I Love it (and hate it)

While I fully realize that my blog here is a visual mess (that's the part I hate). . .

I LOVE the family photos we had taken this fall.

I am finally getting around to organizing and ordering some of them for our walls and I just had to share a few here via the new blog header.

I LOVE how this collage shows how God brought all of the parts of our family together to make one whole.

I LOVE how colorful they are.

I LOVE how colorful WE are!

And now, for our big announcement:

Our adoption placement is FINAL!

Our six precious children whom we have been fostering for over a year are finally "officially" ours.

We celebrated with a big pizza party with friends and family.

It truly has been one amazing year.

I LOVE it.

The Hole in Our Holiness

hmm. . . thinking on this today.

The Hole in Our Holiness

Clothing the Masses

I know that many people wonder just how it is possible to provide for 10 children.

You know. . . HOW, exactly, do we feed and clothe them all.

I get it. I know that it seems illogical and somewhat impossible.

But, do you know that the Lord has this AMAZING way of providing for all of our needs?

He is good. He is Sovereign.

Why would we EVER doubt

that he will provide for our needs?

He will.

He will provide.

He always does.

He always has.

and, He commands us to REMEMBER his faithfulness!

so. . .

Just so I don't forget, here is how we have been blessed in the clothing department:

• We have boxes of clothing in our closets and garage that are sorted by gender, size, and season. Most of these are hand-me downs from neighbors and friends. They are all in great condition. Whenever I need a new pair of jeans for one of the kids (usually the boys wear their's out first), I can run out and find a pair that fits. Awesome!

• We also have shoes, sandals, boots, etc. . . same story, basically.

• Late in the summer I sorted through all of the clothes the kids have for winter (took 2 days!) and then went thrift-storing with a good friend. I managed to purchase almost everything that 10 children needed for fall/winter for about $250. That is about $25 per child!

• Growing feet, and wet, cold winters meant that we really did need new snow boots for 7 of the children this year. UGH. Not cheap! We HAVE tried the thrift-store, hand me down boot thing and usually end up regretting it every day the children come in with soaking wet red little toes. . . but, I happened upon a GREAT sale at a well-known children's catalog store and ended up getting an INCREDIBLE deal:

7 Pairs of $30.00 snow boots and a pair of $30.00 snow gloves

for a grand total of:

(drumroll please)

$109.84 (INCLUDING shipping!)

WOW!

Thank you Lord for your provision.

Always.

Help me to remember!

Other mamas of large families: How do you clothe your children without bankrupting your account? Let's share some ideas.

Cilantro Lime Chicken in a Crockpot

YUM!

I love figuring out how to use what we have on hand to whip up a new recipe. A few weeks ago, Cilantro Lime Chicken was born after eating at Chipotle Grill when we were at T4A (and loving it).

We're having it again tomorrow night. It is so good and my family loved it. I love it because I can throw it together quickly AND cheaply!

Don't forget, we have 12 people (and many boys who eat a bunch), so modify the amounts as needed!

Also, if you remember from previous recipes, I never really measure, so this is my best guess on what I throw in!

CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN IN A POT (crockpot, that is)

Place into a crockpot:

4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts *

about 3-4 cups of salsa (I love to use our home-canned salsa from the summer)

about 1 cup of lime juice

about 2 cups of chopped fresh cilantro

water or chicken broth to just cover

(sauteed garlic would also be a great addition - just thought of that)

Cook on Low all day or High for half of the day

An hour before dinner,

take two forks and shred the chicken

add a bag of frozen corn

and give it a stir.

Salt and Pepper to taste

Serve with or over black beans and brown rice and the following salad:

Lettuce, red onion, and red bell pepper.

Dress with salsa and or sour cream as wanted.

If your kids like a little homemade chipotle-ranch dressing, that is good too.

My kids end up mixing it all up together or wrapping it all up in a tortilla.

mmm. . . even my husband who doesn't love chicken actually loves this dish!

*(I throw in the frozen chicken that I keep in my freezer for quick meals. . . you could also use home-de-boned chicken, or fresh ones. . . you could use chicken w/ the bone still in, but the end result would be harder to serve)

Quotable Mr. Z

"Have a taste of your own fish."

(I guess this is a loose translation of "getting a taste of your own medicine?")

and,

"In college I'm going to major in florism. . .

. . . the study of flowers!. . .

oh, or maybe it is florology?"

Monday Musings

1. If you are parenting "children from hard places," you should routinely watch Christine's videos.

2. Yesterday one of my children had a terrible day. It was his birthday. ugh.

3. If you are parenting "children from hard places," you should routinely watch Christine's videos.

4. Christine says "whatever you feel like doing, do the exact opposite. Do you feel like screaming? Lower your voice to a whisper."

5. See, I told you that if you are parenting "children from hard places," you should routinely watch Christine's videos! (last time, I promise)

6. One of my new favorite blogs is "Life at the Willards." We met and had lunch with the Willards at the Together for Adoption conference that we went to last month. We can't wait to see what amazing plans God has for them. We want to help them raise adoption funds and if you want to help too, please check out their blog for ways you can purchase really awesome stuff that raises money for their adoption and for orphans and widows in Uganda!

7. The Willards had a great quote on the sidebar of their blog:

It can be so exhausting to parent children from "hard places"... So exhausting, but it isn't just about giving them a warm bed and full tummies. We wouldn't make it if that's all it was for... But, Let us be willing to be exhausted for the sake of their souls. That will glorify God.... Let us be willing.

Wow! I totally agree. I needed that encouragement today.

Amen sister! Who said that?

Oh.

It was me!* LOL!

*granted, the ideas were also expressed in two other blogs which are referenced in the original post

Of Birthdays and Backyards

Today was Speedy Mo's 9th birthday.

Have you ever heard about children from "hard places" sabotaging their own birthdays?

Did you know that, for boys (at least for mine), "9" is a hard year?

Well, let's just put those two things together and then mix in it being a Sunday (my husband is a pastor) and throw in a few (well, 5) sick children and you pretty much have

a recipe for disaster.

well. . . I guess not exactly disaster, but it most definitely did not make for a great day for little Speedy.

Ah, well, we are going to try actually having a celebration later this week and Speedy Mo seemed content tonight when we talked about it.

Our normal birthday routine (pretty much) goes something like this:

Drive-thru the coffee stop with Dad early in the morning for a special birthday drink

Breakfast of choice

(Speedy will probably pick sausage, eggs, and pancakes) w/ our family

Presents from Grandmas and Grandpas and maybe from a family friend or two

and either

a small party with family & friends or a day out with mom and dad to do something special

(Speedy Mo chose going to a "race car track" with mom and dad this year)

and the child's dinner of choice

(Speedy wants "meat and noodles" - translation: beef of some kind and noodles with garlic, basil, and butter, and a cesaer salad).

ha ha - typing that out makes it seem like SO much!

Of course, we try to make birthdays extra special as one way to make each of our children know we value them as individuals. . . but our birthdays are far from the themed plates, pony rides, and gift bags craze that seems to dominate our current American child culture.

Anyways. . .

on a completely different note:

We have outgrown our backyard!

Yep. It's true.

The suburban lot on .25 (or less) of an acre with a backyard smaller than your average swimming pool just doesn't cut it for a family with 10 kids.

We had NO idea when we moved in to our WONDERFUL home that we would ever have 10 children. We certainly didn't expect them to arrive 6 at a time!

And now, with 8 of our children between the ages of 7 and 13, we are seeing the need for a little more space out of doors to play AND to work.

We actually have plenty of house space. Less would be fine. It is that outside area that we are finding to be so crucial - and not available in our current residence.

While it isn't the greatest time to be selling a house, we are really praying that the Lord would move mightily on our behalf and send someone to whom this house and great neighborhood will truly be a blessing and then, that He would place us somewhere that will be helpful to the continued healing our our children "from hard places" and any other children he may someday bring our way.

Would you please pray with us?