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Friday, October 23, 2015


Mayo and Happy Birthday David!


Dave had his 7th follow up visit this week at Mayo and everything went well. This time he took Olivia and Jeremiah with.  They were excited of course. Wow. Hard to imagine we’ve had 7 follow up trips there since he finished his cancer treatments. We’ve gone there 11 times since this journey began. Wow.

Dave always gets a little nervous before going to Mayo. The long 5 hour drive helps him relax but he has so many bad memories of going there that he always seems to get quiet before he goes. The scope up his nose, camera down his throat, and people pulling on his jaw and tongue and sticking their hands in his mouth, always look so painful and annoying.

Praise God. 

All of the scopes and scans showed no signs of cancer. The doctors are so pleased with how well Dave is doing in his recovery.

The nerves in his neck are still causing him some trouble and he still has problems with his jaw but overall Dave is doing really well. He has reached his weight gain goal so now we need to start the exercise program to work on developing his muscle tone and building his strength up.

Wednesday was his birthday too. 

Happy Birthday David!
What a year it's been.  Add a newborn baby and stage 4 cancer survivor to it too. Marriage takes works.  Good hard work and lots of it. Plain and simply.  You gotta be a good team.   But I can say with humble gratitude to God,  we are both working like crazy to focus on God and Him alone.  Not each other.  Not the kids.  Not the world.  But God alone.  Everyday He is teaching us that He Is Enough.  Nothing more is required or needed. 

(Maybe sleeepppp!)


I am so blessed to be on a  mission with you.  I love to see how God is working in him and moving him. I am thankful for the way  He brought us together and is allowing us to go on this wild adventure with Him.  What an honor and a blessing.

I’m thankful to God for your life and your heart is still the hottest thing about you.  You challenge me and make me laugh so flippin’ hard.  You’ll always be my jam. I love you David.



Monday, October 19, 2015

Concoctions, Mayo and Grandma Mimi

Olivia is constantly concocting things.  Completely creative girl with a wild imagination.

  Dave will be going to Mayo this week for his check up.  Please pray for clear results and safe travels.






Strawberry, Oreo and fruit leather cupcakes oh my!  Everything she uses is from outside.




Grandma Mimi will be here  this week for almost 2 weeks.  We are so excited!  We will be missing in action so there will not be much activity around this blog.  

Keep the prayers going for God to provide the funds for the adoption and for clear scans for Dave!

Thank you for loving us!

Love Wins! 

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Life



Some  home school  days I fight the urge to run the opposite direction of my children. Some days my very own kids  drive me absolutely nuts. Like seriously nuts!  The weak parts of my character (ya know the ones you’d prefer to keep nice and hidden,) will come boldly forward like nobody’s business.





Homeschooling is by turns exhausting, invigorating, exasperating, boring, incredible, and inspiring. There’s no getting around that.



You give up a lot when you home school... free time, worldly benchmarks, and a clean house.


This may be more of a challenge to some than others. I would consider myself a reasonably clean person(don't ask Dave), but this will be a shock to the obsessively clean or slightly OCD housekeepers among you. I'm OCD on some things. There is a certain level of clutter that seems to coincide with homeschooling, simply due to the fact that everyone is home all the time.







Quiet time for this momma.




You also gain a lot when you home school. Refining your character is huge. The dailiness of family life, raising children, and homeschooling have a way of bringing that stuff right up to the surface so you can deal with it. Have fun with that. But it also brings with it the dailiness of asking for more grace, more appreciation, and more patience. Since I have a tendency to forget my blessings on those hard days, I am thankful for this constant reminder that I simply cannot do this on my own. I need God’s help every... single.... day.

Memories and moments you will never forget. Siblings reading together on the couch, whispering and giggling together. Your kids heads peeping out of a new tent, eating lunch together, organizing just because. The day you set aside the books and take a walk, bike ride or just play games the rest of the day because you can. The pillow fights. Baking all day. Sleepy faces after naps and quiet time. Field trips. Laughter. Movie days. Library trips. Reading together.  Just hanging out. You’re building a family history rich with memories.








It is totally worth it!!


Thursday, October 8, 2015

Abraham
PRAISE GOD. The social worker called yesterday to tell us that everything went well at the hearing. We will finalize the adoption in February or March.  Everything went well but we have additional attorney fees above what we expected and still need to pay the final process fees too.  Please keep praying for funds for this adoption and keep spreading the word to your friends and family. 

 gofund.me/rru3xd5






Thank you all for the continued prayers, love and support.  We greatly appreciate it and feel so blessed.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Court
 Hearing is on Wednesday at 8:30.
Praying for God's plan in all of this and 
for him to provide the rest of our adoption funds. 
 Thank you all for praying for us and loving us!

Love Wins

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Comfort Zone
You know how sometimes God asks you to do the very thing that scares you the most?  You know how we sometimes say stuff like, "I want to be let God be in control, really I do. 
 But what if God makes me do this or that?"
Then realizing what we've done, we look up to the sky or wherever it is we think God is listening and we say, " Just kidding, God," because we know the minute we tell God what we don't want to do, it's as if God takes special note of that and somehow works it into our lifetime schedule of events.
We talk about God sized dreams a lot in our family and sometimes I get lost in the dreamy prospects of the thing.  But if I'm honest, I have to tell you that a God sized dream will push you to the very edge of your comfort zone.  And it won't always stop there.  
Here's the thing about the terrifying parts of following Gog and those God sized dreams.  Even though you're so afraid, you think you might pass out or even throw up at the same time, right where you stand, God is good , and God is in control.  
God has a plan, and God invites us to join him on the journey of seeing that plan come to pass.  God wants us to be part of making that happen.  I think, sometimes, it's as if God is jumping on a trampoline.  He's having so much fun, he wants to share the joy, so God reaches out a hand and says, "come join me."
Some of us climb up next to god right away, others calculate the risk and hang back a little.  Then there are some of us who have to be pushed up onto the trampoline from behind-our friends cheering us on as we take unsteady steps across the trampoline's bouncy bed.  No matter how we get there, there comes a point where passing out and throwing up seem to be the only options.  
That's how I felt when we got the call about the baby.  Really?  Us?  This has been something he put on our hearts 6 years ago?  Now?  We have no money and we have a few hours to give you an answer?  
All I can tell you with absolute clarity that God is faithful.  What God begins, God will see through to the end.  God's dreams and invitations are spectacular.  They catapult you beyond your wildest imagination and leave you trying to catch your breath.
You might want to pass out, run, or throw up.  You might find yourself looking for a way out.  But hang in there.  Keep pressing on.  God isn't finished, yet. 

thank you for your continued love and support.

  

Thank you for your continued donations, meals, gifts, diapers formula and prayers.  

Keep spreading the word.


Love Wins
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