aren't they precious?

Maybe it's just the view from the treehouse, but everytime I look at this picture I think,

"hmm. . . 15 children doesn't really seem like much more than 10. . . "

Have you read this?

Someday I would love to meet Amy and talk with her about how it isn't always easy.

She gets it.

She's spreading the Word.

She's going to be at T4A : Together for Adoption Conference in Austin, TX on October 1 and 2.

Lord willing, we will be there as well so we can meet and be encouraged by Amy and other people passionate about adoption and about orphan care and to learn more how we, as the church, can respond to the global orphan crisis.

Anyone else planning to be there?

A Special Family for a Special Baby

What a surprise to find out that our good friends (whom we hope to someday meet in real life - LOL!), Kim and Ben, will be adopting this sweet baby girl who was born just days ago.

Selah Grace may live for less than a year OR the Lord may work a miracle in her life. Either way, we know He will be glorified and she will be loved as this family truly answers the call to care for the very least of these!

Please donate if you can to help with the 5,000.00 in adoption expenses they expect to have.

By the way, did I mention that Kim and Ben also have ten children (well, now they have 11)? They are really an incredible family that constantly inspires us to say "yes" to God.

If You Can't Adopt,

Let's face it, adoption isn't for everyone. BUT, God has called us ALL to care for the orphans and widows. He has called us all to reach out to the poor, the weak.

If there's one thing I know, it is that the WHOLE body of Christ is SO important in an adoption.

In both of our adoptions of large sibling groups, our church families and Christian friends have played an essential role in helping to bring our children home and in helping our family to thrive after they came home. {thanks!}

Unfortunately, for those families who can and are willing to adopt, finances are often an issue. Whether we like it or not, adoption costs are often up over $20,000.00 just to bring home one or two children.

It isn't right, and hopefully someday it will change, but for the children who need a family NOW, someone has to pay this cost to bring them home.

That's where we ALL come in - adoptive families and adoption supporters together can help other families bring their children home.

My friend, Courtney, had a great idea to help raise funds for 26 families who are currently adopting. It is called 10K in 20 days and they are almost halfway through. They have raised almost 4K, so they have a little farther to go, but I know they can do it!

One adoptive family will receive 2,000.00 to help with their adoption costs and the other 25 families will each receive 200.00 for their adoptions. In addition to the money, they will receive the encouragement from knowing the body of Christ is behind them!

Did you know that if 600 people each gave $10, we could have the other 6,000.00? Just $10. Would you all help me find 600 people who care $10 about orphans?

If you are interested in learning more about the project, click here

or click the link on my sidebar for 10K in 20 days.

We'd love to have you join in and help bring some children home!

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!

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.

Be a part of Bringing them HOME

Kim and Ben are two amazing people who love the Lord and have REAL faith - faith that actively does something God has called us to do: they care for orphans by adopting them, loving them, caring for them!

Kim and Ben need a place - a home - to continue this incredible ministry that God has given them. (read more here)

They think they have found the place. (you can view it here)

They can afford to pay the mortgage.

BUT, they need the money for a down payment because the banks won't accept offers with an FHA loan right now!

The down payment would be about $25,000.

Kim and Ben are selling everything they can. Project Home has raised almost $4000 so far.

Do you realize that if just 200 families, who believed in what Kim and Ben are doing and wanted to be a part of an amazing story of God's people caring for orphans, gave just $100 each. . .

This house could be theirs?!

Would you consider joining us in giving $100 towards a family being able to continue and thrive in ministering unto "the least of these?" Would you be willing to pass this along to just 5 of your friends who also might consider joining us?

Come and be a part of the celebration when Kim and Ben and "their 10" come HOME!

What if?

What if God moved in the hearts of a young couple, just starting out, without a lot of money, to adopt a child?

AND, they obeyed?

What if God put it on their hearts again and again during the next 10 years to adopt another child, and then another?

AND, they obeyed?

What if God called them to live a life of faith and trust in Him as they left behind the things of this world and instead invested in the lives of His precious children?

AND, they obeyed?

THEN, you would be looking at the incredible (yet true) lives of Kim and Ben and their ten (yes, TEN!) precious adopted gifts from God: now being raised in a loving and godly home to be warriors in His kingdom!

Now,

What if this family was in need of a home in which they could raise these ten children (and maybe more) in the love and admonition of the Lord?

What if, in an amazing turn of events that some call the "state of the economy", such a home could be had for only 200,000.00, but only if you have cash?

What if this couple doesn't have 200,000.00 in cash (at least partly because they have invested close to 100,000.00 in adopting 10 children!)?

What if God has already given his people a picture of what the body of Christ could actually look like?

All the believers were together and had everything in common.

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
Acts 2:44-45

What if only 10,000 (of the self-proclaimed 159 million) Christians in America decided that just for THIS week, they PERSONALLY would give up something, sell something, or find an extra odd job so that they could give just $20.00 towards helping this family have a home in which to raise their precious children?

What if?

I mean, can you imagine what an INCREDIBLE blessing this would be? What an amazing story of God's people joining together to care for orphans and to love their brothers and sisters in Christ!

I know times are tough financially right now for so many people and I certainly don't have 200,000.00 just lying around (and I doubt many of my readers do either). . . but, can I come up with 20.00? The real answer is YES - if it is important enough to me, I can certainly find 20.00 that would help Kim and Ben buy a home in which to raise their children in righteousness! I can't help but believe that there are at least 10,000 other families who can certainly do the same.

And so, believing that God is able to do exceedingly more than all we ask or imagine, I am introducing "PROJECT HOME: because every child needs one." Can we (the Body of Christ) come together and provide the physical place needed for Kim and Ben to continue their amazing ministry to these awesome children? I think we can!

Read more about Kim and Ben and donate TODAY HERE for HIS glory!

Prayers for Tired Mamas

Are you tired from loving a child with RAD who doesn't return your love?  

Are you tired from mothering many little children who have many basic care needs?  

Are you tired and weary from fighting on behalf of the orphans and the poor but seeing little change?  

Are you tired from realizing (once again) that you blew it with your children?  

Are you tired from worrying about finances or employment, or housing for your family?  

Are you tired of being in the hospital with a sick child who is in constant pain?  

Are you tired from the wait for your child to come home from his orphanage and into your family. . . but there's nothing more you can do?

My dear friends, I know one or more of you in each of these places this week and I am praying for you!

Honestly, this week I am tired and I could use your prayers too.

Be encouraged friends, for the hard places you are in are places of refining and of growth.  Oh how wonderful it would be if we could grow and mature without affliction, but it is FIRE that refines us.  Isn't it amazing, too, how much God is glorified when his Redemption comes in fullness within the most hopeless situations?

And, isn't that our chief purpose and aim?  To glorify God and enjoy him forever!  Be encouraged my tired friends, for

your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.  Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.  All this is evidence that God's judgement is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.  God is just:  He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.  This will happen when the Lord Jesus is reavealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. . . With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.  We pray this so tat the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.   (2 Thess. 1:3-12) 

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers (sisters!) loved by the Lord, because from the beginning, God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth . He called you to this though our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thess. 2:13-16)

I thank the Lord for you, my sisters in Christ!  He is doing a good work in you and through you.  May he encourage your hearts today!

Surprise!

Well, it was a bit of a surprise, but we tend to do things unconventionally pretty much always!  

So, we were officially approved yesterday as foster parents AND. . . 

We also actually became foster parents!  LOL!

Needless to say we were far from "set up" but we really prayed that the Lord would bring them here if this is where they needed to be - and he did!  So, we rolled up our sleeves, enlisted the help of some GREAT friends, and pulled it all together very quickly to receive our first

TWO children. . .

under age 2!

Well, I haven't been here for a while, so I'm remembering funny things like:

it is really hard to carry 2 babies, a purse, AND a diaper bag (especially when your sunglasses keep falling off your head) in to the doctors office by yourself - what exactly was I thinking?  LOL!

Last night was great.  Not much sleep, but all things considered, they are feeling very safe and secure here and hopefully will be reunited with their parents soon.  

Please pray for us that we would have an opportunity to share with these parents and this family and to show them God's amazing love!  Our prayer is that God will receive glory in this whole situation and grant us his grace as we walk through it!

"my three kids"

Praise the Lord for his goodness and love!  We found out this morning that "our three kids" who were waiting for a family to commit to adopting them have a family as of this morning!  What an awesome Christmas blessing from the Lord.  In just two months, he brought a family forward to adopt a sibling group that many would have deemed "unadoptable."  I'm so glad that, in His sight, we are all adoptable!

The Lord also blessed me with the knowledge that they are truly going to a good home (a friend of one of my online friends who is also an adoptive mama).  Thank you so much for praying!  May the Lord bring them home soon and may he be glorified in every circumstance surrounding this adoption process.  

P.S.  If P,E, and N's "new family" is reading this - Congratulations!  AND - we are praying for a 6 month process or less!

An Open Letter

One of my good OLFs (on-line friends) recently wrote "An Open Letter" from adoptive parents with attachment challenged children. . . to the rest of the world.  Friends, she hits the bulls eye on this one.  I thought it would be good to pass it along.  If you have an attachment challenged child, you will be crying, laughing, or both!  If you are my IRLF (in real life friend), maybe this will give you just a little more insight into how you can understand and help when you are w/ me and the kiddos.

Click HERE to go to the original post on her blog (or just scroll down to read it below).

-------------------------------------

An Open Letter....
I thought it may be of benefit to write an open letter from adoptive parents with attachment challenged children ... to the rest of the world. Maybe you could learn something to help a parent/child you know.


Please know that when our children are standing sullen by our side, they do not need you to pick them up or otherwise "love on" them... but they need a verbal praise from you such as "Good job for standing there so nicely by your mom". Ignore the look on their face and praise the obedience that they are complying with.

Please know that when our children are crying or whining because everyone else has something that they don't ... it's okay. We have our reasons.

Please know that they deserve no sympathy or attention from you when they've chosen to disobey or are throwing themselves on the floor in rage.

Please know that our children need prayer.

Please know that their parents need prayer.

Please don't be offended when we ask you not to hold our kids or give them food.... those are things reserved for their mom/dad until they are healthy.

Please know that if we keep them home from activities that their siblings get to go to, it's because they need to earn those things and we are teaching to our children's character development.

Please know that just because we parent them differently, we are not mean.

Please know that we love our kids.

Please know that we never chose this ... and we certainly did not create it.

Fantastic List of Homeschooling Resources

I've been thinking for a while about making a list of my favorite homeschooling resources and posting them here on my blog.  Someday, this might actually happen. . . but, for today, here are my "TOP TWO" recommendations (I read or refer to both of these multiple times every year):  

"The Three R's" 

by Ruth Beechick 

(the older version is actually 3 small booklets; newer version is all in one)

I can't say enough about this VERY short, VERY comprehensive book.  Ruth Beechick is incredibly knowledgeable and gifted in teaching children the basics!  If I was stranded on a desert island or (more likely) a missionary living in a mud hut in Africa, this book and the Bible would be all I would NEED to educate my children very well!  If you are new to homeschooling, or if you are homeschooling a birth-10 year old and struggling and/or overwhelmed with too many resources, PLEASE get this book right away.  It will be an invaluable tool!

"Educating the Whole-hearted Child" 

by Clay and Sally Clarkson

A very good friend first gave me this book when Mr. Z was almost 5 after listening to me lament about how we wanted to homeschool BUT were so worried that he would never ride the bus, carry a lunchbox, go to prom, etc. . . LOL!   Praise the Lord that He knew just what I needed at that moment because this book confirmed everything I knew that I knew but just couldn't put into words.  What an encouragement!  What a challenge to raise my children to be whole-heartedly devoted to the Lord.  Even if you're not a homeschooler, many of the thoughts and ideas in this book about intentionally discipling your children make this a book worth having on your shelf!

And, since we're talking about great resources. . . 

Check out this post from Kendra over at Preschoolers and Peace.  It is all about basically free homeschooling resources available via the internet.  BTW, Preschoolers and Peace is a great resource itself!  You can even help to support P&P by purchasing one of the above resources through their site (I am not being paid to say this!).

A Time Audit

One of my good friends (an IRL, or "in real life" friend, as my husband calls them) had this great idea to do a time audit.  You can read her great post HERE.  I just LOVE this because as I have been working on my "time audit," I can really see where I have been wasting time, where I want to be spending my time, where I do not need to be spending time, etc. . . 

My official "time audit" will be posted soon, but I would love for everyone to go over and add their "time audit" thoughts to the original post over at "We Lift Our Eyes!"

Mission trip: India

I mentioned last week that my husband had just arrived back home after a 2 week trip to Rahjamundry, India. What an amazing trip he had! He went with 4 other men from our community (from 3 different local churches!) to visit with, help and minister with, and create future plans with Pastor Joseph of Good Samaritan's Home.

This, my friends, is an amazing story. It all started with a shoebox from Samaritan's purse. A wonderful local couple and their children sent a shoebox that was received by one of the children in Pastor Joseph's children's home in India. From that simple shoebox sent years ago, the Lord has blessed us beyond measure to be able to be a part of a unique and thriving ministry halfway around the world. Almost 50 children are now sponsored at the children's home in India and all of the sponsors come primarily from our very own small community. To read the whole story, visit http://gshministries.com/ and be sure to check out the "How this got started" page.  

If you are interested in sponsoring a child or in being a part of the many other ministries (feeding widows, eye-care clinics, island ministry, leper colony, or DVD ministry), be assured that 100% of your money will go to reach the very "least of these." 

Prayer and Perseverance

I would love to have the time to post more in depth, but I don't, so all I can ask is that if the Lord brings our family or another family to your mind (especially any who have adopted or are in the process of adopting Liberian children), just please be obedient and pray for us/them and for the children of Liberia in general.  There seems to be an intensified spiritual battle this week and we know that we fight this kind of battle on our knees.  May the Lord give us all grace and may he be glorified as He wins these battles for the souls of our children.  

If you are a family of adopted Liberian children (or soon to be), be alert to the schemes of the enemy this week, be prayerful in all things and especially over your children.  Do NOT listen to the LIES of the enemy.  For the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of self-discipline.  Persevere and pray, my dear friends.  He never promised this would be easy and comfortable - dying on the cross was neither of those for Jesus! - but He has promised that it will be good!

7 Things

I've been Tagged!

One of my favorite online friends (OLFs, as my hubby loves to call them) tagged me and I loved reading Laura's so much that I decided to play along!

Here are the rules:

THE RULES:
* Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
* Share 7 little known facts about yourself on your blog.
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
* Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Little known facts about myself:

1.  Um, number one is:  There aren't that many "little known" facts about myself!  My IRLFs (in real life friends) know that I am a fairly open book!  This list is going to be hard to come up with!

2.  I enjoy watching professional football with my husband (and sons).  This isn't just "if you can't beat em, join em:"  I really like turning on the game, sitting with my husband and eating some chips and salsa as we watch football in the fall!  "My" team is the Patriots (although they're having a tough year) and I have even been known to help my husband with his fantasy football team on occasion (don't tell his buddies).  Oh yeah, I occasionally engage in "yelling" at the television in some weird attempt to convince the referees that they made a horrible call. . . what can I say?  My husband is most appreciative!

3.  While we are on the subject of television, I guess I can also admit that I have become a fan of some of what we call "man shows."  This is really more of an attempt to join my husband in something he enjoys, but I've found myself fairly interested in the occasional episode of "Man vs. Wild," "Dirty Jobs," or "Deadliest Catch."  Interesting shows, but I wouldn't want to try any of that myself!  Lest you think that all we do is watch TV. . . moving on:

4.  I don't really like animals but I want to live on a farm!  Hmm, how do I explain this one?  I guess I like the idea of living on a farm, but I really don't like touching and caring for the animals.  Maybe I would like chickens and goats more than I like "pets" like cats and dogs.  Hamsters, rats, fish, and any other caged pet animals really gross me out.  I guess I'm going to have to get over this since I promised my kids we'd get some chickens next spring!  

5.  I'm a little bit of a conspiracy theorist especially when it comes to politics.  You know, just the basic stuff:  the treasury has no gold in it any more, the voting machines are rigged,  the media corporations are owned by a few big wigs who are in cahoots with the feds in an attempt to own and control the one world government. . . (Now I'm in big trouble since "they" are probably monitoring my blog and now they know that I know. . . LOL!)

6.  Because of #5, I get searched in the "other" room by T.S.A. EVERY time I fly.  I'm not kidding.  I'm on their list - why else would an overweight, 30 something, mother of 4 get profiled and singled out every single time I fly?

7.  I have a slightly sarcastic sense of humor.  Couldn't tell, could you?

O.K., I'll throw in one more serious one just for fun

the second #7.  I am not very easily offended.  It really takes a LOT to offend me.  Sometimes people will apologize to me and I honestly haven't thought twice about what they are all worried about (something they said or did).  LOL!  This is almost always a good thing.  After all, Love is not easily offended according to the Word of God.  However, I do have to watch myself with this to make sure that I take into account that others are often more sensitive than I would be in certain situations.

O.K.  that's my list, 

I tag

Crissy, 

Shawna, 

Frances, (blog not open to the public)

Cyndi,

Holly Ann, 

Kim