Guess Where We Went???

There is this guy called Matthew West, has anyone heard of him ??? Anyway I recently spent some time on his website and I did not want to leave his website. If you haven't visited his website you can click here to check it out.

Anyway, we went to see him in concert last night and let me just tell you that other than caring for orphans it was the best money we have spent in a very long time. The concert was INCREDIBLE, powerful and unlike any concert I have ever been to. If Matthew West is going to be in your area you should go!

Go check out the website and spend some time checking out the stories and videos.

I Just Couldn't Stand By and Watch!

After I wrote the last post (if you didn't read it please scroll down to the last post and read it) I went to take a shower. The shower seems to be the place I get quiet time with God when I have 3 little ones running around.

Anyway I was talking to God telling him that I couldn't just stand by and watch so how could he best use me to help tear the roof off. God gave me an idea and it has already been put into action! You can read here and check it out.

Also I want to challenge you. This family has 3 days to raise a whole lot of money sooooooo will you get creative today? Not only am I asking you to blog and Facebook but get really creative.

Do you have something sitting around in your house you could auction off on your blog today?

How about having a really quick bake sale? You could spread the word on Facebook telling people you will make them a pie or cookies for a donation to help this family get their daughter home.

Do you have change in a jar somewhere in your house you could donate? This is one of the ways God raised $18,000 for us in ONE week with Jaxson.

Get creative for God and PLEASE do it fast. They only have 3 days!!!

Would You Tear The Roof Off?

I haven't had much blog time lately but I have a sick little one today and so I have a little time to read up this morning. I just came across the most powerful blog post I think I have ever read. You see, God expects us to walk out in faith but he also expects those of us that see people walking out in faith to support them.

If you saw someone needing to get to Jesus would you stand by and watch or would you start tearing off the roof?

Please go read this powerful blog post and then decided whether you will stand by and watch or if you will be part of a faith walk.  

Click Here!

Chris Bought A Bus

It has to be every small child's dream to own a school bus doesn't it? OK, it has to be every big boys dream to own a school bus too. Chris bought a school bus tonight, it will be going to the scrap yard very, very soon but tonight I had one very excited husband and 3 very excited kiddos.

Honestly, lately we have been thinking we need a school bus because our kiddos are a little too close together in our car on long trips. Chris was trying to talk me into keeping the bus but I don't think this is one to keep.

Maybe someday when God blesses us with about 10 kids then we can drive around in a bus. It's not just me thinking that because my wonderful hubby was telling the kiddos the other night he wants to add to the family too.

Don't they all look like good bus drivers? 



Paige Lost Her First Tooth

At the first of the week we noticed that Paige had 2 loose teeth. Paige has wiggled and wiggled this week in hopes of the tooth fairy visiting. This afternoon she ate a sandwich and then came in to show me that her tooth was very loose. It took 2 pushes from mom and the tooth came right out.

Paige just keeps walking around smiling and showing off her new hole. I can't believe my baby girl lost a tooth.

Forgotten Hobbies

Something I have realized over the last 6 months or so since the kids are getting older is that I had forgotten about so many things that I used to enjoy. The kids are soooo close together that I spent so much time taking care of 3 little ones I didn't do anything for myself.

Something I am ready to get back to is my love of birds. I never totally gave this up but I am sooooo ready for spring and to make my yard bird friendly again. I'm ready for my little yellow finch friends to come flying back and all the other little feathered friends that I love to watch. Something about birds just reminds me of how amazing God is.

I am ready to start hiking this year! We tried several times in the past but they would all want carried and we couldn't carry 3 kids hiking.

I am totally OK if God blesses us with more itty, bitty feet in our house but for this season I will enjoy some things I haven't done in awhile.

I was looking at Reece's Rainbow this morning and was a little sad (OK, a lot sad) to see so many ones with $0 in their grant fund which means they have no one fighting for them. Did you know that Reece's Rainbow looks for prayer warriors for all the kids to pray and help fight for people to donate to the childs grant fund? This would be a great project if you have kids. Let them find a child they are drawn to and get them to fight and do or make something to raise that childs grant fund. This could be soooo powerful in their life. You do not have to be an adoptive family to be a warrior for these kids.

Deuteronomy 10:18
18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.

Just in case you have been telling God you would adopt if you had the money here are some kiddos I found with high grants. Add the adoption tax credit on top of that (could someone leave me a comment with what the credit is right now) which I think is around $12,000 the childrens fees are either covered or almost covered.

Eddie has an AMAZING grant of $16,114!!! You can find out more about Eddie by clicking here.

Vilis has a grant of $8430 and you can click here for more info.

Emory has a grant of $4971.10 and you can find out more by clicking here.

Katerina  has a grant of $5310 and you can click here for more info.

Jaxson and His Amazing One Arm

Before Jaxson came home I spent hours and hours reading about how to help a child with a limb difference. Little did I know that I should have been reading about how people with 2 arms are the ones with special needs because we give up so easy at things that a child with one arm doesn't give up on. Now there are times that he likes to try to play it off to people that don't know him well enough that he can't do something but that simply isn't true.

My brother-in-law and his wife got us an amazing gift of a Wii for Christmas. There are some games that need two controllers and we wondered how he was going to do that. At first he didn't even try those games but then soon him and his "twin" Paige worked as a team to play those games. Last week Jaxson decided he didn't need anyone to help and he can now do it himself using his feet for the second controller.

Before Jaxson came home I read that for children with one arm you should leave their coats/jackets zipped a little at the bottom so they can just slide the coat over their head and then zip it up. Jaxson decided this winter that if the girls could zip he could too and this winter in his big, heavy coat he started zipping his coat using his mouth.

Jaxson also buckles himself in when we get in the car and he helps his older sisters when they can't get buckled in because of coats.

In the last couple of weeks he has started learning how to tie his shows :)




My advice to anyone adopting a child with a limb difference is to NOT be a germ freak! Let the child have time to figure out how to do things and don't try to do it for them. Let them use their mouth and feet even if the school doesn't agree with it, fight for what you think the child needs. These children our amazing and it truly is only a special need in the eyes of those that don't see it first hand.