...because HE lives...

2 weeks!!!

2 weeks and then our boy comes home!!

It has been hard, and good.  The past 5 1/2 weeks are like nothing I ever went through as a mom.  Not even my our oldest son went to boot camp.  That was hard. Not even when our oldest daughter went to TX to be an inner city camp counselor for 10 weeks.  2 summers on a row. THAT was hard.

This is a different kind of hard.

GOD continues to stretch and show me, just how much our children belong to HIM.

This summer helped me to rethink so much.  It made me rethink faith goals, schooling goals, family goals, life goals, even marriage goals.  Praying, living, crying through so many things.

Because HE lives!!!

Glory be to HIM and HIM alone.


As far as our African daughter?  Even the crickets are quiet now.

Another refining.  Another lesson in trust.  Another reason to surrender.

It has been Elena & I this summer.  Bless her heart, she is a trooper.

We have been working on house projects, gardening, watching old movies ( she LOVES I Love Lucy) seeing friends, seeing big-big brother and his future wife, her nana & poppa, looking at pictures of the grandson/nephew and agreeing over the fact that he really is a beautiful boy and of course, missing big-little brother.



The garden is doing beautifully, in spite of the fact that we have had no rain.

Thanks to the help of this little peanut who waters the garden.  It is hard work.  Watering takes 45 minutes to an hour.  I weed the plot, she waters.  When I finish, I help her, but she still works alongside me.

And she is a joy!  

She is also a little momma.

I mean, seriously.  

One day, I had bought a cantaloupe.  We got home and I unloaded that car.  I knew I bought everything in.  That night, I thought I would cut up the cantaloupe because it will get rotten if I don't.  Once it is cut up, it disappears immediately, but if not cut, it gets thrown out, which is not an option for me.

Anyway, I couldn't find it.  I went out to the car and looked for it.

Nothing.

Then I rethought to the afternoon, and I could have sworn I bought it in. Maybe I imagined it and actually left it at the store.

Bummer.

Well, 2 days later, her little stroller was in the middle of the living room.  Facing the other way. I went to put it back in the corner, and look at what I found:

Confession:  It never occurred to me to look in her stroller.

Though I should know better.

This little girl will turn anything into a baby.  If hers are not around, she will grab anything, wrap it in a blanket or towel, or stick it in her stroller or baby bed, and she is good to go. 

I mean a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g.

Toothpaste, rulers, a cup, pillows, markers, anything; randomly wrapped in a towel or mini blanket, nurtured and sang to, laided down to sleep.

Little momma, I tell you.

So, off we go.  A full week of going from here, to MA to VA Beach. 

Then coming home and waiting.

But while waiting, living for HIM.  Because HE lives!!!

You and Me, We Can Conquer the World!! Or at Least Go To The Mall.

I took Elena to the Disney Store for the first time in her life.

Our regular mall, doesn't have a Disney Store.  The thing is, even if it did, it wouldn't matter too much anyway because I can count on one hand,three fingers to be exact, give or take a finger, how many times we go to the mall in a year.  This incudes Black Friday.

ANYWAY, she is pitiful and tired of it being 'just me'.  I try to do things with her.  She is not only-child material.

SO, this Saturday, when it was 101 degrees by 9am, I decided a nice air conditioned mall was the answer to all our problems.  OK, fine, not all our problems, but at least of heat problems, as I have no central air.    Don't go there.

WELL, she responded in a way I never would have thought at this point in her American life.

She didn't move.

She stood in the entrance with her mouth haning wide open and her eyes glazed over.  I thought maybe she was going to pass out.

People walked by her as I tried to coax her in.

They giggled.

They pointed.

They stared at her staring at the store.

Once I got her in, she proceeded to touch, see, inspect every doll, shoe, pajamas, toy, cup, pencil, princess, dress, t-shirt, mug, every.glorious.thing. in the store.

We were there over an hour and a half.

I need to interupt myself and mention, this is no great store.  Just an ordinary plain ol' Disney Store at the mall.

Today, we are officially in the 'teens' on the count down for when Samuel comes home.

WOO-HOO!!!!

It has been a long hard time these past 5+ weeks.  I pray he is doing well.  I pray it changed him. I pray it made the world a bigger place for him.  I pray his compassion extends for HIS grace.  I pray he will forever understand 'your ife is not about you.'

And I pray he is having a great time.  Yes, it is probably hard.  But things can be hard and great.

SO, have I mentioned how beautiful my grandson is?  He gets more beautiful by the day.  Holy Moses, he is a cutie.

And I am TOTALLY not even being biased.   :D  Seriously!

Update on our DRC adoption:

n.o.t.h.i.n.g.

Pathetic.  She was suppose to be home 2 weeks ago today.

And now?  Samuel may come home before she does.  YES SIREE.  8 weeks later, and nothing.

Why us?  Well, why not us, I guess.

Still I sometimes go on my email hoping and praying, pray and praying some more, that I will see good news.  Instead, it is more vegan stuff.  :P  ugh.

Update on vegaism:

I hate it.

But I cannot convince my husband any different.

Have I mentioned he is Irish?

OK, off to mail the last letter to my son.  Since it takes about 14 days to get there, this is the last day to mail anything.  This particular letter is 3 pages long.  Front & back.  I have discovered I genuinly enjoy writing letters.  Good old paper and pen.  I need to find someone to write to after this.

The Lord bless you and keep you.  Even if you reject HIM, it doesn't stop HIS grace and love for you.  <3  HE is great that way.  :)

Time crawls when you look at the calendar

Today was the 4th of July.  ( Still is, I suppose)  Though it is about 30 seconds from becoming the 5th of July!!

The 5th of July is Daisy's birthday!!

Here is Daisy when we went pumpkin picking a few years ago.  She is the small beagle, weighing in at  22 pounds.  As opposed to Reilly, who is the big beagle weighing in at 54 pounds.  But his birthday is not until August 5.  Exactly one month later.  They are both 7 this year.

Yup, days are crawling by.  

Our boy come home in 23 days!  I wonder if time is flying by for him.  It is probably doing both.  Flying one day, crawling the next.

John's vegan-ism is going pretty ok.  I am learning and educating myself as to what to feed this man.

Mind you, I have no intent on becoming vegan myself.  My daughter showed me this book she is reading about a vegetarian. But she calles herself a flexatarian.

I like that.  That is my kind of living.  Vegetarian for the most part, chicken & fish, and thankful for what is put before you when you are a guest.

Yup.

I will be a flexatarian.  :)

I went tot he library and checked out loads of vegan recipe books, and the librarian told me she has been a vegan for 4 years, so if I or he have any questions, she would be happy to answer them.  

SO, I asked her " Are you crazy??!!??!"

She did not appreciate my question.  I didn't care.  Plus she didn't even answer.

Whatever.

Elly-bug is done.  She misses her brother so badly.  I was hoping her little sister would be here by now, what no.  Thank you USA, once again, for...well...nothing.

We still wait and hope, sooner than later.  Though at this point it is WAY later than thought.

Elly wants to go down the shore.  I think we may rent a hotel room for a night or 2 soon.  I am not particularly fond of the beach, but it is not about me.  We will wait for Samuel to come home though. He loves the shore, too.

I should go to bed.

I need to be better at posting.

PS anyone want 3 roosters??  They are big and hearty.  Healthy and organic.

They can make a wonderful dinner.