My Teacher

Maggie loves to draw...

Her drawings are usually of us, her family, but yesterday she drew something different...

something amazing...

another reminder.

Maggie drew Jesus on the cross!

Now we have been taking the girls to our church, praying with them and talking to them about Jesus but we certainly have not gotten into the cross and all that it means...

all that Jesus did for us...

I just did not think the girls knew enough English to be able to understand or truly grasp what it all means for them - not yet anyway.

But Maggie knew... 

We were able to pantomime enough for her to tell me that she drew Jesus and that He was on the cross and that the others laughed at him and that He forgave them and that she loved Jesus!

I am not certain that she understands all that that means but wow!

She told me that her foster dad didn't have Jesus in his heart and that they did not pray.

About 3 months before we met Maggie, she was moved from that foster home to another foster care center and was placed with a sweet Christian lady whom Maggie said did pray with her.

In that short amount of time, the Lord used this sweet lady to teach Maggie and to help Maggie to know Him...

and now He is using that to teach me!

Our sweet Maggie has not been easy but I am becoming more and more convinced that she will teach me far more than I could ever teach her!

 

Thank you Lord for teaching me and reminding me about love and how to love even when I don't always feel like loving and what blessings and growth come from nurturing this moment to moment kind of love.

A Conversation with Lucy...

and a small glimpse into the world she knew pre-us.

This conversation took place as I was tucking Lucy in the other night.

I sometimes think this is Lucy's favorite part of the day.

This sweet girl just adores being tucked snugly into bed and kissed goodnight...

and now I think I may know why.

For the sake of this piece, I will refer to the hospital she was in as "R".

Lucy:  "R" no brush teeth.

Me:  You did not get to brush your teeth when you were at "R"?

Lucy: No, no brush teeth at "R".

Me:  Well now you can brush your teeth!

Lucy:  YAY!

Lucy:  No kiss at "R".

Me:  No one kissed you at "R"?

Lucy:  No kiss night night at "R".

insert the sound of my heart breaking here

Me:  Oh sweet girl!  Mommie will always kiss you night night!

insert BIG GRIN from Lucy here

Me:  Lucy, you will never have to go back there.

insert HUGE GRIN from Lucy here

Me:  You will be here forever and I will always be your Mommie - forever and ever!

Lucy:  YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY - forever and ever - YAY!!!!!

Thank you Lord for providing the way for me to be able to kiss my daughter every night...

forever and ever!

Praying for the millions of other sons and daughters who will never have that kiss goodnight...

insert the sound of Your heart breaking Lord!

I Hate Goodbyes...

and these kinds of goodbye's are just so hard.

We have had too many of them in the past few years.

Our sweet Lily is now at peace.

This past year for her was hard and she lacked joy.

She could not walk on her own and what used to give her comfort no longer did.

Before her decline, she was my shadow and followed me everywhere.

Slowly but surely, that began to fade away and sweet Lily spent most of her time asleep on her doggie bed.

She was my 3 legged foster who never left.

I know, I know, another foster failure!

I am missing my sweet pup tonight but I know that she is finally at peace and with her buddy Kendal...

 

 

for that I am very thankful.

Happy Birthday Maggie

Joyful Maggie!

According to Ch*na, it is your birthday today.

We don't know for sure if today is truly your day but we celebrated this day because we wanted to celebrate you.

 

 

You have been home for almost 4 months now and the progress we have witnessed in you has been amazing.

 

 

You are learning your ABC's, your numbers, simple addition and can spell your new name.

Amazing!

You deserve to be celebrated!

You have stretched me sweet girl...

further than I knew I could be stretched and blessed me...

more than I knew I could be blessed and Jesus is in this.

I don't know if you have ever been celebrated before but this was the first of many for you now my darling girl.

 

 

You were so excited all day long and wanted pink cupcakes....

so you got pink cupcakes, with pink sprinkles!

You also got an Ariel baby doll...

which is sleeping right next to you right now!

 

 

Happy birthday my precious Maggie!

As you tell me so often, you have Jesus in your heart and that my dear child is the best gift of all!

The Fall

So Lucy and Lizzie were playing a game of chase last night around the house.  

 

Lucy doesn't move very fast but she was walking so well and was having such a great time "chasing" her sister, until... 

Until she fell and cut her head - again.  

 

She was so upset but the cut on her head was not the only thing she was upset about.  

 

Through her tears she pointed to her sweet little legs and said, "Legs don't work.  Lucy fall down.  Can't play with Lizzie.  Legs don't work."

Oh my Momma's heart just about broke in two!!!  

 

I hugged her tight and reminded her that she is getting her braces soon and that they would help.  I also reminded her how strong she was getting and how much stronger she would get and that her legs would work better and that I loved her!

Sweet baby girl, as I watched you struggle to walk the halls of your sisters' school yesterday, determined to make every step on your own, my heart just burst with love for you!  

 

 

You are brave and strong and determined and LOVED sweet one!  

 

 

Your legs WILL work!  

 

A marathon might not be in your future but I have learned never to say never when it comes to the spirit (and spunk) of these precious children the Lord has blessed us with.

You will learn a lot from this loud active family but I have a feeling we will learn so much more from you my darling!

Blessings

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

We are so blessed.

Nuf said!

Beauty from Ashes

So you know that you know that the Lord will use the hard times.

However, it is easy to forget and get lost in those hard times.

When Hubby lost his job this time, it was hard.

Just getting home from China with two special needs girlies, going from 5 to 7 kiddos and Christmas right around the corner, made it easy to get lost in the "hard"...

but we have BTDT and have grown and while we have occasionally lost our way or gotten weary this time around, it wasn't for long cause we knew that He was working and we knew that He would use this time for good...

and He did!

You see, we have been on quite a journey, Hubby and I and we have come such a long way. 

Our faith has been stretched and refined and transformed and today Hubby decided to make it official.

Today Hubby confirmed his faith and reaffirmed his baptismal vows and 'officially" joined our church.

I am so proud of him and the way he has opened up and let go and now understands that this is the beginning.

The Lord has done a mighty work in Hubby's heart and orchestrated this time, this time of dependance and trust and faith for His purposes, His good!

I am amazed when I think about where we are now and how much our faith has grown and I am so excited to see where He will lead us - both of us!

This was my Bible verse for the day and I thought it was fitting:

[ The Word Became Flesh ] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

 John 1:1-2, 14

Thank you Father for answering