Happy 6th Birthday Lenea

 I can't believe it has been 6 years already since Lenea was born. What a wonderful joy she has brought to our family and to my life specifically. She is the one who says to me almost every day,
"Mommy, I just love you so much and I can't stop saying it!", while the same time giving me a big hug. It melts my heart and I just want time to stand still.

My oldest "baby" from my tummy turns 22 in just a few days and then my youngest is now 6. Time is just going so quickly. I have some moments where I just wish I could close my eyes and relive just an hour with them as a baby in my arms, protecting them, snuggling them and keeping the bad away from their hearts. 

Most of the time I don't have time to think about that though, as I have 3, almost 4 little 3 year olds that need me so much and even though they aren't technically infants they are in many ways.

But Today, I celebrate Lenea Maureen...my joy, my sweetness, my baby girl gone so big all of a sudden. She starts school away from home in just a few weeks. It is not homeschooling the way I have done all the siblings before her and there is some bitter sweet to our decision. However, I know it was she needs and what is best for our family today. And she is SO excited to go to school like her older siblings do. 

On a side note, Eliza is coming back home to do school with me, which I am so excited for as well. I have also decided to bring all the kids home on Wednesdays, where we will do their "homework" altogether at home. It will give them a time for my "home time" together, Makenna and me less driving, and some practice with our homeschooling schedule again. It is my heart's desire to homeschool some day altogether again, so we will see. For now, I love our private tutoring school in our church. It really has been a huge blessing and help to our chaotic schedule. All of our children are catching up in areas they were behind in and them some more.

Here are some photos of Birthday Girl!! She had
to go the allergist for shots today, bummer..but she did get to go ice skating, have lots of presents, pizza and brownies and strawberry ice cream for dinner as well as an extra special birthday call from Tyler and Emily.  I would say her day was a huge blessing. Happy Birthday Sweet Lenea. May I have the wonderful privilege of spending many more New Year's Eves celebrating your birthday. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate.

Christmas Photos...

A Few Updates

We picked up "A" from the airport last Saturday. Onto the way to the airport we all agreed that we were going to be sad 4 weeks later when we were making the return trip to take him back.
He is one amazing and adorable boy!! I have to say that he is just so precious. Please, please pray that the right family meets him while he is here. He is kind, respectful, obedient, loving, understands-speaks- even reads lots of English, gentle with the littles, smart, fun, eats whatever we have given him (although he really likes green apples and crackers)...I could go on. I know God will have wonderful plans for this boy.

Here is a couple of photos of him.

On Sunday, our Jacob graduated from the Basic Ellerslie Leadership program that Makenna graduated from in June of 2012. We are so excited to see what God has in store for his life. He has definitely grown a lot through the 9 week program spiritually, emotionally and socially. Today he says he plans to be a missionary one day and is going to work hard at school to he can graduate early.

It thrills me to see his love for the Lord. Here is some baptism photos from a couple of weeks ago. He decided to be baptized again (he was 2 years ago). He felt the first time was more because others were doing it and not so led by the Lord. He stood in a freezing cold lake (the day before our subzero temperatures hit), with wind and with bronchitis and proclaimed that he was giving his body to the Lord. AMEN...thank you Jesus.

 

Here are a few photos of Jacob and his friends, mentors and pastors from the Leadership Program and from church.

We are so thankful for our church and the Godly men that are there to encourage our boys in doing the hard things for the Lord.

We Will Have a Very Special Guest This Week

This year, God put it on our hearts to host a child from another country for Christmas! We are working with an organization called Project 143. 

Our boy is from Latvia and is 11 years old. He also happens to be adoptable. We do not have intentions to adopt him, instead we are going to advocate for him to be adopted. It might be a bit challenging as we are not to speak about "Adoption" with the hosted child. But we can talk to others who might be interested in adopting him. So we will need to be discreet.

Here is a wonderful explanation directly from the Project 143 website as to why families should host:

Without hosting, most of these children will eventually ‘age out’ of the system and never experience the life giving, life changing love that family provides. Hosting can also serve as a connection between an orphan and his or her ‘forever family’.  However, you absolutely do not have to be interested in adoption to participate in hosting a child.  The focus of the host program is cultural exchange and exposing the children to life outside an orphanage.  Adoption is sometimes the by-product of the program, but not the only goal. 

We are told from his previous host family that he is a very sweet and loving boy, who loves God, and loves other children. 
It is going to be exciting to see how God moves in this boy's life through our family. We anticipate amazing blessings from his 4 week visit with us. 

He arrives this Saturday evening. This last couple weeks we have been buying Christmas gifts and clothes for him. We are told they often come with only the clothes they are wearing. It has been a blessing already to think about this child and what his needs are, praying for God to take care of him emotionally, physically and mostly spiritually. 

I hope to share some insights about this child, whom I will call "A", in the coming days. Please pray that he adjusts to our family easily, that he is comfortable here and feels loved by God, through us. If you would also please pray that the right family would meet him and know he is to be there son.

There Once Was Two Christmas Trees

Each weekend after Thanksgiving, like most Americans I think, we pull out all the Christmas decorations. The children are giddy with delight knowing some of their favorite books will be coming out on display and that a beautiful tree will once again deck our living room for the next month.
This year I think Lenea (almost 6) and Asher (almost 4) were the most excited about it. Lenea was so sweet she said, "Putting up the Christmas tree makes me jump for joy!" and Asher kept looking at after it was set up asking if it would still be there in the morning, so mesmerized with the lights.

 The troops so excited to actually build the tree. 

Asher kept putting ornaments on the same branches.. That is okay, I went back later and rearranged them a bit, keeping the more fragile ones near the top as well.

Here was my very excited, almost 6 year old...

And Toby was excited, he just is learning to contain himself a bit more with age.

Our decorations won't win a prize photo on a magazine. They are simple and out-dated. I think those trees in magazines and fancy stores are beautiful, but they have never been my style. I prefer Christmas time to be traditions (which for me includes the same old ornaments from years ago), memories and most importantly of Christ. So I believe 90 % of our ornaments have a special meaning behind them. I also got rid of most of the decorations that really emphasize Santa. I know many people do Santa and that is there thing, but it hasn't been our thing for over 18 years. We began doing stockings again last year, which the kids know Mom and Dad fill; and we talk about St. Nicholas. However, our children all know Santa is not real. I remind them to be discreet to our friends who might celebrate that way, as it the parents choice in how they lead their children and families. However, we have always emphasized honesty. When I realized I was actually lying to my child and putting Santa ahead of Jesus we stopped playing the game, and haven't missed it at all. We didn't want them to think we might have also been lying about the Lord Jesus' birth as well.

So back to the decorations, I do buy new ornaments for all the kids each year. I try to buy something meaningful for the previous year we just finished. This year they each got a very pretty hand embroidered Chinese ornament, except I forgot to buy myself one. 

We will send their boxes of ornaments with them when they start their own families. Then they will have sweet memories to begin sharing with their children. And I will have room to buy some new ornaments for Jay and Me! 

Our ornaments include some strange looking ornaments, adorable hand- made ornaments by children, special ornaments my precious grandmother painstakingly sewed by hand, even some broken ones that are too meaningful to me to rid of but I never seem to make time to fix either. Here is one of the precious ones my grandmother made the year before she died almost 22 years ago.

Each of her ornaments were hand sewn with various beading and ribbons and lace, with her very arthritic hands. Each of them had two different sides, and each with unique designs. I am still in love with them. I think I have about 15 or 20 different ones, plus the ones I have given my children. She also made birds that are just so sweet. You know one thing that I love too, is that if I close my eyes and take a big smell I can actually smell her on them. I know it seems strange but it is true. I am thankful for the Lord giving me that "realness" of her. 
I have made a few in my day but stopped a while back when time became too filled with other things. I plan to return to this hobby again, maybe when I am grandmother. I know she would be happy to know that.

Well after our tree was complete, we realized that it was a bit lop-sided. Afterall, we have had this tree for I think 8 years now, it was a half off special at Walmart, we paid $50 I think. But Jay put a little something under the weak side to lift it up. Unfortunately, 2 days later it toppled over! Thankfully, no one got hurt.

So off to hunt for a new Christmas tree. When I was young we did live trees. Jay and I bought live tress until we moved to AZ 20 years ago. Most people in AZ don't buy live trees because the trees there are so dry and more of a fire hazard than usual. Now since moving to CO we have learned that myself and most of our children have pine tree allergies, so live is out. I miss the wonderful smell!

I found a pretty tree, not as tall as I wanted but pretty enough and the lights are already on the tree. I could not believe how much they have gone up in price..On sale at Lowes I spend over $150 for this tree and it is much smaller than the one that fell down. So the kids got to decorate two trees this year. 

 Sweet Ellie even got in on the fun. I just love her smile!

 Isaiah was being a goof ball with his cheesy smile. I am just so thankful he is smiling like he is and has some extra energy after his heart surgery. Praise God.

 And Yes, Lenea was just as excited to decorate another tree. She is a sweet big sister.

And here is our finished tree, the second one. I hope this one lasts a long time too.