Through me eyes

I have been sick for most of this past week...yuck! I was fine Tues morning but come Tues night I was flat on the couch. Finally today I am feeling a little better but still have a nasty cough. I had a very interesting thing happen last night due to being sick and am delighted to share. Thurs are my laundry day, sick or not laundry has to get done. Well I managed to wash all the clothes but was so miserable Thurs night with a high fever I could not muster any strength to fold them so a huge pile sat on my couch. Last night Shane rented a movie and decided to fold all the clothes himself...sweet guy! I know several of you have heard me whine about the laundry and how overwhelming it can be with this many people in the house, well he now understands. He spent an hour and 22 mins folding clothes. Half way into it he looked at me and said, "Do you do this every week or is this more than normal?" I said it was acutally less than normal and he shook his head in shock. He said he didn't realize how much work it was. Ahhhhhh...redemption! Then my engineer husband stared to devise in his brain ways to make it more efficienct and as we went to bed he decided paying a teenage $20 a week to fold all our laundry was worth it. hahahaha! I dont think so! This morning he had the kids put all the their clothes away and as one of them dropped their pile on the floor he was frustrated at how all his hard work had been undone in a moment. Again he looked at me and said, "How discouraging, does that happen alot too?" Yup, sure does! I can't seem to whipe the smile off my face right now and maybe, just maybe there is hope in being able to keep on top of things around here now that someone else and "seen the light". I love him for stepping up while I was down and out!

Learning the lesson

When we see our Lord as our teacher and councilor we are open to His teaching and correction. That is of course in a perfect world right? I have not even begun to master this and while I feel like I am having more days with purposeful listening I feel like I still have a ways to go. I have been so encouraged about the learning I have been getting it is waiting to burst from within. Between my bible study, Bob's sermons and of course the words of others I am soaking truths up like a sponge. The biggest "ah ha" I have had is that ministry can be very lonely. When we walk in God's light and path it may not always be fun and happy every moment. Funny thing is logic would tell me that "hey, I am doing what you asked so it should be a piece of cake" HA! How would we grow then? The best example I have studied is the story of Samson in Judges. Chapter 13 tells of his birth. Verse 5 spoke to me so much; Samsom was set apart before he was conceived. He was born with a purpose or "ministry" long before his birth. God created him to deliver his people. In chapters 14 and 15 he begins his "ministry" as God begins to strengthen him physically, but in 16 his life changes dramatically. Through out the previous chapters he does not talk about what he has been doing and in my opinion begins to isolate himself from others while in the grips of serving his Lord. I heard someone talk about this exact part of scripture and they posed a very good thought provoking question. In 16 Samson falls in love with a woman named Delilah and she was told to find out the secrets of Samson's strength. He told her everything and she shaved off his hair and God's strength left him. Is it possible he was so drawn to her out of loneliness? In the midst of his isolation did he sacrifice his "call" to fulfill his human desire for companionship? In the midst of my ministry to foster children, and the loneliness it can bring at times, am I willing to also sacrifice His call to me to serve these kids to put "relationships" with others priority? NO Way! This has been a huge revelation to me and a truth I am clinging to in those hard moments. There is joy is serving the Lord and that is enough! God so faithfully confirmed this lesson with a sweet women in bible study today who shared this verse..."Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes." This is my new verse to live by daily...standing still, waiting for the most awesome God to fulfill all his purposes through me, around me and in me. Hallelujah!

Nathan in a nutshell

So in three weeks Nathan will have been with us for TWO years! I cannot believe this sweet boy is growing up before our eyes! I will never forget the email I got forwarded from friends about these 3 little boys and their sad situation. I will never forget the burden God placed on our hearts and how one single act of obidience led to him coming into our lives. He is truly a treasure I could never have thought was possible. This first picture is of him one week after coming to stay with us. His eyes were beginning to brighten and he was starting to interact with us. Gotta love those brown eyes!!!These are more current, like in the last week. Still lovin those brown eyes and oh how they sparkle with so much life! We love you our little snuggle bug!

What is he like now...well he is all 2! He is talking and increasing his vocabulary every day. He LOVES airplanes, actually obsessed with them. His best friend is Jacob and even crawls into bed with him in the mornings before they come out of their room...their bond is sealed! He is stubborn and strong willed which I am told are all good qualities when they get older...praying for that as he and I bang our heads together. He LOVES his Dad...it is the sweetest thing I have even seen. He is loved by his Creator...who rescued him. What an amazing two years.

Happy Birthday to the best Hubby/Daddy in the World!

We went to his favorite resturant, Red Robin, last night for his favorite burger the Blue Ribbon Burger.

(Samantha HAD to be silly! She got Shane the shirt he is wearing, but really wanted to buy him one that was pink. I had to convince her that Daddy would not wear pink!)

Gotta love this look...this was after 4 Freckled Lemonades! (Which by the way is a fancy way to say Strawberry Lemonade, but hey it looks like he had spiked ones doesn't it! He makes me laugh with his faces...goof ball!)

First car accident today

Today was one of those days I hoped would never happen...a car accident. I will save you all from the boring details...I am fine, Samantha and Nathan are fine, in fact the burb is fine too. (Just a broken bumper) What I want to remember about this event is of course my daughter and her words...went like this....
Me crying in the front seat waiting for the cops and Shane to arrive...she placed her hand on my shoulder and so kind and sweetly said...

Samantha -"Mom, is this the first time this has happened to you?"
Me-"Yes, honey"
Samantha-"Ya, me too. This is my first crash too."

I was no longer crying but laughing. God is so good to use my sweet girl to see a bit of humor in the whole stressful mess. I just love her!

I love my hubby

He spoils me with his love...we had a great weekend and his birthday is at the end of the week and I hope to spoil him on Fri. Anyone have any good "spoiling the hubby" ideas?

Valentine's Day at the Zoo

Getting 5 kids to look and smile at the camera I have decided is impossible!

Look, the Mommy made it into one...how you may ask? Setting the timer and posing!

Our navigator the whole day, he learned all about maps and directions.

This was the first time the girls have ever been to the zoo. They were amazed at all the animals, which by the way were all out in full force. Some we had never seen at the zoo before...like the wolf, bobcat and monkeys on "monkey island".

Treats made with LOVE

Suzy and I got adventurous on Thurs and made special, fancy Valentine cookies. She got a great book from her mother in law and we decided to try it out. Let me just say that the frosting recipe is what makes the cookies. It was fairly easy and as we did more and more we got better and better. They are almost too pretty to eat! We plan on taking it to the next level for Easter so to be conintued!

Valentine surprise

Just like when Jacob was in preschool, Samantha was a Valentine surprise for Shane and I today! The excitement is written all over her face!

Doing better...

Thanks to all of you for praying for me over the past week. I have felt the power of God lift my spirits and encourage me and I know that is because of so many prayers. After I read and reread my post last week it does sort of bring to light the undertone of selfishness and has helped me realize that my attitude needed to change. Prior to that post I had headaches for three weeks straight and finally caved, spent way too much money but went out and got a relaxing massage to help relieve the stress caffeine, sleep and drugs could not help. I felt so much better almost instantly. I have now been headache free for 9 days! I think the combination of that and finally getting out my feelings whether they made sense or not really helped dump the deep rooted stress I was carrying. I also realized that my blog is not the most appropriate place to vent these kinds of feelings with that degree of honesty. That should be saved for my journaling time. However, I want to make sure I ask more for prayers if I need it. Sometimes I can get so caught up in trying to do it all on my own when we are a "body" of believers and I need to remember it is ok to ask for help. You are all precious to me and I am humbled by the love that has been pured out...thank you.

Cabin trip overview

Fun and crazy times as always with the Self's! These all make me laugh so much and I am just so blessed by this family and the fun we have. Good times for sure!

Sledding before we left on Sunday!

Nathan and Jacob were eating bacon and started yelling and calling themselves "bacon monsters"! Hysterical!!! I was on the floor laughing so hard! I am still laughing at this picture...they sure have a great bond!

When it's cold outside, wrestling inside! When they play well together it is a great thing to watch.

Oh and I could not resist...this is what happens when we try to get off the bed from the side rather than the front. She was laughing and crying at the same time. She was trying to find a hiding place under the bed during hide and seek!

Amazing!

View from the hill behind the cabin on Sat. afternoon

We took another quick trip to the cabin this past weekend to fix the hot water heater. I had been checking the weather and we were expecting snow so the kids were very excited, but as the weekend ticked away and the clear blue skies shined on us, our hope was beginning to waiver. At dinner Sat. night, while we were praying, each kids prayed (or begged) God that is would snow. Shane and I thought it was cute, but we were convinced it would not. We even checked outside and had clear night skies even at 2:05am. I prayed in that moment that God would answer their prayers because their faith is so new and developing and what a testament to His power if He answered their prayer.

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before

you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3

How weak is the faith of their parents...we woke up to this amazing sight this morning! The kids jumped and screamed and thanked God for answering their prayers. Shane and I were humbled by this amazing sight and praise God fr His faithfulness!

By the way, it was about 6inches by the time we left at 8:30am. Yes, that is our suburban under all that snow! We barely made it out of the forest and drove home through all kinds of crazy weather...tons and tons of snow!! It was quite the adventure.

Grandparents Day at Preschool

Samantha's preschool had their special Grandparents Day today. They made homemade muffins and fresh squeezed oj. As you can see the smiles were in abundance! We all went out to lunch afterwards and had a wonderful day.

What a Rush!!!

That game was amazing and although they did not win how could you not walk away feeling satisfied? The aderenaline and anxiety rush was a wild ride but our QB loves Jesus and is proud of his relationship with God and that leaves me walking away from the season with a big smile on my face!

Do YOU believe?

We are still in a bit of shock around here that the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl, but even more importantly the kids are having a great time getting caught up in the hype. Jacob was just 1 month old when the Dbacks won the World Series and now, 7 years later he knows about how big this game is. Shane, our non-sports family member has even gotten into the spirit and played some football outside this afternoon. Hopefully this game will be exciting win or lose!

GO CARDS!!!