Yesterday, I overheard an argument beginning between the boys in their room. I was in the middle of something and hoping they would work it out between themselves so I wouldn't have to step in. As I am trying to figure out what was going on I here this exchange...
Clay: Well, you called me a name in the first place!
Drew: Well, you called me a name in the other place!
I had to laugh, knowing that Drew probably had no idea what "place" Clay was talking about. I really do wonder myself where this "other place" is that Drew was talking about.
In this previous post found here, I asked for prayer for our dear friends the Garcias. Their boys were in Haiti waiting to be united with their forever family. There were months and months of prayers and tears of waiting on all of the paperwork and red tape. Then when it looked like their visa appointment was finally set to bring the boys home, the earthquake hit. God protected the boys and allowed the visa appointment to happen a few days earlier than previously scheduled. Ian and Alec were united with their parents in Florida last Tuesday. Today the entire family was united in Chile. All seven of them!
Adoption is hard, I won't sugarcoat it. It involves heartache, patience and day by day, moment by moment dependence. But in the end, as you see in the Garcias' story, the blessings abound when that little one (or little ones) are placed in your arms. When you see the miracle that God does when he brings a child from around the world or even from the other side of town to be in your care, in your life, adopted into your family to be your child. It is a picture of what he did when he sent his son over 2,000 years ago. Jesus purchased us with his precious blood and those that are his are adopted into God's family. We can call him Abba Father.
I praise God for the miracle of adoption both horizontal, us caring for the orphans in this world, and vertical, him caring for us, who were once orphans.
Check out the Garcias' blog post here to see pictures of all of the children together.
We had our first of nine foster meetings last night. I was excited to go and a bit nervous at the same time. I came away nervous and a bit excited. The past several weeks I have forgotten about my initial fears of the foster system (you can read about that here), I was really getting excited. I bought a baby gate to block off our new staircase and a lock to put on the laundry room door. We already had cabinet locks from our first homestudy we had in this home, so I figured that was covered. I have even started thinking about when might we get the call, the classes end in March, how soon after would it be? But then going to the meeting, I was reminded that reunification was the goal. Please do not get me wrong, I want families reunited, if it is best for the child. That means, however, that we may have a child for months or even longer and then have to say goodbye. So the anxiety started to begin again. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and had a hard time getting back to sleep. My mind was racing. Thankfully, I finally got to sleep and stayed asleep until this morning. So this morning, I am faced with the decision on what I am going to let my mind focus on. The fears and anxieties that I have, or the truths of God. I am leading a Bible study by Elizabeth George called "Loving God With All Your Mind". So now is time to practice what I preach. We came to the decision of the foster system with much prayer. I am following Jathan in this, who is the leader of our home. We believe our desire to adopt is from God and that He will be with us guiding us every step of the way. I also believe that following God is not always going to be easy, fun or pain free. But I also know that following God results in blessings and best of all bringing him glory. So right now I am clinging to his promise that "God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) He will be with us in this. And with His strength, we can do it.
For whatever reason this winter has seemed a little grayer than usual. The sun hasn't peeked out as much as I would like. But Saturday was different, it was out full force. Gorgeous day and we took full advantage along with a few other neighborhood kids that came over!
It was great to have the break in the grayness, especially since this week is all rain, we do need the rain though, and if we didn't have rain, we wouldn't get to see this:
Unfortunately, I couldn't get it all in the picture, but it was a full rainbow. Drew spotted it from his bedroom window, so the next thing you know, we are all out in the front yard. A great time to remember what the rainbow means. God promised Noah that he would never again flood the whole earth. And as the kids and I talked about, we know that what God said is true, because God ALWAYS keeps his promises!
It warms my heart seeing the boys try to do things like Daddy does them.
Clay for the longest time wanted to wear a tie to church like Daddy does. After he made his own paper tie and wore it one Sunday, I decided that we needed to get him his own real tie. So Daddy took him to the store and picked out a tie. For a while that is all he wanted to wear to church, even if the tie didn't match his clothes. This year he has grown out of the shirt that the tie went with. Now I need to go shopping for a new shirt. The desire is definitely there to wear it.
Drew has spent much time int he bathroom with Daddy while he shaves. Asking questions, wetting his own face. As I was out shopping one day before Christmas, I found a kids shaving set with a pretend razor. The perfect gift for Drew.
As I look as these pictures, I am reminded of how important the father/son relationship is. It is going to be a while before Drew actually begins to shave, but hopefully during these times he will also learn to follow his daddy in other ways besides making sure his face is smooth. I pray that my boys will follow their daddy in leading their families someday, in the way they treat their wives, in the way they provide for their families, and most importantly, in the way they love the Lord. I am grateful for the role model our boys have and I pray that they will continue to want to be like their daddy.
The other day I was working on some paperwork in the schoolroom
(yes, we have a school room now, very excited that Jathan gave over his office now that he has the loft in the addition)
Anyway, I was working in the school room and Drew decided to come in and play his little piano in there and keep me company. Of course the little piano is set on a very annoying song with Drew playing random keys along with it and of course the volume in on high. I decided to not be grouchy even though I was trying to concentrate and just ignore it. I was glad that he was enjoying himself, staying and out of trouble and that he wanted to be with me. After several minutes of the music playing and not hearing any sounds from Drew, I decided since he isn't even playing the music I was going to tell him to atleast turn in down a bit. So I lean over the desk and here is what I found...
I am really not quite sure how anyone could fall asleep with that music.
Of course I am on cloud nine because the Colts won their first playoff game (round two). But that doesn't compare to the blessing of finding out as soon as I got the kids to bed after the game, that our dear friends, the Garcias, received word today that their boys were granted their visas to leave Haiti. That was the final step in getting the boys home. Now they are waiting to find out the logistics of flights and so forth. Praise God, this has been a long, long wait. Now they are almost to the end. Please pray for all of the details to come together, so the boys can be in their forever family very soon.
We do need to remember, that as they are rejoicing, there is a lot of destruction in Haiti due to the earthquake. Please pray for the country, for the Christians in the country that are serving hard to save physical lives and share of the Gospel to save spiritual lives. Pray also for adoptive parents that are still waiting for their children's visas to be granted and the children themselves. Pray also for the adoptive parents that might have lost their child in this earthquake.
If you would like to know more about what is going on in Haiti or read about the Garcias' adoption story, visit their blog, just click here.
I've told Jathan that all I want for my birthday (this is true for every year) is to go to the beach. I love the beach, if you know me at all, you probably already knew that. Several years ago, we spent Christmas and New Years in Orlando, Florida. My birthday is New Years Eve, so that means I got to see palm trees on my birthday, I thought that was the best birthday gift ever. That was 4 years ago. I had no idea that a year and a half later I would move to CA where I get to see palm trees every day. Even planted some in my front yard! So now that we are within a short distance of the coast, my birthday request is to go to the beach. The first 2 years we did a quick day trip, but this year we decided to spend the night on the coast. So we headed Malibu and Ventura, one beach one day and the next the next day. We had a great time. I love the beach! (did I already say that?)
I am spoiled, I have to admit, to live so close to so many beautiful things that God created. While driving the PCH (the Pacific Coast Highway or Hwy 1) up the coast, while the sun was setting, we commented how there is truly no artist that compares to God. People can paint or photograph beautiful oceanscapes or sunsets, but He created it! Wow, thank you God for giving us these beautiful gifts. They truly make me marvel at his wonderful works.
Here are some pics from our trip.
First Stop: Malibu Before the kids were allowed to play in the sand, I took pictures. Several pictures. Thankfully a few turned out not so bad!
The timer feature on the camera didn't do too bad. Unfortunately you can't really see the water. But oh well, we are all smiling so that should count for something. (well Clay is kinda smiling)
Paige took the picture below. I think that she did a great job.
Alright now that the picture time is over, the boys have stripped down to their shorts/swimtrunks and Paige decided to put on some more comfy beach exploring clothes. Below is Drew running from the waves.
It turned out to be one of the best beaches for our kids. There was sand, there were rocks to climb, there were tidepools to explore and waves to chase (or run from!) And it was beautiful! We found tons and I mean tons of starfish.
The boys and I explored a bit to find a good view of the sunset. It involved climbing rocks, so Clay was all for it. At the moment he was pretending to be a buffalo, so it went a long with his acting. (Do buffalo climb rocks?) While the boys and I were exploring, Jathan and Paige were practicing football. Jathan is very proud of how well Paige can catch the football. He wanted to make sure I was able to get a few shots of her.
Second Stop: Ventura Harbor Beach It was another beautiful day, a little chillier than the day before, but the sun was shining so I will not complain.
One of the battles of being a mom is accepting that projects involving kids may not (or should I just be honest and say will not) turn out perfectly. So when I decided to make a dolphin in the sand and Drew wanted to help, I had to bite my lip and accept that my plans may not turn out like I had in my mind. Thankfully, in this instance, Drew has a short attention span so he helped for about 90 seconds.
Below is my dolphin. Because Clay decided to offer some help it has rock eyes and a blowhole (he likes things to be accurate)
My dolphin inspired Clay to make his own beach crocodile.
Clay can just go off on his own with his shovel and little jeep and be in a world all of his own. I think he likes the beach as much as me.
Paige is trying to stay warm while eating lunch. Most of her problem is that she soaked her clothes in the very cold Pacific. She didn't want to wear her swimsuit.
A little sand in a PB&J never hurt anyone.
To conclude our day, we took a walk next to the harbor marina and toured the Channel Island National Park Visitor Center.
As we begin a new year, many of us have set all sorts of New Year's resolutions. Anything from losing weight, exercising regularly, eating healthier, stop smoking, being more thankful, etc. Unfortunately many of those New Year's resolutions last until the middle of January or maybe to February if we are lucky. I am the same way. Unfortunately. I do want to make it through the entire 2010 keeping my resolutions. That takes discipline, and I do not have any quick fixes for it. So I will try with God's help to keep them. Maybe some of our resolutions aren't the end of the world if fail by the end of the month. But I know that many of us are resolving to read our Bibles more and memorize scripture. Both are absolutely necessary in the Christian walk. A little while ago, a friend posted on his blog here, some tips for scripture memory, so I wanted to pass those helpful tips along. I also wanted to put a plug in for a CD that friends of ours have made. There is actually a whole curriculum that you can buy, which I would like to do a post on someday because it is absolutely wonderful. But the foundation of the curriculum is scripture memory, memorizing God's Word. Passages are put to music, made easier to memorize and meditate on. The CDs that are available for purchase now are based on God as the Creator. It is absolutely amazing. My kids (and myself) have memorized as much as 10 - 12 verses a week, just by listening. The music is not kid music, either, like Row, Row, Row Your Boat. It is music that captures the emotion of the passage. And it sticks with you, so you find yourself singing it throughout the day. Kinda like when you hear an 80's song and can't get it out of your mind, but this is God's Word. And you remember it for the long term. (which I think should be the goal of scripture memory) Anyway, I highly recommend the CDs. You can check out the CDs here. You can even scroll to the bottom of the page and listen for yourself. I have to say there is no greater joy than to hear your kids around the house singing scripture. But of course, it isn't just for them. I have memorized it right along side of them. It is truly a blessing.
This post is not going to contain a "How to" video, or even go through the steps one would take to make olive oil. Number one, because I couldn't really tell you all of the steps and number two, most of the people reading this do not have easy access to an olive grove anyway, so it wouldn't be too useful. This post will, however, show you some pictures of a place that does press olive oil and maybe you just might learn a little bit of how it is made.
We are trying to ease in slowly to school, so today we joined a homeschool field trip group touring an olive oil plant. It was very interesting, indeed.
Here are some pics below...
Above: Olives are taken through and the rotten olives are taken out along with any leaves that are still attached.
Below: The olives are washed and ready to be ground.
Below: The olives are ground up, seed and all. The result is a something of an oatmeal consistency. Then the liquid will be extracted.
Below: Here is the olive oil after the water has been separated out. There are still some impurities that froth up to the top.
Below: Paige and Drew in front of some olives that are about to be pressed.
Below: The kids enjoying a game of tag by the olive grove.
At the end of the tour we got a lesson on buying olive oil. I had read recently about how great California olive oil was because of the purity of the product. I learned more about it today. After the liquid is extracted out, the oil and the water are separated and you have olive oil in a very pure form. Italians do the same thing. Only that olive oil stays in their country. The waste that is left over, after the liquid is extracted, is pressed a second time using solvents and sometimes mixed with other oils. This is what is sent to your grocery store. The Italians won't use it. A lot of the nutritional value that olive oil is known for is now gone when this process is done.
It isn't always easy to find California olive oil, but I was happy to find that I can go directly to the grove (just down the road from me) where it is pressed and buy it by the bottle, case or gallon. So if you are looking for good olive oil, come for a visit, and I will hook you up!
Well it's back, school that is. We began yesterday, so we now have 2 days under our belt for the Spring semester. Good feeling.
We now have a new school room. Jathan moved all of his church things up to the new loft and we took over his old office. I love it!!! It is nicely organized. School books, the computer, supplies, they are all at my fingertips now. I think the new room helped get the kids excited to start school again.
Jathan isn't quite all moved into his office yet. His stuff is up there, but not all things have found a home yet. It takes time. Plus he needs a desk, that would help with much of it. That will come in time, as soon as he has time to look for something.
The new room is mostly decorated, a few finishing touches will help, but those will have to wait until I have more time. The builder is coming back on Thursday to complete a few odds and ends. I will try to post pictures after that happens. The room looks great though. Plenty of room for out of town guests who want to escape the cold!
Hi, my name is Melissa. My husband, Jathan, and I have 4 beautiful children, 2 by birth and 2 by adoption. Jathan is a pastor and I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom.
You will find me writing about my kids, my husband, God, adoption, homeschooling, our travels, life events and everything in between.
