I've Been Tagged--

I am….....Spontaneous, Free-Spirited yet reserved, Goofy and Loving
I want.....to keep a clean home
I have......hemorrhoids (just kidding, I don't...but I couldn't resist) my real answer would read I have....been incredibly blessed
I wish......money was not a factor in life
I hate.......wickedness, the sufferring of Christians around the world, the orphan crisis, scary movies, and a half-eaten Obama waffle being on ebay
I miss.......the early morning breakfasts my sister and I would have at Hardee's with the kids
I fear.........certain types of strangers
I feel..........life very deeply (this one surprises most, because I am such a goof...people don't realize how deeply I actually do feel things)
I hear.........my girls talking, PBS, and Hudson cooing
I smell........COFFEE
I crave.........a Caribou Campfire Mocha, a Starbucks Vanilla Frappacino, the Apple Dumplings I made last night, my aunt's strudel, my grandma's mashed potatoes and gravy, my mom's knephla and sausage
I search......for pretty much everything online--product reviews, curriculum, good deals and the Word of God for direction in my life
I wonder.....how people can carry on wicked and evil schemes in the name of the Lord and live with themselves--and how long it will take for the Lord to stop them
I regret........that I am really bad at finishing projects, hurting people's feelings
I love...........my Lord and Saviour, my amazing Matt, my wonderful children, my family, Matt's family, my friends, adoption, coffee, food, camping, going places with my family, time with Matt, getting comments on my blog, laughing, talking with friends, freedom to worship the Lord
I ache...........for all innocent orphans to find God fearing families
I care............about how people around me are feeling
I always........desire to bring glory to God and to know Him more
I am not…...a scheduled/regimented person
I believe.........in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for my sins and saved me from myself, through the gift of salvation I will spend eternity with Him in heaven
I dance..........ALL THE TIME--as soon as I hear music I'm a dancin'
I sing...............off pitch but it doesn't stop me
I cry.................happy tears at adoption stories
I don’t always.........shower every morning, that's waaaay too routine
I fight........to keep a disciplined life
I write.........because it is an outlet from being home all day
I never.........will go to Haiti again---I was so scared there (but that was due to some lies I had been told) so I guess I won't say never. I've found that when I say "never" that's when the Lord brings that exact thing to fruition in my life.
I listen.........to the prompting of the Holy Spirit
I need...........to be more disciplined, to return some over-due books to the library, another cup of coffee
I am happy......when I am laughing with others, mostly when I can make someone laugh


OK...I'm tagging Heather, Betsy, Trisha, Kim, Sara at Fried Rice, Aimee and I would tag Steffany (but I know this would require an extended amount of time and thinking on her part...so to be fair, you're off the hook this time.) While I am at it...I'm taggin' Kristi, Lori, and Jaci too! Whew....who knew you could tag 9 people at once!?!?! I might have broken some sort of Blog World Rules...but then again, it's my blog so I'll make up the rules! :)

Stupid Waffle!

OK I am completely disgusted with a recent news clip we saw last night. Barack Obama was eating at a cafe in Scranton when he was only able to finish half of his waffle. One of the cafe workers took the half eaten waffle and put it up for auction on ebay. As of last night's story the bidding was over $10,100. How disgusting is that!?!?!

I have been forever been changed by how I view money. I see this ridiculous bidding as almost the amount it would take to cover one adoption. One life saved! So many people are hindered by the thought of money when it comes to adoption, this could bring one child home forever. What in the world is the winner going to do with a stupid half eaten waffle of a presidential hopeful? Keep it in their freezer to get freezer burn? I'm so disgusted!

And now on top of that, some artist has painted a picture of the "half eaten Obama waffle" and has listed it on ebay. There have been 30 bids on the stupid painting so far. Why are people so ridiculously weird in these regards?

It is so disturbing! I know I can't change the world and have everyone start viewing money in comparison to how many lives "that amount" could save...but I will. And those of you who do think about adoption, but say you could never afford it...please KNOW that the LORD ALWAYS PROVIDES the money--ALWAYS! It will stretch you and will take some discipline, but it is oh so worth it! And those of you that aren't called to adoption, but have money you could sacrifice...please consider finding a family that is stepping out in faith to adopt and consider giving them a gift of money towards their adoption. We never could have done it without the incredible blessings of other believers. It was a humbling experience to receive donations towards our adoption, but look at Hudson. It was because of your generosity that brought our precious son into our arms! We continue to be forever humbled and grateful! Thank you for allowing the Lord to use you to bless our family with our son! He is the most amazing miracle!

Thanks for letting me vent about a stupid waffle!

See I promised I'd post photos!!!

FINALLY!!!! I am able to post some photos from the week. The above photos are from our time at the Zoo. On the way home our family spent the day at the Omaha Zoo. It was a wonderful time!

I miss them all so much! Steffany and Adam have a wonderful family and we are so glad we were able to be there with them. There was so much more that I wished I could have done. The week was mostly spent just trying to stay "afloat". It was a constant busy! Matt pretty much stayed with the older kids playing with them...they even made a movie together. I helped Steff with the twins. It was such a concentrated effort to get them to eat! Diezel and Daizey have the most determination. They are the tiniest of things, but both of them have huge personalities. They are so incredibly sweet! Jace, Mackaley, Faith and Lukas are fabulous kids! Our girls had so much fun with them. On one of the days, Matt led them all in a water balloon fight. I had fun snapping shots of that. Stayed tuned for that post! ;)

God has brought them a long way towards health and they still have a ways to go. Their little bodies just need to put weight on. We continue to cry out to the Lord for their continued healing. Please pray for abundant strength for Steffany...it is a lot to be responsible for. They like to sleep on her at night, so she doesn't get as much rest as she could use. The mental energy of trying to get them to eat is draining. She is doing an excellent job!!!! She misses having good chunks of time to connect with their other children...so please pray for a peaceful balance as they strive to find their new "normal". They are a beautiful family and God is using them in wonderful ways! To Him be the Glory!

THANK YOU BOSTERS for letting us be part of your family for a week! We were blessed to be with you and see what God is doing!!!!

We're Home...

and exhausted! It was sooooo hard to leave. I'll post more once my thoughts are coherent.

CrAzY Day

Here's the report you've been waiting for...Daizey is only going UP on the charts, she continues to gain weight. Diezel dropped a bit, but not enough to be readmitted. Today was a rough day with Daizey not eating. She drank the pediasure, but refused anything else we offered. Diezel ate much better today. Please pray for their poops to STOP. They just keep having loose stools. It is so hard to know what to do and how to help them stop. It is good for them to drink the pediasure, but is that perpetuating the diarrhea...don't know! Steffany is constantly changing a diaper.

So here's a great story for today. Gadesa needed to go to a lab for a blood draw today. After the doctor's appt. we took off to find the lab. We passed a Starbucks and ran in to get them something. The entire staff surrounded Steff who was holding Daizey to see her. The guy taking our order started said, "Oh, I am all tingly inside" and started crying. He was so touched by their story. They gave her the entire order for $4...3 drinks, bread, and scone. They said Starbucks is all about giving back! ;) Here is the part that tops the entire day-- Steff was sent home with a "stool kit" with instructions to collect these four viles with stool. I was waiting in the car with Diezel while Steff took Daizey in with Gadesa for the blood draw. Half way into our waiting he woke up. I knew I had to offer him something to eat. I had some of the scone with me, so he started eating that...and loved it! All of a sudden I smelled an oh so familiar smell. I knew that they wanted the stool sample as soon as possible, and by the time we got home it would take forever to get back out with the sample to get it to the doctors office. As Steff was coming into the parking lot, I told her what the situation was. I offerred my suggestion..."do you want to do it here?" We both agreed that it was pretty much the only option at this point. Steff set up here "station" on the front seat. I held Daizey out in the parking lot trying not to gag while Steff was looking. Steff went at it toping the list of "bet you've never done this" experiences. A little while into it one of the nurses from the lab came out because she wanted to meet the twins. She saw what was happening and offered to bring some gloves and Clorox wipes out. I made as many dumb jokes as I could to keep Steff distracted from what was actually happening. The sample was collected, but only 2 of the four viles were ready for the doctor. Steff was AMAZING!

She was feeling better today. She talked with her doctor about her symptoms and he says it really sounds like malaria, but could be a weird virus. She will go back in on Saturday to have another draw. He explained that the malaria comes in waves of feeling like death and then feeling back to normal.

The biggest prayer concerns tonight are for their diarrhea to STOP, and their likes for food to increase. And for Steff to stay STRONG and not have anymore episodes of illness.

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors...

We're off to the Dr. with Diezel and Daizey. I'll let you know how it goes when we're home. Steff went in last night...they are waiting for the blood tests to come back in a couple of days to see what is up. Gadeeza (their friend) went in yesterday and was able to see the baby and hear the heartbeat. She is so cute and excited!

Matt is taking the kids to a play land...they are pretty excited. We will continue to figure out what more to feed them. Diezel threw up last night and has had many, many poopy diapers. He did eat well this morning though. Pray all goes well at the doctors today!!!!!

God knew...

As we were traveling here, I became all nervous that we shouldn't be coming. I knew that the Lord had made it clear that we were suppose to come, but I didn't want to "be a bother". I was praying against satan causing any doubt, etc. Well, today I know what that was all about. Steff has become very ill. She was up this morning visiting with me...we drank coffee, fed the twins, Matt took the kids to school...and all of a sudden she became sick. She has been in bed the rest of the time...fever, throwing up, dizzy, etc. I will take her into the doctor later, if we decide she needs to be seen. God knew she was going to need extra hands and feet around her today. Please pray that she gets better very soon!!!!

The twins have been doing well. Daizey is actually eating and drinking more than Diezel at this point. Yesterday Steff found Orange Cream Pediasure...he is drinking it! Thanks for praying. We still can't get them to eat the "peanut butter wonder"! Today I made them eggs with 2 Tbls. butter, cheese, milk powder, half and half and seasonings. They ate them! Steff will have to worry about cholesterol later. :) I am going to add as much fat to as many things as possible. I am going to get some sweetened condensed milk to add to cream of wheat with added butter, milk powder, etc. We will get them fattened up!!!!!

Diezel is the one that doesn't seem to be doing as well right now. He needs to be gaining weight. Tomorrow is their doctors appt. so we'll see if they have gained or lost weight. Pray they have gained, because I am sure they will readmit them if they haven't.

Our girls are still doing great. They are loving being outside! I am amazed because they are doing better with their schoolwork than they do at home. I love it! Alivia and Lukas have become best buds...they are the world's greatest super-heros. :)

I am off to go research some of the things that Steff could possibly have...malaria, Hep A, Giardia, virus...hmmm, so many to choose from! Please pray for her...well for everyone!

Holding down the fort....

We're here...things are going great! Our kids traveled amazingly well. Alivia's arm is feeling better. When we arrived our kids made themselves right at home with their new friends. They are having a blast together. The girls did their schoolwork in record time this morning...so they could start in on playing with the twins. We are holding down the fort right now while Steff is out running errands with Lukas...he needed some alone time with mommy.

The twins are so tiny, I can't imagine them with 5 lbs less on them. They seem to be improving, but they need to eat more. Pray they will start to like the high calorie concoction they are suppose to be eating each day. Steffany and I are trying to come up with a way to make it where they will eat it. It tastes like peanut butter cookie dough. Daizey will drink Pediasure, but Diezel doesn't like the stuff...pray he will start drinking it. They need to! We have to come up with a way to get them to take this stuff...so please pray!

They are absolutely beautiful! Their eyes sparkle and they have the sweetest little faces. They truly do melt your heart!

I'll post pictures later...I have been having fun taking photos of them. :)

ROAD TRIP...

We're packing up and heading out! (No, we aren't hitting a NKOTB concert for all of you jealous die-hard fans.) We are going to help Steff care for the kids this week. The Lord cleared the way for us to go, so we are! Please pray for safety, health, strength, and that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus this week.

We were in the ER late last night with our 4yodd. She had "nurse maid's elbow". She is still sore and very tired this morning. Pray that she starts to feel stronger and for a peaceful road trip for all of the kids. And extra patience on my part! :) I'll let you know how everything is going once we get down there and settled! Thanks so much for your prayers!

Take your time...

This morning when I told the girls that I was going to go have my quiet time. My 6 yo dd responded, "Take your time." It cracked me up! I was grateful for the reassurance that I could take as long as I needed. :)

Mixed Emotions

This weekend was a mix of strange emotions for me. We took off for a little weekend get-away. We had a wonderful time together at the Science Museum. The girls couldn't get enough of it. They learned so many new things, it was so cool! Hudson spent most the day in his sling taking in all of the lights. He is such a content baby that sometimes it amazes me how easy he is to bring to everything. We even took in an Omnimax movie on the Alps. The girls loved it and so did we. We went with my sister, her girls and my parents. The girls were in their glory spending the day with their cousins. It is so fun seeing them together...they are the best of friends!

For supper on Saturday the girls wanted to hit IKEA. They love the food (me too) and the little tables there, so that's where we went. My family was staying at a different hotel, so we went for supper without them. Anyway, there we were just our family. So here is where the emotions became difficult. Last fall we took a family get-away. Things had been so extremely intense in the adoption situation we were in with the boys in Haiti. We needed to get away. It was during this trip away that the Lord made it clear to us that we weren't going to adopt the boys from Haiti. At one point, we had been sitting in IKEA. I remember the girls were having so much fun, and I was daydreaming about how the boys would be enjoying this too. We were all together yet it felt like there was such a big chunk missing. So Saturday night as we were sitting in the exact same spot as we had been last fall, the fact that the boys won't ever be here to experience this hit my heart again. Then I turned and there was Hudson in his stroller looking up at me and smiling. He melts my heart over and over again! I am so incredibly grateful for our son!!!! I love all my children with all of my heart!!! It was just a strange feeling to sit in the same place remembering the emotions and struggles that we were facing the last time we sat there, and feeling such overwhelming gratitude for the son we have been blessed with. The chunk that was missing last time was now with us, just not how we had thought in that moment.

When we came home I checked Courtney's blog and she had a post about how she was missing her girls. She was talking about how there are so many things that remind her of them. This is so true! Here's another weird example...I ran into the Children's Place to look for some clothes for Hudson. There was a rack of cute summer flip-flops for boys. I couldn't even look at it. Everytime my eyes went that direction I had to turn. You see, Matt and I stopped at this same store on our way to the airport before leaving for Haiti. We bought each of the boys a pair of sandals. Juvenson adored his new sandals...he didn't ever want to take them off. He wore them with such pride...I am sure they were the first pair of shoes he's had. It was one of my favorite memories of him, how proud he was in his new sandals. So you see, the rack of flip-flops brought back the memories of how precious he was in his first new pair of shoes.

After all of these places conjured up old memories, and then reading Courtney's blog...I clicked on the link she had to the listing for her girls as waiting children. My heart sank seeing them there. Then I did what I shouldn't have done., I clicked on the link for waiting boys in Haiti...there was Juvenson. He is so precious! We fell so in love with him and we will always love him. Esiae wasn't listed because he has a new family adopting him, which I am grateful for. But the thought of Juvenson stuck in that place makes me sick. He is so trapped, and there isn't anything we can do to get him out of there. He doesn't deserve what he is getting as life in that orphanage. There was one photo of him posted where he has this adorable expression on his face, it was this expression that he gave Matt a lot. It is this precious innocent look on his face. He is so innocent and he deserves a chance at life. Oh how I pray that the Lord embraces him. Seeing his photos was the last straw, I ended up in tears. After having a good cry last night while showing Matt all of the new pictures of him, I took Hudson in my arms and cuddled him. Thank you, Jesus for our son. Thank you that You have given him life. In this moment my heart was filled with such sadness for Juvenson in Haiti, and so much gratitude for my son in my arms. I have never questioned God's Sovereignty in our adoption journey. I know that Hudson is our chosen gift from God! My heart is just so sad for Juvenson. I do question how people can behave the way they have in regards to our Haitian orphanage/facilitator. There has been such wickedness that I have never witnessed before. It is disgusting and beyond belief. I know time heals the wounds, but sometimes things happen that bring it all back up again. I guess this weekend was one of those times.

Even with the memories, I still had a fabulous time together with our children. It was wonderful! They are such a delight to be with. I love, love, love each of them and I love that I am in all of this with Matt. He's so awesome!

Lord, meet the every need of the children in the orphanage in Haiti. Draw them to your heart. Surround them with your presence. Place all that is good and right on the hearts of those in charge. Place compassion and gentleness on their hearts for each of the children under their care. Oh God, release these children into Christian homes. May they have the hope of Jesus Christ in their lives. Rain down your mercies on this place. Heal their wounds, bind their broken hearts, provide food and water for their bodies. Oh God, hold them tightly. I know you love them more than I ever could...and I thank you for that.

Back to serious...

I just talked with Steffany and they are headed to the hospital right now. Diezel has lost over a pound since Tuesday...he is absolutely miserable. Daizey still doesn't want to be put down. Please pray for Stef's "mama's heart"...it's hurting for her babies right now.

Edited 5pm---Just talked to Steff again. Diezel is not doing well at all. He keeps coming in and out of consciousness. His body is cold. They are catherterizing him right now and may be moving him to ICU. Daizey is also in the hospital. Diezel was the stronger one, but has rapidly gone down. Steff is scared.

Please pray and spread the word to be praying for them.

Hang on to your chairs for this post!!!!!!!!!!

New Kids on the Block are returning to the block!!!!! I know I have some loyal blog readers that may just spill their coffee in excitement over this post! Ladies, dig out those old T-shirts and gas up the mini-vans, cuz you got a concert to get to! While I never was one of the girls that was invited to the NKOTB sleepover that a bunch of the other girls in my class went to, I do know how to "Hang Tough". Go to this site, bookmark it, and let the good times roll!

My boy, his sling, and a scavenger hunt

Here is a latest pic of Hudson. He absolutely loves to be in the sling. Last night I was at Target with him in there and all he did was look at everyone and smile! He is such a joy and a blessing!

All day yesterday I waited an wondered how Stef's babies had made the flight home to America. I kept praying and praying. Then as a friend and I were driving to go out for dinner, my phone rang. I looked down and saw that it was Steff. My heart leaped with joy as she said they had made it and were on their way to their home. She asked if I would let everyone on her blog know. I didn't dare tell her that I was in the car and didn't have a computer with me. The next hour turned into a scavenger hunt of where we could find a computer to use. We were in a town an hour from home, so I couldn't just run home and post quick. I tried calling Matt about 10 times to dictate my post to him. He had taken the girls out for dinner, so I couldn't have him do it. Finally my friend and I slipped in the back door of a hotel in town that had a computer station in the lobby. We tried to look like we were guests of the place. We walked nonchalantly into the lobby to use the computer that I knew was there. Ummm, yeah...they removed it! UGH! Back to the truck we went, with Hudson in my arms. Finally I realized that I could call my in laws and ask to stop at their house to make the quick blog post. We ended up there and I made the post. Fortunately, my friend that was with me is in the process of adopting two children from Ukraine...so she completely understood the importance of getting this post out to everyone. I was so grateful that she has a heart for adoption and a heart for Steffany. We spent the rest of the night shopping and enjoying being "out". I take my job seriously as *ghost writer* on Steff's blog! :)

Steffany and Adam arrived home last night with their babies. They came home to a lice outbreak and pink eye with fevers in their other children. Please keep praying for them!