Quotable Quote

"When we make a present for Jesus, does He close His eyes?"

--Sage

Real Life

We recently received a package from J.B.,a friend of ours in Uganda. (I have written about him in previous posts from when Lacey and I were in Uganda. He is the pastor of the church I went to in Jinja, he took Lacey and I to a village to distribute our suitcase full of goodies to the kids, his wife, Grace, cooked many yummy meals for me, and he and his whole family blessed me tremendously. We love JB and his family!)

So when we opened the package, it was full of African outfits for each of our children. For any of you that have had to buy clothes for others, you know how difficult this can be. Imagine being in Uganda, buying African clothes for American kids you have never met nor seen in pictures! And all the clothes fit perfectly! Everyone loves their individual outfit and is very appreciative.

So, ever since we received this package, I have been thinking about how important it is for me to get a picture of the kids in their Uganda clothes. This is almost a daily thought. When I woke up this morning, I thought, since Jaden and Kellen are on Christmas break now, and everyone is home this morning with no plans of having to go anywhere, this will be a great day to get pics done. So I made a quick chore list for each of the kids with the last one being--change into African clothes.

Everything was going well until I had the camera out. All of a sudden the whole morale of the group went downhill fast! So I reminded them how fast pictures will be if everyone just cooperates and smiles!! This is how the next 20 minutes went:

Me: Everyone stand over here, ok smile, look at me! Christopher, put your shirt down. Jaden no bunny ears for this picture. Look! Smile! Uhh, that would have been good, but Katie you weren't looking at Mommy! Again...Sage please stand on two feet, Jaden, relax a little bit, that doesn't even look like a smile anymore...Click! That would have been good, except I can see your undies! Come one everyone, this doesn't have to take soooo long. Please just LOOK AT ME! SMILE! NOW! Sage, please stop looking at your reflection in the TV. Jaden please stop making funny faces. **Now comes bribery** Everyone look at me, smile and you will get a cookie! (Everyone gets excited and shouts "cookie") click, but now Christopher is sooo excited at the idea of cookie he can't stand still. Jaden has had it...there are no more smiles, he keeps raising his hands in the air, like he's had enough. I'm irritable and grouchy and just keep clicking the camera anyways. Kellen keeps running from his spot to the camera because he wants to see the picture I just took! I know I am nearing the end of every one's sanity, so I try to muster up some enthusiasm and announce that this is the last picture. Everyone give me your best smile! Click! Ok...that would have been the last picture, if Sage would have had been standing on TWO feet, if Jaden was smiling, if Kellen didn't have his arms wrapped so tightly around Katie and Christopher that it looked like they were in a choke hold, if Christopher didn't have his arms in the air, and if Katie didn't have drool down the chin! Augghhh! Let's try this again....Augghhhhh!!!!

And all of you are wondering why you haven't received our family Christmas picture in the mail yet! HA!









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So, in the middle of posting the above pictures, my friend Megan, popped in to say hi while on her lunch hour. She and I were downstairs, when we heard a sudden crash and the sound of things breaking or at least hitting the floor. We ran upstairs to find our Christmas tree laying sideways! Ornaments were everywhere. And there were two guilty hoodlums standing next to the tree! This gruffy mom (you are getting a great mental picture of me today!) sent them all to bed. Megan and I tried to lift the tree back into a standing position, which did not work well. As we are lifting and holding and the other is fixing the base, we realize part of the base broke. We notice this, as the tree is in the upright position, I am just letting go of the tree, and Megan is down on her knees looking at the base of the tree. This picture explains the rest...


When this happened, I said, "Megan, are you OK?" She muffled out a "yeah." So I said, "then hold on, I have to run and get my camera!" She graciously let me take this picture. We had a good laugh! If it were not for her being here at that moment...who knows... God knows how much we can handle, and then I guess, he sends in reinforcement!

thoughts...

Many have asked about Katie's health. Right now, she is doing well. We have had many ups and downs since bringing her home in April, and know that this will be the norm throughout her life. It is hard to get used to the fact that blood transfusions, hospital stays, and increased risks of complications will all be normal for Katie. My heart breaks and I have tears flowing as I write this. I want my daughter to be healthy. I want her to be able to play in the snow, to go hiking in the mountains... We know that God has chosen her for our family and that we would not be complete without her. I remember just a couple weeks ago when Kellen was in the ER getting an IV started...he was crying and saying how much it hurt...Kellen and I talked about how often Katie has to get an IV and how it helps us to understand what she goes through and to have a deeper compassion for her.
Why Lord does she have to have Sickle Cell? Why does she have to experience such pain?
A dear friend of ours, who is in his 20's, also has Sickle Cell. He lives in the same town as us, and is from the same town as Christopher and Katie in Uganda. (God has blessed us so much!) He is in the hospital with complications right now, and I ask you to pray for him. That God would heal his body, give him strength and that God would receive the glory. It is hard for me to watch what he is going through. The pain is so great. My heart aches for him. As I watch him, I can't help but think that this may be Katie some day. I feel so helpless. I want to stop the disease and not allow it to wreak havoc on her little body. But I can't. We live in a fallen world where there is sin, pain, and suffering. My eyes have to be fixed on Christ, the One who gives us hope, who forgives us for our sins, and gives us life everlasting. One day, there will be no more tears and no more suffering. Thank you Lacey, for sharing this song and video with me and for giving me a fresh perspective.
click here to view

I am flooded with emotions right now, there are tears falling onto my keyboard, and I am reminded by another song playing right now, "...that You make everything Glorious..." We are not alone. This is not in vain. Everything will be made glorious in His time. I also think about how hard it is to watch my child suffer and to feel helpless, and then I am reminded of God watching His only Son suffer on our behalf. God loves us so much. I am overwhelmed. Thank you Jesus. Click here to view another

I am determined to post tonight. I have sat down a couple other times over the last couple months and have really struggled to convey my thoughts. My thoughts are still jumbled, but I guess jumbled thoughts are better than no thoughts, right?!?

I will highlight some happenings from the last couple months to get you up to speed...

There was Halloween...we are not big fans of Halloween and we don't "celebrate" the day, but we do get dressed up and go to a Harvest Party hosted by a local church. I only included this so you could see the picture of our night out! Take a good look...Christopher, not Katie, is the pirate this time!



Then we had Kellen's birthday. He had a party at the bowling alley and we had a ton of fun. Kellen requested a particular cake that he had seen in one of my magazines from over a year ago. The moment he had seen this cake, he knew it was the one!


Todd got his first elk! I am sure I am leaving lots of details out on this one, so you'll have to talk to Todd to get the scoop!


The African Children's Choir was in town and it was amazing! Those kids are incredible. If they are coming to a city near you, GO! You will be in for a treat. I was emotional during the show, thinking about all that God has brought us through to unite Christopher and Katie with our family. What a fun night and we got to experience it with some dear friends!

Sickness...this could be a whole post in itself. We have had 4 with pink eye, 2 with strep throat, sinus infection, bronchitis, ear infection, emergency room trips for croup/severe breathing difficulty, emergency room trip for an inflamed hip joint which was thought to be a bone infection, impetigo, bacterial infections, hand surgery, and an allergic reaction to the antibiotic for the strep throat...and this is all in a 3 week period!

Jaden lost his two front teeth!


My sister has moved up to Montana and is in her 9th month of pregnancy! We are preparing for the birth of her little boy. We are happy to have her so close! My parents are living with us until they head back to Uganda, and the kids are loving their time with Grammy and Grandpa. Add 5 kids to the mix and a couple of dogs, and we have a full house! There is never a moment lacking in adventure. Our days are full and a wee bit busy! or crazy! However, you want to look at it!

Our life is full of blessings, and as we approach Christmas, we are so thankful that God has united our family. (Last Christmas we were longing to to have C & K here). God has accomplished a lot over this past year. As we go through dry times, it helps to look back and remember all that God has done. Today, I started reading our story from the beginning just to be reminded of our faithful and sovereign Lord. Even at times when I can't feel or see Him in the day in and day out, He is there. It has challenged me to look for glimpses of God throughout my day--even in the mundane activities or routines. I want to be in awe of God. I want to be aware of His presence.

Thank you Lord for never leaving us. May our eyes be fixed upon You, Lord, this Christmas season.

It's Official!

On October 1, 2008, we finalized the adoption of Christopher and Katie! Their names are legally changed and they now share our last name! We will also be getting Montana birth certificates for C & K with our names listed as the parents! This is the final and complete step in the process and it is a huge celebration. We will forever remember and celebrate Oct. 1st as our official adoption day. Our lawyer was very generous and did all the work at no cost to us--just because he is passionate about adoption. The judge loves adoption as well and made the day very special for us. He was genuinely interested in our story, in the kids' lives, and was quick to give God the glory for it all. On top of all this, we got to finalize the adoption with our friends--the Lundman's! We traveled together to Uganda in March to get our children and we got to finish together. It was a wonderful day!


The kids (there were 13 of them!) got to sit in the jury box!



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We also celebrated Sage's birthday recently as she turned 4! WooHoo!!



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Katie spent another weekend in the hospital. This time she was hospitalized for sickle cell pain which we believe was caused by the sickling of cells in her back. She is doing better and ibuprofen is her best friend.
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We had a major snow storm come through this last weekend which dumped 22 inches. The kids had so much fun building snow forts and snow men, throwing snowballs, and drinking hot chocolate. We lost many, many branches from our trees (the trees had not dropped all their leaves yet and it was a very heavy, wet snow).



Christopher's version of getting ready for the snow!


Sage's version of getting ready for the snow!


Since daddy did not approve of her first outfit, this was her second try at getting ready to play in the snow!

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Katie's hair is slowly getting longer, and I am having fun experimenting with tons of different hair products and hair styles. Here is one of them...


This is actually Katie's favorite look. We thought hair extensions might be too expensive and take too long, so we just have her wear the head-piece from Pirate's of the Caribbean =)

Feeling Guilty

I agree that I have been silent for too long... updating this blog has been on my to-do list for 4 months now! It is one of those things that has been hanging over my head, and the longer I wait, the more overwhelming it seems. Erinn is the one that finally gave me the little kick I needed to get this done, so thank you Erinn C.

Life is full! There is rarely a free moment to spare. I am going from the moment I wake up til the moment I go to sleep. I have never been so busy, yet I have never been filled with such joy from day to day. There is a new level of contentment that God has brought in my role of being a mom. The lesson that was ingrained in me while I was in Africa was "simplify." I have slowly been putting this into practice as I learn to differentiate between what things are good and what is best. I find it very easy to fill up my week with commitments and obligations only to be worn out and tired by the end of the week. I have decided that I am in a season of life where I need to scale back my level of involvement outside the home so I can focus more time in the home. My two main goals this school year is to homeschool Sage and to make "good" sit-down dinners every night. I want my family to know that they are my first priority and to show in practical ways that I care about them.

Since Katie and Christopher have been home, there is a greater since of unity and peace in our home. It is as if our family is a puzzle and there was a piece missing...and K & C were the piece that completed the puzzle. It is so normal, natural and just feels right having K & C in our family. There really hasn't been a transition. I honestly feel as though bringing these two home has been far easier than the transition of having my first, second or third child. We immediately found our routine. I believe this is only possible because of God's mighty hand. I think this is another reason I have taken so long to blog...because in one sense, it feels like Katie and Christopher have been with us forever, since birth. It feels like my time in Africa was years ago. Sometimes I forget that K & C have only been here for 5 months and although it feels so ordinary and normal to us, there are so many people that have traveled this journey with us that are longing for details and pictures. So please accept my apologies for not posting sooner. If I were in your shoes, I would be going crazy for pictures as well!

Katie's personality: Katie is very persistent and stubborn. Although this can be a trying trait for a parent of a 2 year old, we believe this is the reason she is still alive. She is a fighter! She is doing very well health-wise. We have had our share of ups and downs already...3 weeks after coming to America she had a blood transfusion and a hospitalization of 2 days; last month, she had another hospital stay of 2 days for a kidney infection; and then we've had a few ER visits here and there. We have also flown to the Denver Children's Hospital and are working with an excellent doctor down there who has teamed up with her pediatrician here. We feel very blessed to have found these doctors. She is on penicillin daily, we know to keep her bundled up, and we have learned her cues for when she is not feeling well. It has been a learning curve, but it has also become a part of our normal family life.

The best part has been watching Katie grow, flourish, thrive, and come to life. Nobody at Amani Baby Cottage would even recognize her now. She is constantly smiling (a great big smile that shows all her teeth), running around, talking, playing, pretending with her babies and the play kitchen...and she loves her music--anything with a good beat! Katie has amazing dancing skills and we have no idea where she learned these--it must be in her genes! Katie's great accomplishment this week is potty training. She is still in diapers at bedtime, but is doing awesome during the day! Katie is very compliant, likes rules and boundaries, and is very quick to let us know when Christopher has been disobedient. In public, Katie is quiet, reserved and shy, whereas, her brother Christopher is outgoing, loud, and loves to be the center of attention. He is a ham. He is very intense about everything he does. He does everything whole-heartedly and usually has a ton of fun while doing it (even things as simple as climbing into a chair). He is a charmer and has some wonderful facial expressions. Todd's nickname for Christopher is "Cos" because there are a lot of similarities between Christopher and Bill Cosby! One last thing about Christopher is that he tends to be very neat and orderly, a little OCD at times. His blanket has to be just right, his shoes have to be lined up in the mud room, things have to be put back where they go. It is a little funny that his favorite toy is the little red Dirt Devil vacuum.

Christopher and Katie have overcome most of their original fears...dogs (well at least our dog), stuffed animals, bath toys, and bugs. There is still one thing they cannot stand (not necessarily a fear) ...They hate the microwave. Every time I put their milk (they love warm milk) or food in the microwave, they start crying. We go through this everyday. I think they believe the microwave is going to eat their food! But everyday I explain and show them that their food is still there. Christopher is crazy about his food. He LOVES to eat. One day C & K were doing laps around the kitchen table having fun and chasing each other. All of a sudden, Christopher comes to a screeching halt, bends over, picks up a crumb, puts it in his mouth, and goes back to running full speed. Needless to say, Christopher is a few pounds heavier than Katie and a few inches shorter! He is our little football player. Katie is long and lanky, she is our dainty dancer!

We have had fun with the endless questions I get asked every time I go anywhere. Here are some of them:

*Do you run a daycare?

*Are Christopher and Katie twins? (Some have even asked if they are identical!) Then when I answer "No, but they are only 6 days apart," I get a funny look and am asked, "so are they from the same mom?"

*Is your husband black?

"Wow, you have a lot of kids. Do you like it that way?"

We are enjoying our time together as family. Todd and I love watching Jaden, Kellen, Sage, Christopher and Katie all interact in a way that can only be explained by the bond of Christ. God is good, all the time!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

***Just to give an idea of time...I started this post on the 24th early in the morning. I got 1 paragraph written. 9 hours later, I got another paragraph written. 2 days later, I got the pictures loaded and finished! Whew!

Something Old, Something New

That's basically what it feels like around here.

There's definitely something new with Katie and Christopher. A new family dynamic; a new routine; a new perspective on God's purpose for our lives; a new beginning for all of us in many ways.

Yet, still, there is something old about it all...

Have you ever bought a pair of shoes or pants that made you look twice to make sure they weren't "pre-worn" because they provided the comfort of your old one's? Have you ever been to a place you know that you have never experienced before, and it still felt strangely like home? Have you ever made a new friend in some wierd circumstance, and after a few moments you connected like best friends since junior high?

In a very abstract way, that's what it's like with Katie and Christopher being "home". By our strange disappearance of blog entries, you may have deduced that our days have precious little "left-over" time which has definitely caused us to be more deliberate with each moment. Yet, God's presence is still abundantly clear, and His grace flows in a continual stream.

I've often found myself at the edge of a mountain stream wondering when the water will run out and stop flowing. Perplexed, I keep watching and listening as the dribble, gurggle, pop, and splash never show signs of fading.

Welcome to God's grace. It is the stream that never fades or falters. It is never late, and is always enough for the present need. Sure, there is never enough water in that mountain stream to meet the demands of hundreds of years, but there is always enough for that moment. There is an endless supply of grace; never in surplus or need; always just enough.

We remind ourselves of this as Katie is in her first major hospital visit here in Montana. She is requiring a blood transfusion to overcome some difficulties with her sickle cell. She's weak, tired of being poked and prodded by the nurses, and generally in a little of a fowl mood, but she is very gritty and tough. A couple of weeks ago she had blood drawn, and I watched in amazement as she merely blinked when they poked her with the needle. Then I watched her scream in complete terror as they attempted to put a band-aid on her wound. Go figure, but she is certainly tough. That's God's grace in the life of a little girl with a difficult disorder. His grace is practical and sufficient.

Pray for her health, and ask God to do what we pray over her every night: That she would rest in the knowledge of the presence of God.

Matt. 28:20, "...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."