HE gives and HE takes away

This is a hard post.

But not.

Yesterday, we picked up our daughter.

I am trying not to cry.  Right now our girls are in their room having a tea party.  Again.  They have yet to be more than 6 inches from each other.  They crack up, they run together, play together, they stare at each other while eating and start laughing from joy.

Which kind of makes me want to cry.

Again.

At the airport, we met the other couple who was also waiting for their daughter, the same chaperon was bringing both of them.

It is their first adoption.  They asked me if the transition is easy as they have heard.

I asked them who on earth told them that??!!??!!

It is the hardest, funnest, scariest, what-was-I-thinking, greatest, I-cant-imagine-life-without-them, I must be7 kinds of crazy, I need to hug them right NOW, I am exhausted, let me kiss that face one more time, kind of  experience.

But easy???

Heck no.

Seriously, parenting is not easy.  An adjusting to a new personality, culture, routine, trying to bond and a general getting used to, and on top of that you can't even communicate??

I don' think easy is the word I would use.

Christian is trying to adjust to the adults.  Not that she is having a hard time, but adjusting to Elly was a piece of cake.

And she is terrified of the animals.  Specially the dogs.   I told John, maybe the dogs in the Congo are crazy, mean, street dogs, and she was told to run when she saw one or she would be attacked.

Well, she RUNS let me tell you.

Meanwhile, the beagles hardly move.  :P  Elly keeps trying to show her the dogs couldn't care less if you sat on them and put your hand in their mouth.  They MIGHT open an eye.  Maybe.

Another situation, she just takes off outside.  Runs to the street without thought.

Oh dear one, you are not in Africa anymore.

GOD is good.



Today is my brother-in-law's birthday.

He would have been 50.

He was a gift of GOD kind of man.  We hardly had anything in common, except Jesus.  In fact, he was the one who introduced us to HIM.

Because of Peter, our lives were able to be radically changed by the KING of KINGS,  and our focus and goals changed.

And that common factor made us close.

It has been 16 years since he passed away.  There is not a week, some times it is not a day, that I don't think of him.

He truly was the brother I did not have.

I miss him, still.

Not gonna lie, even after 16 years, there are times I still cry over him not being here.  Sometimes it is a song, a scripture, a word, a thought that reminds me.  Sometime it is looking at who my children have become, are.  My children remember him through my memories.  Even Samuel who has never met him knows him well.

My little girls will know him.  How can I not give them those memories?  How can I not introduce them to the brother of my heart, who walked me to the cross and gave me LIFE? How can they not love him, too??!!?

And if I really think about it, they, my little girls are here because of him.  Years ago, he was the one who first asked us to consider adopting from China.  Long before foreign adoptions became 'common'.

we never forgot.

Happy Birthday my dear Brother.  My desire... for HIS sake, for their own sakes, and for your sake, Peter, is to raise my children to HIS glory.  One day, my children will run into your arms in heaven, and they will thank you for who you were to HIM, to me, and in turn to them.

And they will...Because HE lives.

Peter, you had many heartaches, joys, victories, pain and sorrows, and yet this reminds me of something you told me once, and it never left me:

There were ten lepers healed, and only one turned back to give thanks, but it is to be noticed that our Lord did not recall the gift from the other nine because of their lack of gratitude. When we begin to lessen our acts of kindness and helpfulness because we think those who receive do not properly appreciate what is done for them, it is time to question our own motives.   ~ Leaves of GOD

Just Around the river bend

School has started.

OK fine it is only math and reading; regardless, he is doing school work.

And miracle of miracles, he didn't complain!!!

I thought for sure, he as going to give the 'mom, I was in Africa for 2 months..woe to me...yadda, yadda, yadda.'

He didn't!

huh.

Samuel shocker #2.

Even though he is pretty sold on using herbs, oils and natural healing remedies, as he has successfully been the recipient of them time and time again, his eating habits left loads to be desired.  His vegan dad has gentle tried to teach an guide.

Nothing doing.

I made him watch a movie yesterday.

It is a great movie.  Sold me over more. Though I was already a believer, it pushed me over the edge.

If you would like to watch the movie for free, my favorite price, go here.

After my boy watched the movie, he went to the kitchen.

I thought for sure it was to find some left over junk-ish food we had from his welcome home party.  After all, he is 13.  Instead, as I watched is shock, he made himself a spinach, kale, broccoli, mango, carrot, cantaloupe juice, and loved it.

Maybe the brain cells are starting to work in there.


I have some news.

It is good news.

It is crazy fun and long awaited news.

It is 'I wish I could go to sleep for 2 more days straight and THEN wake up' news.

Our daughter  Christian, from the Congo is coming on Saturday!!!!

S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y!!!!

The lovely woman who is chaperoning her ( is that a real word?) home emailed me yesterday and told me she was a sweet heart; kind and joyous.  As well as...

tall.

LOL.

I love it.

Poor Chloe, though now she is happy with her height or lack there of, there had been times when she was terribly upset over it.  I am pretty sure that  Elena & Christian will also deal with their...height issues, though the opposite from their big sister, until they, too, deal with it and accept it.

Some other big exciting God news to be made public...soon.

Until then, something to think about...

A man who is eating or lying with his wife or preparing to go to sleep in humility, thankfulness and temperance, is, by Christian standards, in an infinitely higher state than one who is listening to Bach or reading Plato in a state of pride.

~C.S. Lewis

Seek Your Heart

I was reading the newspaper today.

(Yes, I still get the newspaper.  I love it.  Something about not having to sit in front of the computer and search... I like that.   Yes, I also love my Nook.  Something about having 101 books in it so far and not needing to find room for them, since I have a small house and am trying to minimize; and the fact that it fits into my pocketbook. :D  Oh, and I love the library, so I can give the book back and know it is there should I need it again for whatever reason.)

ANYWAY, in it it mentioned how a group of people are trying to 'highly encourage' (read: force) Congress to sign a student loan forgiveness bill.

w.a.i.t.

Let me get this straight.

You signed a loan application, knowing full well that you had to pay back the money loaned to you, and no one as standing behind you forcing or threatening you to sign.

And now you want to be 'forgiven'?

Did you not think this through?  Did you not figure out that, regardless of the job market, by signing, it became your responsibility?

Now mind you, the debt is not 'forgiven'.  SOMEONE still has to pay the loan.  It just doesn't disappear into thin air.

It comes out of our taxes. So essentially, it should not be called a forgiveness bill, but rather a make-everyone-else-pay-even-though-they-signed-nothing-and-are-not-responsible bill.

My son has a student loan.  He pays monthly, for it is his responsibility.

We have a loan. (adoption)(business)  We pay it monthly.  There have been slim months, in the construction business.  It did not occur to us to make someone else pay for the choices we made. We have struggled in the past, and I am sure we will struggle in the future.  And we will deal with it.  Pasta for lunch and dinner, baby.  :P   We did it before, we can do it again.  I don't think we are better than these people, I am just stunned at the gimme mentality that is so prevalent in this nation.

Though I shouldn't be.

Next thought:

Chik-fil-A.

People are, for lack of a better word, funny.

There are now commentaries running around like what if we had Homeless Appreciation Day instead, would as many people show up?

It seems to me, that is general, people DO do show up.  Homeless Appreciation Day happens 365 days a year.

You will find Christians showing up everyday, to do their part.  You will find Christians lining up to help in any one's time of need.  Domestic and foreign. They are the most generous people.  In every single catastrophe, Christians will give money, time and effort to help.   They will take their vacation time to build homes, dig wells, feed the hungry, etc.   It has been proven that organizations like  Samaritan's Purse, World Vision, churches of all denominations, etc, have given and done more for victims than the US government, with no waste in time or money.  Proven by secular statistics, for real Christians, for the most part, don't keep score.

Do you know that on Thanksgiving and Christmas it is almost impossible to find a place to volunteer, because they fill up so quickly?  You can't even put together a food basket because they have more food than families?  That happened to me when I tried to set that up for my high school missions class project.

Do you know, there have been times that I couldn't go with my son to volunteer because they were full?

So yes, people, Christian WOULD show up for Homeless Appreciating Day.  They would wait in line to serve.  They would be turned away from lack of jobs for them, and so then they would give money, because it is the least they could do.

They would show up for just about any-need day for that matter.

What about the love part?  I have never met a Christian who refused to help a person in need, or ask first if they were homosexual, drug addicts, porn-addicted, an adulterer, an alcoholic and the such to determine if they will  help or not.  Yes, there are cult churchs who may do that, but they are cult churches, not Chrsitian churches.

Please do no confuse the two.

Anyway, I guess people will find something bad to say, after all Jesus said they would.

It is okay.

So those who went to Chik-fil-A Apprciation Day, don't worry about it.  I know you will also do your part to help ANY ONE in need.  I know because I see you there.

In amazing numbers.

Everyday.

You are not in Jersey anymore, but you are back in Jersey!

He is home.  And I am glad to see his face.

He has a few pictures.

He is a guy.  He forgets how important picture are; so did not get that from me.

Out door church service with the Sudanese.  Church service was from 9am - 1pm.  

The Team as they worked on the school's foundation.

They walked 4 miles to the nearest 'town' to celebrate Southern Sudan's VERY FIRST Independene day.

And then, we ran over to Newark to wait for him.

More to come.