Come on in...
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
National Grandma O'Brien day
Sunday was the 14th anniversary of my grandma, Alfaretta, going home to live with Jesus. And we celebrated by eating dessert....her favorite food group! I baked a cake and we frosted it pink, her favorite color.
So happy that we got to carry on the dessert eating tradition with my mom while she was here in memory of her blessed mom!!!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
My Mom's been here a week!!
She made it to Burkina! And has already been here nearly a week!!! Whoo hoo!!!!
Her travels were smooth and problem free, hallelujah, and when she arrived last Monday she landed, disembarked off the plane, went through customs and had her luggage all under 30 minutes. A record!!! We were in route to the airport, which thankfully happens to be about 5 minutes from our house, when she called saying she was waiting for us! It was such a great reunion!
The moment the girls had been counting down towards had finally arrived. So sweet to have her here, and so surreal! I still shake my head, not believing she is on the continent of Africa with us! The girls were just giddy with excitement!
Tuesday, my mom awoke at 2am and stayed awake to see the girls off to school at 6:30. So I figured since we were both up I'd take my mom on a morning walk to the nearest grocery store to pick up a few things. We then spent the rest of the morning getting right to business doing house stuff.....
Natalie, my strawberry lady who comes by weekly to sell me the strawberries she grows in her garden stopped by to sell me some in the afternoon so we then bleached rinsed and cut up 4 kilos worth.
We baked honey oatmeal wheat bread and made homemade yogurt.
For lunch I made my mom some sorbet made with banana's from Ghana, mangos from the trees in our backyard and the freshly delivered strawberries...and it was delicious! That is an afternoon staple in our home, me and Marvi have one everyday, and now my mom too.
Mom wasn't feeling too good for a while during the afternoon so I too the girls to dance class and headed to bible study and left her home to rest, and when we got back she was feeling a lot better so we spent the evening playing the Wii and had a ball. And then we had a great talk about gun control and we stayed up late watching Catching Fire! We don't waste any time!!!
Thursday morning Rebecca picked us up and we went to "mattress row", which is basically a street lined with mattress venders. I needed to pick up a piece of foam (Mattresses here are not like in the States with the nice springy ultra soft mattresses or the gel memory foam or individually wrapped coil in coil support systems for deeper sleeps. Mattresses here are just pieces of hard foam covered in material.) I made my mom lay on one to see how it felt!
That evening it was African night potluck at the girl's school following African week, so my mom got to come and see the school and watch some great performances by the students.
On Friday she went back to the orphanage and then in the afternoon while I stayed home with the girls Isaak took her to the market to buy some local fabric and vegetables. It was her first time visiting an African market, and she said she had a great time. I love that Isaak took her, that blessed my heart.
That evening we went on a walk down some streets around my house and we just walked and talked and dissected everything we were seeing, and it's great to have her here to see in person what we see and just talk to her about it all. I love being able to share this experience with her. Later on we ordered pizza and watched a movie. And on Saturday we spent the afternoon at a birthday party. She's been able to meet many people since she's arrived and start to get connected.
It is lovely to have her here with us. We are blessed by her presence and I can't wait to see all the experiences she has and all the ways God uses her during her trip.
We're off to a great start!
The moment the girls had been counting down towards had finally arrived. So sweet to have her here, and so surreal! I still shake my head, not believing she is on the continent of Africa with us! The girls were just giddy with excitement!
Tuesday, my mom awoke at 2am and stayed awake to see the girls off to school at 6:30. So I figured since we were both up I'd take my mom on a morning walk to the nearest grocery store to pick up a few things. We then spent the rest of the morning getting right to business doing house stuff.....
Natalie, my strawberry lady who comes by weekly to sell me the strawberries she grows in her garden stopped by to sell me some in the afternoon so we then bleached rinsed and cut up 4 kilos worth.
For lunch I made my mom some sorbet made with banana's from Ghana, mangos from the trees in our backyard and the freshly delivered strawberries...and it was delicious! That is an afternoon staple in our home, me and Marvi have one everyday, and now my mom too.
Wednesday my mom came with me to the orphanage and had a great time getting to know the kids. My mom has been to the orphanage twice and will continue to accompany me in serving there twice a week while she is here. Later that afternoon we went swimming at ISO while Syd was in musical practice.
Thursday morning Rebecca picked us up and we went to "mattress row", which is basically a street lined with mattress venders. I needed to pick up a piece of foam (Mattresses here are not like in the States with the nice springy ultra soft mattresses or the gel memory foam or individually wrapped coil in coil support systems for deeper sleeps. Mattresses here are just pieces of hard foam covered in material.) I made my mom lay on one to see how it felt!
After negotiating on a price I bought it for exactly what I intended to pay and brought it home and we cut it down to size for the little bed we bought that hopefully our little man will sleep in. Later that afternoon as soon as school let out we met Syd at school and went swimming again to cool off because it's getting increasingly hotter and our pool has been broken for over a month!
That evening it was African night potluck at the girl's school following African week, so my mom got to come and see the school and watch some great performances by the students.
That evening we went on a walk down some streets around my house and we just walked and talked and dissected everything we were seeing, and it's great to have her here to see in person what we see and just talk to her about it all. I love being able to share this experience with her. Later on we ordered pizza and watched a movie. And on Saturday we spent the afternoon at a birthday party. She's been able to meet many people since she's arrived and start to get connected.
It is lovely to have her here with us. We are blessed by her presence and I can't wait to see all the experiences she has and all the ways God uses her during her trip.
We're off to a great start!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Catching Fire!
This JUST happened!!!!
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Only one more night!!!
My mom's flight will be taking off in fifteen minutes!! By evening time tomorrow she will be here in Burkina Faso!!
the girls have discovered that mud is the best paint, and black gates are the best canvas!
And we have our airport signs all made and ready! Only one more night....not much longer!!!
AND WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!!!
We have been counting down the days for a loooooong time! Every day when Marvelly gets home from school she goes to the calendar and 'x's off another day, and then counts how many days are left until their beloved Mimi arrives. On Saturday the girls got the gate all ready for her arrival.......
the girls have discovered that mud is the best paint, and black gates are the best canvas!
And we have our airport signs all made and ready! Only one more night....not much longer!!!
Friday, March 14, 2014
A miracle in the middle of misfortune
It all started Sunday evening....
We started hearing rumors that our adoption agency might be closing.
I came by these rumors because I am a part of two adoption supportive groups on Facebook- one for families who've adopted in Burkina Faso, and the other for families involved with the agency we work with.
The groups were erupting with chatter about the possible closure. People saying they had talked to so and so, and heard this, and read this. Words were flying at a fast rate as people were beginning to panic with uncertainty.
I told Isaak what I was reading, and we both got a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs. Sometimes, rumors are just rumors. Other times, rumors circulate based on truth.
We were unsure at this point which was the case. But it was starting to look like there might be truth to what we were hearing. Specific details were starting to surface and it was hard to ignore the facts coming in.
I remember feeling absolute dread.
Oh my gosh, how can this can't be happening?! We're smack dab in the middle of our adoption.....how can our agency be closing?!?!? We need them! This wouldn't just be a setback, this could derail our whole adoption!
I went to bed late that night, glued to the computer screen, waiting for more details. But nothing official had been confirmed by the agency so it was still hard to tell whether this was all a big misunderstanding.
The sinking feeling in my stomach grew and grew. There is nothing worse than uncertainty, I believe. If the news is gonna be bad, then give me the bad news...but don't make me wait in the unknown.
Before going to bed that night I emailed Ruth to see if she had any news about the closure. With over a hundred families in process with our agency, getting through to a staff member in the States would prove impossible, so I emailed Ruth, knowing she would not delay in responding.
I set off for bed, with my bible clutched in my hand, in a daze, doing the only thing I could do, I needed to put my mind at ease with God's word and pray over this situation. I don't remember everything I prayed that night. I don't remember what I read. All I can remember is pleading with God to help me rest in Him, and to bring peace to the chaos of emotions swirling and hold me together....
By the next morning I had an email from Ruth saying she had been in close contact with the agency and was assured that the crisis had been averted and they would be staying open.
I had been talking to my mom when I got the message, and told her the news, happy to hear that our agency would not be closing their doors.
But just hours later, more news began to trickle in from people saying they had talked to staff members from our agency, and were told they were indeed closing.
So once again, we were caught in the middle of not knowing what to believe. On one hand we were told that everything was fine. On the other hand we're hearing that the agency is closing.
As the day dragged on it became more likely that the latter was still true, that indeed they were shutting down. It was a long, emotional day, waiting to hear something concrete. Not knowing what the future looked like for us. Not knowing what was going to happen.
All that uncertainty. It's true that so much of our lives are so often lived out in all those unknown moments. I've discovered, these moments of uncertainty we face are where we find out what we're truly made of....it's where we discover if our faith is truly authentic.
It was hard. I don't know how many times I felt close to spilling over the edge and despairing. But each time I felt like I was about to unravel....He was there, holding me in place, like a straight jacket...steadying me. Each time my thoughts started thinking about everything we stood to lose if this all fell through....He was there, keeping me from despairing, focusing my thoughts back to Him....over, and over, and over....that's the dance we'd dance. I'd grow anxious and His Spirit would be there to remind me of his promise, "Do not be afraid or discouraged, the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
I am loving Psalm 33 right now. I've been playing this verse repeatedly these past few days, drawing strength and encouragement from its truth. It sums up everything that is true about the Lord and how we should approach Him. I just love what it says, and how fitting it has been to our circumstances as of late...."Sing joyfully to the LORD....sing to Him a new song.....for the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice....by the word of the LORD the heavens were made....For he spoke and it came to be, he commanded, and it stood firm....the LORD foils the plans of the nations....the plans of the LORD stand firm forever....blessed is the nation whos God is the LORD...no king is saved by the size of his army...a horse is a vain hope for deliverance...but the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those who hope in his unfailing love...we wait in hope for the LORD, he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name."
I went to bed Monday night thinking about Psalm 33, and the vision of the king and his army, and the soldier and his strength and the horse, and also of Abraham and Isaac and the day he set out to sacrifice him. And I just thought, if Abraham had faith that God could defy circumstances, that He would have to raise Isaac back from the dead if sacrifised, then by golly, God could do it. And He would do it. Abraham put His trust in the LORD to do the impossible. To do something that he had never seen before....because at this time in history, God hadn't brought anyone back from the dead. But Abraham believed God could do something even if he had never seen it done.
I went to bed thinking about how I want to be like Abraham, and not that king. I don't want to put my trust in my own strength, or army or horse, or whatever the world dictates to be strong and sensible and will assure us of victory. God alone ensures victory. God alone...
My own efforts can not save me. My strength alone can not promise success. My adoption agency can not ensure deliverance of our son. Only God can. Only God can deliver us. He may use the agency and various connections to bring about His desired plan....but it's by His hand alone that assures us of victory. And I just went to bed that night thinking....no matter what happens, whether our agency falls or not, God is going to ensure the success of this adoption. God will provide, not matter how bleak our circumstances may be....He's gonna bring home our son, one way or another.
Tuesday morning dawned, and with it the confirmation we had been waiting for....our agency was in fact, officially closing.
It's ironic now, that I should write my last blog post about our growing frustrations and weariness over our adoption being dragged out for so long and never feeling any closer to closure. And then just days later to be blindsided by absolute devastating news, news that we never in our wildest dreams could have foreseen happening.
News, that our agency was closing, that could completely derail our entire process. A process four years in the making. A process that we were completely involved in emotionally. A process that we were completely staked in financially. A process that we poured every aspect of ourselves into...now could crumble apart just like that.
You can't foresee events like that.
I sent out an email that morning. A desperate email for prayer. Briefly stating the circumstances, and just seeking prayer to help see us through this new set of devastating circumstances surrounding our adoption.
A few hours later I talked to Bekah on the phone, and before we hung up she prayed over me. She prayed over me a prayer I never would have had the guts to pray myself. Bekah prayed for a miracle. Not for the agency to stay open and for everything to work out perfectly, but a miracle for the placement committee to meet today, instead of in three months, and grant us permission to adopt our little boy. She prayed for that specifically. For today, Tuesday, to be the day that they would move. For our little boy to be declared ours without another day's delay.
I say that I never would have had the guts to pray that prayer, and it's true. Not because I'm a pessimist. Not because I have little faith. But, honestly, I was completely resolved to wait on the Lord. I trusted in God's perfect timing, and I had settled in my heart to wait on Him.
But Bekah prayed in expectancy for God's timing in this area to be today.
After I hung up with Bekah, I went into the kitchen to bake bread. I turned on my i-pod to one of my favorite worship songs, "You are Holy" and I played that song over and over singing and crying and praying and worshipping God in my kitchen over my dough.
I am resolved to worship Him. No matter how bleak my circumstances may be. No matter how discouraged I become. No matter how long it takes. No matter what happens, I am resolved to worship Him. Because He is my reward. God alone. God alone is my reward. His peace is my reward. His unfailing love is my reward. His encouragement is my reward. His grace is my reward. I will not worship Him based on the reward of His earthly blessings. I will worship Him because His presence is blessing enough. And I have petitioned in my heart to worship him and give him praise and follow after Him no matter what circumstances we encounter.
If there is one thing that I have learned in my years walking with the Lord, it's this....
...we should not wait until we face adversity to turn to God. We need to commit to follow after Him in the quiet moments of our life. The moments filled with peace and security. The moments filled with joys. We need to discipline ourselves to seek Him and read his word each day, even the days filled with an abundance of joy, the days where we think that nothing could derail our happiness, the days we think we don't need God because life is going so smoothly that we end up putting all our hope in our circumstances, instead of Him.
But circumstances change like the wind, and we need to seek him even in the midst of great joy....because when adversity strikes, we need to be mature in our faith to handle the trials. Maturity doesn't happen over night. Maturing in our faith takes a steadfast and long term approach. It starts in the highs....to see us through the lows. It's when we're in the lows of life that we are able to call upon the Lord, to have the discipline to seek Him in trepidation, to draw up His deeply embedded Word from our hearts and minds and find encouragement and strength in it. To trust Him in his unfailing love and know that He will provide and never abandon us. To know that His word is true, and His peace is all sustaining. We need to be prepared in our faith ahead of trials so that when struggles and affliction arise, we are prepared to walk through them in faith and assuredness of His plan and love.
And it has taken many many years and trials to get me to the point where I could stand in my kitchen and worship him unabashedly with a heart committed to praise Him regardless of my circumstances.
Thirty minutes into my bread baking impromptu revival I received a call from Ruth saying she would like to stop by with the our in country social worker, to have an introduction since she (Ruth) was leaving the country on Friday and in the event we needed to connect then we'd already be acquainted. She said that she was in the parking lot of Social Action waiting for the worker to come out and she'd be to my house in thirty minutes.
Twelve o'clock rolls around (1 hour after I hung up the phone with Bekah) and they arrive, and Ruth is carrying a folder. She sits down on my couch, shaking and jumpy, and grinning from ear to ear. She told me she had an unexpected surprise in the folder that she just received. She opened up the folder, handed me a paper, and written on it was the formal proposal granting us permission to adopt our little boy!
There are no other explanations for this except a miracle!
The miracle that Bekah prayed for specifically just ONE hour prior, God had answered! The committee met, they approved our request, they formally proposed him to us! AND, not only us.....but three, three, other families who were waiting to hear about children they were hoping to adopt were granted permission as well! And one of those families had another truly miraculous story!
I was blown away! Ruth was blown away. They had gone to social action for another matter all together and while they were there, they received the papers. A matter that was suppose to take another couple of months....God answered unexpectedly on a discouraging Tuesday that started with despairing and gloomy news and He met our needs one hour after we prayed.
You can not explain away moments like this as happenstance. They are too specific. Too timely. Too personal to be anything other than the divine hand of God moving on our behalf.
I serve a God that provides. I serve a God that surprises. I serve a God who can take any situation and use it for His purposes. I serve a God who delights in putting the fatherless in families. I serve a God who loves righteousness and justice. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us, and His word is true. He is a God who sees and moves on behalf of his people that His glory and power might be displayed for all the world to see. And over and over again He has proven this true in the course of my life.
What at day! What a day. God can be trusted.
And now, to remember this day and course of events that transpired on not only our behalf but other families as well....so that in the months to come I can look back and remember His faithfulness.
I will need to remember this day that the Lord provided in such a significant way for us because these next few months ahead are still shrouded with uncertainty and increasing difficulty due to the untimely closure of our adoption agency.
Another praise, is that fortunately there is one other agency in the entire U.S. that has gone through the long process to be granted approval to adopt in Burkina Faso....just one. other. agency. (there used to be two others but they also went belly up).
Thank you Jesus! If there had been none, our adoption would be completely over. God provides! Again!
The difficult side to this however, is that this new agency has never gone past the initial approval phase, and they have never conducted a single adoption in Burkina, they have no representatives here, and they have no experience with Burkina laws. This is all brand spankin' new to them. And they are being thrown into this as unexpectedly as we are. So, they have to figure out how to go about completing the adoptions already in progress here. And we have to start over with a new agency, which unfortunately means lots more paperwork...and money.
Despite the overwhelming nature of this journey and this lasts weeks terrible unexpected turn of events....we can see God clearly present through it all, and that is encouraging.
If this process wasn't so long and frustrating, it would be almost comical. Almost. Well, okay, maybe it's already a little bit funny. I mean, with everything we have gone through, to now have our agency close when we're this close....all I can say is that this journey hasn't been boring!! And it's gonna be one heck of a story when all is said and done! Hopefully I'll still have all my hair left when that happens, but whether or not it's turned grey by then will be a different matter!
We just have to keep our eyes on Him and focus on accomplishing one step at a time.....
Well, that's that. Another whirlwind week surrounding our adoption! So, LOTS of things to keep praying for! But LOTS of things to praise Him for as well!
We started hearing rumors that our adoption agency might be closing.
I came by these rumors because I am a part of two adoption supportive groups on Facebook- one for families who've adopted in Burkina Faso, and the other for families involved with the agency we work with.
The groups were erupting with chatter about the possible closure. People saying they had talked to so and so, and heard this, and read this. Words were flying at a fast rate as people were beginning to panic with uncertainty.
I told Isaak what I was reading, and we both got a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs. Sometimes, rumors are just rumors. Other times, rumors circulate based on truth.
We were unsure at this point which was the case. But it was starting to look like there might be truth to what we were hearing. Specific details were starting to surface and it was hard to ignore the facts coming in.
I remember feeling absolute dread.
Oh my gosh, how can this can't be happening?! We're smack dab in the middle of our adoption.....how can our agency be closing?!?!? We need them! This wouldn't just be a setback, this could derail our whole adoption!
I went to bed late that night, glued to the computer screen, waiting for more details. But nothing official had been confirmed by the agency so it was still hard to tell whether this was all a big misunderstanding.
The sinking feeling in my stomach grew and grew. There is nothing worse than uncertainty, I believe. If the news is gonna be bad, then give me the bad news...but don't make me wait in the unknown.
Before going to bed that night I emailed Ruth to see if she had any news about the closure. With over a hundred families in process with our agency, getting through to a staff member in the States would prove impossible, so I emailed Ruth, knowing she would not delay in responding.
I set off for bed, with my bible clutched in my hand, in a daze, doing the only thing I could do, I needed to put my mind at ease with God's word and pray over this situation. I don't remember everything I prayed that night. I don't remember what I read. All I can remember is pleading with God to help me rest in Him, and to bring peace to the chaos of emotions swirling and hold me together....
By the next morning I had an email from Ruth saying she had been in close contact with the agency and was assured that the crisis had been averted and they would be staying open.
I had been talking to my mom when I got the message, and told her the news, happy to hear that our agency would not be closing their doors.
But just hours later, more news began to trickle in from people saying they had talked to staff members from our agency, and were told they were indeed closing.
So once again, we were caught in the middle of not knowing what to believe. On one hand we were told that everything was fine. On the other hand we're hearing that the agency is closing.
As the day dragged on it became more likely that the latter was still true, that indeed they were shutting down. It was a long, emotional day, waiting to hear something concrete. Not knowing what the future looked like for us. Not knowing what was going to happen.
All that uncertainty. It's true that so much of our lives are so often lived out in all those unknown moments. I've discovered, these moments of uncertainty we face are where we find out what we're truly made of....it's where we discover if our faith is truly authentic.
It was hard. I don't know how many times I felt close to spilling over the edge and despairing. But each time I felt like I was about to unravel....He was there, holding me in place, like a straight jacket...steadying me. Each time my thoughts started thinking about everything we stood to lose if this all fell through....He was there, keeping me from despairing, focusing my thoughts back to Him....over, and over, and over....that's the dance we'd dance. I'd grow anxious and His Spirit would be there to remind me of his promise, "Do not be afraid or discouraged, the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
I am loving Psalm 33 right now. I've been playing this verse repeatedly these past few days, drawing strength and encouragement from its truth. It sums up everything that is true about the Lord and how we should approach Him. I just love what it says, and how fitting it has been to our circumstances as of late...."Sing joyfully to the LORD....sing to Him a new song.....for the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice....by the word of the LORD the heavens were made....For he spoke and it came to be, he commanded, and it stood firm....the LORD foils the plans of the nations....the plans of the LORD stand firm forever....blessed is the nation whos God is the LORD...no king is saved by the size of his army...a horse is a vain hope for deliverance...but the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those who hope in his unfailing love...we wait in hope for the LORD, he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name."
I went to bed Monday night thinking about Psalm 33, and the vision of the king and his army, and the soldier and his strength and the horse, and also of Abraham and Isaac and the day he set out to sacrifice him. And I just thought, if Abraham had faith that God could defy circumstances, that He would have to raise Isaac back from the dead if sacrifised, then by golly, God could do it. And He would do it. Abraham put His trust in the LORD to do the impossible. To do something that he had never seen before....because at this time in history, God hadn't brought anyone back from the dead. But Abraham believed God could do something even if he had never seen it done.
I went to bed thinking about how I want to be like Abraham, and not that king. I don't want to put my trust in my own strength, or army or horse, or whatever the world dictates to be strong and sensible and will assure us of victory. God alone ensures victory. God alone...
My own efforts can not save me. My strength alone can not promise success. My adoption agency can not ensure deliverance of our son. Only God can. Only God can deliver us. He may use the agency and various connections to bring about His desired plan....but it's by His hand alone that assures us of victory. And I just went to bed that night thinking....no matter what happens, whether our agency falls or not, God is going to ensure the success of this adoption. God will provide, not matter how bleak our circumstances may be....He's gonna bring home our son, one way or another.
Tuesday morning dawned, and with it the confirmation we had been waiting for....our agency was in fact, officially closing.
It's ironic now, that I should write my last blog post about our growing frustrations and weariness over our adoption being dragged out for so long and never feeling any closer to closure. And then just days later to be blindsided by absolute devastating news, news that we never in our wildest dreams could have foreseen happening.
News, that our agency was closing, that could completely derail our entire process. A process four years in the making. A process that we were completely involved in emotionally. A process that we were completely staked in financially. A process that we poured every aspect of ourselves into...now could crumble apart just like that.
You can't foresee events like that.
I sent out an email that morning. A desperate email for prayer. Briefly stating the circumstances, and just seeking prayer to help see us through this new set of devastating circumstances surrounding our adoption.
A few hours later I talked to Bekah on the phone, and before we hung up she prayed over me. She prayed over me a prayer I never would have had the guts to pray myself. Bekah prayed for a miracle. Not for the agency to stay open and for everything to work out perfectly, but a miracle for the placement committee to meet today, instead of in three months, and grant us permission to adopt our little boy. She prayed for that specifically. For today, Tuesday, to be the day that they would move. For our little boy to be declared ours without another day's delay.
I say that I never would have had the guts to pray that prayer, and it's true. Not because I'm a pessimist. Not because I have little faith. But, honestly, I was completely resolved to wait on the Lord. I trusted in God's perfect timing, and I had settled in my heart to wait on Him.
But Bekah prayed in expectancy for God's timing in this area to be today.
After I hung up with Bekah, I went into the kitchen to bake bread. I turned on my i-pod to one of my favorite worship songs, "You are Holy" and I played that song over and over singing and crying and praying and worshipping God in my kitchen over my dough.
I am resolved to worship Him. No matter how bleak my circumstances may be. No matter how discouraged I become. No matter how long it takes. No matter what happens, I am resolved to worship Him. Because He is my reward. God alone. God alone is my reward. His peace is my reward. His unfailing love is my reward. His encouragement is my reward. His grace is my reward. I will not worship Him based on the reward of His earthly blessings. I will worship Him because His presence is blessing enough. And I have petitioned in my heart to worship him and give him praise and follow after Him no matter what circumstances we encounter.
If there is one thing that I have learned in my years walking with the Lord, it's this....
...we should not wait until we face adversity to turn to God. We need to commit to follow after Him in the quiet moments of our life. The moments filled with peace and security. The moments filled with joys. We need to discipline ourselves to seek Him and read his word each day, even the days filled with an abundance of joy, the days where we think that nothing could derail our happiness, the days we think we don't need God because life is going so smoothly that we end up putting all our hope in our circumstances, instead of Him.
But circumstances change like the wind, and we need to seek him even in the midst of great joy....because when adversity strikes, we need to be mature in our faith to handle the trials. Maturity doesn't happen over night. Maturing in our faith takes a steadfast and long term approach. It starts in the highs....to see us through the lows. It's when we're in the lows of life that we are able to call upon the Lord, to have the discipline to seek Him in trepidation, to draw up His deeply embedded Word from our hearts and minds and find encouragement and strength in it. To trust Him in his unfailing love and know that He will provide and never abandon us. To know that His word is true, and His peace is all sustaining. We need to be prepared in our faith ahead of trials so that when struggles and affliction arise, we are prepared to walk through them in faith and assuredness of His plan and love.
And it has taken many many years and trials to get me to the point where I could stand in my kitchen and worship him unabashedly with a heart committed to praise Him regardless of my circumstances.
Thirty minutes into my bread baking impromptu revival I received a call from Ruth saying she would like to stop by with the our in country social worker, to have an introduction since she (Ruth) was leaving the country on Friday and in the event we needed to connect then we'd already be acquainted. She said that she was in the parking lot of Social Action waiting for the worker to come out and she'd be to my house in thirty minutes.
Twelve o'clock rolls around (1 hour after I hung up the phone with Bekah) and they arrive, and Ruth is carrying a folder. She sits down on my couch, shaking and jumpy, and grinning from ear to ear. She told me she had an unexpected surprise in the folder that she just received. She opened up the folder, handed me a paper, and written on it was the formal proposal granting us permission to adopt our little boy!
There are no other explanations for this except a miracle!
The miracle that Bekah prayed for specifically just ONE hour prior, God had answered! The committee met, they approved our request, they formally proposed him to us! AND, not only us.....but three, three, other families who were waiting to hear about children they were hoping to adopt were granted permission as well! And one of those families had another truly miraculous story!
I was blown away! Ruth was blown away. They had gone to social action for another matter all together and while they were there, they received the papers. A matter that was suppose to take another couple of months....God answered unexpectedly on a discouraging Tuesday that started with despairing and gloomy news and He met our needs one hour after we prayed.
You can not explain away moments like this as happenstance. They are too specific. Too timely. Too personal to be anything other than the divine hand of God moving on our behalf.
I serve a God that provides. I serve a God that surprises. I serve a God who can take any situation and use it for His purposes. I serve a God who delights in putting the fatherless in families. I serve a God who loves righteousness and justice. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us, and His word is true. He is a God who sees and moves on behalf of his people that His glory and power might be displayed for all the world to see. And over and over again He has proven this true in the course of my life.
What at day! What a day. God can be trusted.
And now, to remember this day and course of events that transpired on not only our behalf but other families as well....so that in the months to come I can look back and remember His faithfulness.
I will need to remember this day that the Lord provided in such a significant way for us because these next few months ahead are still shrouded with uncertainty and increasing difficulty due to the untimely closure of our adoption agency.
Another praise, is that fortunately there is one other agency in the entire U.S. that has gone through the long process to be granted approval to adopt in Burkina Faso....just one. other. agency. (there used to be two others but they also went belly up).
Thank you Jesus! If there had been none, our adoption would be completely over. God provides! Again!
The difficult side to this however, is that this new agency has never gone past the initial approval phase, and they have never conducted a single adoption in Burkina, they have no representatives here, and they have no experience with Burkina laws. This is all brand spankin' new to them. And they are being thrown into this as unexpectedly as we are. So, they have to figure out how to go about completing the adoptions already in progress here. And we have to start over with a new agency, which unfortunately means lots more paperwork...and money.
Despite the overwhelming nature of this journey and this lasts weeks terrible unexpected turn of events....we can see God clearly present through it all, and that is encouraging.
If this process wasn't so long and frustrating, it would be almost comical. Almost. Well, okay, maybe it's already a little bit funny. I mean, with everything we have gone through, to now have our agency close when we're this close....all I can say is that this journey hasn't been boring!! And it's gonna be one heck of a story when all is said and done! Hopefully I'll still have all my hair left when that happens, but whether or not it's turned grey by then will be a different matter!
We just have to keep our eyes on Him and focus on accomplishing one step at a time.....
Well, that's that. Another whirlwind week surrounding our adoption! So, LOTS of things to keep praying for! But LOTS of things to praise Him for as well!
Monday, March 10, 2014
"We wait in hope for the Lord"
If I could sum up these last four years of our on-going adoption process in just four words, it would be this.....
just out of reach.
It's always, just out of reach.
Every time I feel like we make some head way and get a little bit closer, poof, there it goes again, just out of reach.
Always too far away to touch.
I feel so often like I am caught swimming in the middle of a rough ocean and I can see the life preserver floating nearby, but every time I swim closer and reach out to grab it, a wave pushes it too far away to grasp.
That has been our adoption story. Headway immediately followed by recession.
It's like I'm ten years old in the middle of a game of "keep away".
We had dinner with Ruth two Fridays ago. We talked about our adoption. We asked her how long she thought it would take for the director to make a decision concerning our paperwork and matching request. She informed us that the director of placements does not have the sole authority to make decisions about placements with children and potential families. There is a committee that makes those decisions, but the director does have a lot of influence.
She then went on to say.....the committee only meets once a quarter to discuss new matches.
And not only do they only meet once a quarter, in very Burkinabé fashion they have no specific date when they meet. It's just whenever. Whenever they feel like it. Whenever they get bored. Whenever they all happen to be in the same room for the first time in four months. Just, whenever strikes their fancy.
So, what we originally, naively, thought would be handled in a matter of days....has again turned into months.
But yet it's all about the kids, right? Everything is in the best interest of the kids they say. I mean, we wouldn't want to make them wait an unnecessary amount of time and further delay their entrance into a family for no good stinkin' reason, now would we? Oh, apparently they do. Because they only meet once a quarter....so everyone just has to sit around and wait...and wait, until they feel like havin' a meeting. As if having to spend your childhood living in an orphanage without the love and care of a family wasn't hard enough, they are going to make them wait even longer and draw out their time because the committee doesn't feel it necessary to meet more than once every three months.
What. a. joke. How the heck do you go about justifying that those actions, or lack there of, are in the best interest of the children? It's just not right.
And I don't get it. I don't want to get it. It makes my blood boil because it's absolutely preposterous.
Honestly, I am frustrated. I am weary from waiting. From never feeling any closer to closure. Frustrated from knowing that the little boy we hope to adopt will have to celebrate another birthday in an orphanage. That he will have to keep waking up in a home that's not his own.
Frustrated from seeing this get dragged out for so long.
I still have faith that this will happen, I have not lost hope....I just really hope I don't have to wait twenty five years like Sarah to receive her son. Or twenty years like Rebekah. Or wander in the desert for forty years.
Sometimes....sometimes, I tell myself that God is waiting for me to pray more, or fast, or do something significant....as if I have to earn his blessing. I think that would be easier to believe, because at least it gives me the illusion of some control, like if I only do this, this, and this, we'll get our son. That it's up to me. That I need to do more to save him and make this happen for my family....
I know better of course. I know God doesn't work like that. But it's hard because we hear that so much in church circles....
"And then God will answer your prayer."
That's what we hear. That's what we're conditioned to believe.
And it's exhausting, this checklist that we spout off.
We act like we have to tally off this inventory of items in order for God to move on our behalf. We act like He's a robot that we can control if we only input the correct equation. But if that were the case, if it were up to us, If God worked like that, if there was a certain sequence of things we could do to make God move....then people would never die. We would never get cancer and diseases. We could just pray them away. People would never be poor, because everyone would have enough money to meet all of their needs. Marriages would never break up, adoptions would always work out, jobs would never be lost, we'd never have any pain or suffer any losses and always get what we want.....because we figured out how to control God based on the code we've been instructed to initiate.
But we can't control God anymore than we can control the weather. He's not a robot we can manipulate to do what we please.
Of course, the bible tells us to pray. And fast. And give. And serve. And worship Him.
There are still many times that I have to remind myself in moments of weakness that there is not a spiritual agenda I must adhere to to earn His blessing and favor.
I can't imagine the pain and frustration Sarah must have felt in all her years of waiting. After years and years of hearing from God and not seeing the fruit of his promise and wondering if it was her that was holding things up. The frustration of the Israelites living forty years wandering in the desert and not knowing if they would live to see the promised land.
I want to wait patiently on the Lord. I want to believe with everything that I am that He is good and faithful because He simply is, and not because my actions dictate it to be so.
In my current Beth Moore bible study, The Patriarch's, she says this past week when discussing Rebekah's conniving play to bring Jacob to prominence and fulfill God's plan for him, "God is the move maker. The same One who makes the promises fulfills the promises-without our manipulation."
If God made the promise, God will fulfill the promise.
I want to rest in the assuredness that God is in control and all things will work together for our good. That God will bring this promise within reach at the appointed time. That there is purpose in all of this. I want to be obedient to all He asks, not because it will make Him move faster, but because it produces holiness in me and is pleasing to Him. I want to have faith that all of this waiting, these years of waiting, our little guy having to stay in the orphanage, are for the intention of producing a bountiful harvest in us. To grow our faith. To rely on Him. To produce patience. To leave no doubt that God is mighty and powerful and able to birth impossibilities on our behalf and for His glory.
just out of reach.
It's always, just out of reach.
Every time I feel like we make some head way and get a little bit closer, poof, there it goes again, just out of reach.
Always too far away to touch.
I feel so often like I am caught swimming in the middle of a rough ocean and I can see the life preserver floating nearby, but every time I swim closer and reach out to grab it, a wave pushes it too far away to grasp.
That has been our adoption story. Headway immediately followed by recession.
It's like I'm ten years old in the middle of a game of "keep away".
We had dinner with Ruth two Fridays ago. We talked about our adoption. We asked her how long she thought it would take for the director to make a decision concerning our paperwork and matching request. She informed us that the director of placements does not have the sole authority to make decisions about placements with children and potential families. There is a committee that makes those decisions, but the director does have a lot of influence.
She then went on to say.....the committee only meets once a quarter to discuss new matches.
And not only do they only meet once a quarter, in very Burkinabé fashion they have no specific date when they meet. It's just whenever. Whenever they feel like it. Whenever they get bored. Whenever they all happen to be in the same room for the first time in four months. Just, whenever strikes their fancy.
So, what we originally, naively, thought would be handled in a matter of days....has again turned into months.
But yet it's all about the kids, right? Everything is in the best interest of the kids they say. I mean, we wouldn't want to make them wait an unnecessary amount of time and further delay their entrance into a family for no good stinkin' reason, now would we? Oh, apparently they do. Because they only meet once a quarter....so everyone just has to sit around and wait...and wait, until they feel like havin' a meeting. As if having to spend your childhood living in an orphanage without the love and care of a family wasn't hard enough, they are going to make them wait even longer and draw out their time because the committee doesn't feel it necessary to meet more than once every three months.
What. a. joke. How the heck do you go about justifying that those actions, or lack there of, are in the best interest of the children? It's just not right.
And I don't get it. I don't want to get it. It makes my blood boil because it's absolutely preposterous.
Honestly, I am frustrated. I am weary from waiting. From never feeling any closer to closure. Frustrated from knowing that the little boy we hope to adopt will have to celebrate another birthday in an orphanage. That he will have to keep waking up in a home that's not his own.
Frustrated from seeing this get dragged out for so long.
I still have faith that this will happen, I have not lost hope....I just really hope I don't have to wait twenty five years like Sarah to receive her son. Or twenty years like Rebekah. Or wander in the desert for forty years.
Sometimes....sometimes, I tell myself that God is waiting for me to pray more, or fast, or do something significant....as if I have to earn his blessing. I think that would be easier to believe, because at least it gives me the illusion of some control, like if I only do this, this, and this, we'll get our son. That it's up to me. That I need to do more to save him and make this happen for my family....
I know better of course. I know God doesn't work like that. But it's hard because we hear that so much in church circles....
People say, "You need to pray about this!" "If you want to see God move you need to fast!" "If you want to see God move a mountain you need to fast but not just alone, with twenty other people now!" "Waiting for a prayer to be answered? You need to seek wise council and prayer from elders!" "You need to make sure there is no unconfessed sin in your life" "You need to be reading God's word everyday, every hour, every minute!" "You need to praise Him in worship" "You need a pastor to lay hands on you!" "You need to get on your knees" "You need to pray out loud!" "You need to fold your hands like this, and bow your head like that." "You need to never doubt because you're limiting God." "You need to serve more" "sing more" "tithe more" "read more" "pray more" "fast more" "be more"
"do more, more, more, more, more more!!!"
"And then God will answer your prayer."
That's what we hear. That's what we're conditioned to believe.
And it's exhausting, this checklist that we spout off.
We act like we have to tally off this inventory of items in order for God to move on our behalf. We act like He's a robot that we can control if we only input the correct equation. But if that were the case, if it were up to us, If God worked like that, if there was a certain sequence of things we could do to make God move....then people would never die. We would never get cancer and diseases. We could just pray them away. People would never be poor, because everyone would have enough money to meet all of their needs. Marriages would never break up, adoptions would always work out, jobs would never be lost, we'd never have any pain or suffer any losses and always get what we want.....because we figured out how to control God based on the code we've been instructed to initiate.
But we can't control God anymore than we can control the weather. He's not a robot we can manipulate to do what we please.
Of course, the bible tells us to pray. And fast. And give. And serve. And worship Him.
But it's not telling us to do those things with the intention of trying to manipulate God and earn His favor and goodwill. We are to do those things out of the over flow of love we have for Him. To align out hearts with God's will for our lives. To draw into a closer more intimate relationship with Him. Because He is good, and worthy of every sacrifice and praise we offer Him.
There are still many times that I have to remind myself in moments of weakness that there is not a spiritual agenda I must adhere to to earn His blessing and favor.
I can't imagine the pain and frustration Sarah must have felt in all her years of waiting. After years and years of hearing from God and not seeing the fruit of his promise and wondering if it was her that was holding things up. The frustration of the Israelites living forty years wandering in the desert and not knowing if they would live to see the promised land.
I want to wait patiently on the Lord. I want to believe with everything that I am that He is good and faithful because He simply is, and not because my actions dictate it to be so.
In my current Beth Moore bible study, The Patriarch's, she says this past week when discussing Rebekah's conniving play to bring Jacob to prominence and fulfill God's plan for him, "God is the move maker. The same One who makes the promises fulfills the promises-without our manipulation."
If God made the promise, God will fulfill the promise.
I want to rest in the assuredness that God is in control and all things will work together for our good. That God will bring this promise within reach at the appointed time. That there is purpose in all of this. I want to be obedient to all He asks, not because it will make Him move faster, but because it produces holiness in me and is pleasing to Him. I want to have faith that all of this waiting, these years of waiting, our little guy having to stay in the orphanage, are for the intention of producing a bountiful harvest in us. To grow our faith. To rely on Him. To produce patience. To leave no doubt that God is mighty and powerful and able to birth impossibilities on our behalf and for His glory.
"Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be,
he commanded, and it stood firm.
The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Blesses is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth-
he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us LORD,
even as we put our hope in you."
-Psalm 33
Saturday, March 8, 2014
My Africa feet
This is what happens to your feet when you move to Burkina Faso where dirt roads outnumber paved streets by like a million to one, it is consistently over 100 degrees, and there is virtually no moisture in the air.
They get to lookin' like this.
I have been humbled in my pride in some pretty significant ways since moving here, so I really have no shame at this point in documenting my gnarly feet. Just keepin' it real. It's life here. We're dirty. And dry.
Even scrubbing with soap, water, and a loofa won't get off the dirt. I have to scrape my foot with a metal foot scrubber every day in the shower, and by the next night, it looks like this all over again. It's kinda depressing.
It's gonna be awesome.
Really lookin' forward to it.
Until that day comes, I always have that little patch of skin to remind me that my feet are suppose to be white.
They get to lookin' like this.
I have been humbled in my pride in some pretty significant ways since moving here, so I really have no shame at this point in documenting my gnarly feet. Just keepin' it real. It's life here. We're dirty. And dry.
Even scrubbing with soap, water, and a loofa won't get off the dirt. I have to scrape my foot with a metal foot scrubber every day in the shower, and by the next night, it looks like this all over again. It's kinda depressing.
There is going to come a day, in like, a year and a half from now when my feet are gonna be clean again and not have cracks the size of the grand canyon in them.
It's gonna be awesome.
Really lookin' forward to it.
Until that day comes, I always have that little patch of skin to remind me that my feet are suppose to be white.
Me and the girls
Isaak is out of town this weekend working, so it's just me and the girls hanging out.
Last night I cozied up on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and watched the goodness of Great Expectations. It was the Masterpiece Theater version done in 2012, and it was brilliant. I love Charles Dickens. His stories are so complex and thought provoking. And this movie was fabulous.
This Saturday morning has been very quiet and peace filled.
Now they are outside playing and getting some semi-fresh air before the heat of the day sets in too much. They have friends coming over later in the afternoon for a sleepover, so that should be fun.
It's definitely an order a pizza kind of night. Dinner took me over three hours to prep and cook last night, so I'm not touching anything kitchen related tonight...it's my night off.
And I currently have a movie downloading for me with the hopes that I will be ready to watch once the kids are in bed.
Feeling good. Feeling peaceful. And rested. We don't get a lot of Saturdays like this, where we can just hang out with no obligations to be anywhere or do anything, so I am soaking up this day!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Yako, hi-top fade, Gravity and beans
I had every intention of sitting down on Sunday evening and jotting down some highlights from the weekend, but then time flew away, and here it is and it's Wednesday night and a new weekend is just around the corner.
Such is life.
So, anyways, back to this past weekend....Friday night we had dinner at the Turkish restaurant with Ruth and Linda, and an American family, the Powell's, in town right now picking up their newly adopted son. We have had the honor of meeting and spending time with a number of families who have come to Burkina to bring home a child, and it is always such a joy. It's great to connect with families who are in the same process as we are, and just rejoice in their success of being here and what that means. Man I love adoption.
Saturday we woke up bright and early and drove to Yako. We hadn't been there in 8 weeks and when we arrived I was stunned to see that the new children's play area had been completed....and it was fantastic!
I don't know if there's anything this awesome anywhere else in the entire country. This play area was off the charts cool. Mike and Amy never cease to amaze me. They are just some of my favorite people. Their creativity, ingenuity, and selflessness in serving has had a profound impact on countless people's lives here. They are pretty darn inspiring. Plus, they are just super cool people to hang out with and we enjoy their company so much.
But, back to this play area....I mean, it's awesome. The girls had a ball! There was even a little Simba painted on the wall by the slide! Disney love, what up?!
After we arrived home later in the afternoon we took a thirty minute break to get the girls some lunch and then drove them to a friend's birthday party.
Me and Isaak went to ISO to watch a little bit of the championship basketball game going on. The Ouaga Turtles and a Ghana team were battling it out in the championship, but sadly our ISO Turtle's lost.
There were International schools here from Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria, with both boys and girls teams competing in the basketball tournament. ( I was low on pictures from this weekend, so I'm sticking in a basketball one with random kids with awesome 80's hi-top fade haircuts =) Throw back to Kid N' Play!! )
Anyways, we didn't stay too long because, #1, Isaak doesn't like basketball and he doesn't know the rules so it frustrates him to have to watch a sport that he is not an expert in. =) And #2, we had to go to the market and by a load of fruits and veggies to make for dinner that night, and seen as how going to the market and then having to prepare all the food just purchased and then proceed to make dinner with it is like a five hour endeavor...we needed to get a move on. Because it was dinner and movie night at our house.
Later that evening Seth and Rebecca came over for....dinner and movie night. =) Yay! Either Friday or Saturday night is usually always movie night around here. The girls look forward to it so they can sleep in the guest bedroom and watch a movie in bed. It's a favorite thing. We watched Gravity. We as is us adults. The girls watched A Little Princess. We had been waiting for Gravity to become available for rent on I-tunes for a while, as I had been eagerly awaiting to watch it. And it did not disappoint. I loved it. Isaak loved it. Rebecca (being and the avid space lover that she is) and Seth loved it. Sandra should of taken home the Oscar if you ask me. It was so intense and the fact that pretty much a single person carried that entire movie is incredible. I can't believe she didn't win the Oscar...what a rip man.
Such is life.
So, anyways, back to this past weekend....Friday night we had dinner at the Turkish restaurant with Ruth and Linda, and an American family, the Powell's, in town right now picking up their newly adopted son. We have had the honor of meeting and spending time with a number of families who have come to Burkina to bring home a child, and it is always such a joy. It's great to connect with families who are in the same process as we are, and just rejoice in their success of being here and what that means. Man I love adoption.
Saturday we woke up bright and early and drove to Yako. We hadn't been there in 8 weeks and when we arrived I was stunned to see that the new children's play area had been completed....and it was fantastic!
I don't know if there's anything this awesome anywhere else in the entire country. This play area was off the charts cool. Mike and Amy never cease to amaze me. They are just some of my favorite people. Their creativity, ingenuity, and selflessness in serving has had a profound impact on countless people's lives here. They are pretty darn inspiring. Plus, they are just super cool people to hang out with and we enjoy their company so much.
But, back to this play area....I mean, it's awesome. The girls had a ball! There was even a little Simba painted on the wall by the slide! Disney love, what up?!
After we arrived home later in the afternoon we took a thirty minute break to get the girls some lunch and then drove them to a friend's birthday party.
Me and Isaak went to ISO to watch a little bit of the championship basketball game going on. The Ouaga Turtles and a Ghana team were battling it out in the championship, but sadly our ISO Turtle's lost.
There were International schools here from Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria, with both boys and girls teams competing in the basketball tournament. ( I was low on pictures from this weekend, so I'm sticking in a basketball one with random kids with awesome 80's hi-top fade haircuts =) Throw back to Kid N' Play!! )
Anyways, we didn't stay too long because, #1, Isaak doesn't like basketball and he doesn't know the rules so it frustrates him to have to watch a sport that he is not an expert in. =) And #2, we had to go to the market and by a load of fruits and veggies to make for dinner that night, and seen as how going to the market and then having to prepare all the food just purchased and then proceed to make dinner with it is like a five hour endeavor...we needed to get a move on. Because it was dinner and movie night at our house.
Later that evening Seth and Rebecca came over for....dinner and movie night. =) Yay! Either Friday or Saturday night is usually always movie night around here. The girls look forward to it so they can sleep in the guest bedroom and watch a movie in bed. It's a favorite thing. We watched Gravity. We as is us adults. The girls watched A Little Princess. We had been waiting for Gravity to become available for rent on I-tunes for a while, as I had been eagerly awaiting to watch it. And it did not disappoint. I loved it. Isaak loved it. Rebecca (being and the avid space lover that she is) and Seth loved it. Sandra should of taken home the Oscar if you ask me. It was so intense and the fact that pretty much a single person carried that entire movie is incredible. I can't believe she didn't win the Oscar...what a rip man.
Sunday was church. I love our church. It's so good.
Later that afternoon I stayed home to get a grip on my house and do some cleaning while everyone else went to play Frisbee. Eish man. I'm currently staring at a pile on my desk that I specifically remember cleaning off just three days ago....and now it's back, bigger than it was before. I'd like to take my arm and just sweep it all into the trash to save me to trouble of having to organize it all again...but there's actually papers in there that I kinda need....so I guess I can't do that. Bummer, that woulda saved me a lot of time.....
Sunday night while Isaak was cooking up his cow tongue, me and the girls were having a hilarious secret bean catapulting fiasco in the dining room during dinner. Sydaleigh put a bean on her fork and flung it into the air, to which I should have probably told her not to do because that's not "proper" dinner time manners, but instead I told her to do it again and aim it for my mouth. So we started shooting beans back and forth around the table trying to catch them in our mouths and when Isaak came in there were all these beans that mysteriously ended up all over the floor. I told the girls to keep it our little secret but of course they ratted me out as soon as Isaak sat down with his pile of tongue. Little stinkers.
And to close out this little weekend recap....here is a picture of the tongue Isaak cooked up for himself and Marvelly, who totally loved it by the way. That does not surprise me in the least. The girl hates macaroni, grilled cheese and pizza and cried when she has to eat them, foods that all kids love....but give her a plate with beef tongue and she gobbles it up. What a kid.
Ugh....looking at this picture makes me gag and make sickly faces...
So, that was our weekend.
Good times.
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