On our way...

We got "the call". Daniel and I were at a hearing-aid appointment. When I saw the area code that the call was coming from I knew it had to be our adoption agency...and I about had a heart attack right there in the office.

He was born yesterday. We will take "placement" of him when we get to his hospital in a little while. We don't yet know when he'll be discharged...Sunday? Monday?

Please pray...

His Other Blanket - and Her Message from the Lord?

I showed in this post how Jas and I purchased a blanket for Gabriel...so that he could fit in with our other Blankie-Lovin' kiddos.

But now Gabriel has another new blanket...

...but this one was made by his mama.

I learned how to crochet about 11 or 12 years ago. Jason's Aunt Ginger taught me the basics back when we all lived in Colorado at the same time. And then my co-worker Katrina helped me learn how to decipher patterns, which oftentimes read like a foreign language: "hdc in the 3rd sc. Two dc in each hdc. repeat from * 3 more times."

I used to crochet up a storm - every baby shower gift I gave was sure to be a blanket. But - I think understandably - my crocheting has slowed down in recent years.

I wanted to make a blanket for our precious Gabriel. Elisabeth helped me pick out this pattern. Except...we didn't like the border it originally had, so we picked out a border from another blanket and I put it with this body. That was trickier than I thought it would be! But I'm pleased with how it turned out.

(I was measuring the "body" to see if it was long enough yet, so I could start on the "border". It wasn't.)

Now, my other kiddos want me to crochet them their own blankets. I'm excited that they want me to! It may take a while, though. The plan is for each of them to pick out their own pattern and yarn and everything. I really want to do this...and not let it be another un-finished project in my "pile" of good intentions! Please help keep me accountable!

It could go unsaid at this point...but I pray to be using this blanket to cover up our precious Gabriel...soon! And on that note: Elisabeth told me the other day, as we worked in the kitchen side-by-side that she felt like the Lord told her that Gabriel would come home "soon." "Like maybe February, or...." I jumped in "Or January???" I shouldn't have jumped in and imposed my wishes on her message from the Lord!

BUT...we certainly will see...

In Front of the Tree - 2011

I love taking pictures in the same place year-after-year (as evidenced here and here) - even though it makes it painfully obvious how much (and how fast!) the children are growing up.

Pictures in front of the Christmas tree are one of those traditions for our family.

The same tree.

The same corner of our family room.

Every year.

Every year since Elisabeth first joined our family...way back in 2004:

As I look over the pictures, the children growing...

...the number of children in our family growing...



...what is not seen is how the Lord was working "behind the scenes" - growing us spiritually.



I don't even feel like the same person, or same mama...


...that I was back then. Praise you, LORD, that you are continually working on us...you never leave us or forsake us! And praise Him that He loves us too much to leave us in that same condition - he's always working and refining.

And though I had certainly hoped that our family picture would look different by Christmas time this year..

...this is how it looks in 2011. And I would be blind to miss seeing how absolutely perfect this picture is:

And though I had lost/given up my peace the last few weeks due to the uncertainties of this current adoption...

...I now have my peace back.

I trust the Lord's wisdom. His sovereignty. His timing.

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4: 6-7)

Miscellany Monday: December 12, 2011

Given the changes I've experienced the past few days, I knew it was time to give up one more thing: my idea about this year's Christmas card.

I've had in my mind for months that Gabriel would be in this year's family picture in our Christmas card. I've been holding out...not trying to get a good family pic for the card. Not ordering pictures. Not getting our Christmas cards ready to send out.

Well, I just ordered our family picture.

Our cards will be going out just as soon as I can get them ready now.

And I? Feel peaceful about it.

Thank you for that, Lord.

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***SLACKER CONFESSION***

I have been a slacker...and I will feel liking I'm lying if I don't share this here. I mentioned in this post what we're doing for this advent season. Remember the little brown bags with items in them representing different aspects and stories about Jesus? (You probably don't remember...but just nod and smile.) I mentioned in the post that I wasn't quite done yet, but that I would be shortly....

I lied.

I never finished getting them ready.

We did like, ummm....two bags.

We're done.

And honestly? I'm o.k. with that.

And now? I feel better for having confessed.

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My weight gain (due to the lactation inducing medicine) prompted a much-needed run to TJ Maxx yesterday.

Let me just say that I'm so glad that the "In" thing in sweaters this winter is big and loose and flowing!

Open Hands

I mentioned here that our family (well, mainly me) thought that December 9th would be a good day for Gabriel to join our family.

Well, surprise...he didn't.

This adoption has become very hard for me. It started out very easy. The paperwork was much easier than with our previous adoptions...and I did feel so peaceful. "Did". Past tense.

That flew out the window.

I've made attempts to regain that peace over the past month or so. And it works...for a while.

I'm so ready for all the unknowns to be known. All the uncertainties to now be certain. And - most of all - I'm ready for that precious little brown baby boy who we know is supposed to be in our arms at some point...I'm ready for him to be in our arms now.

So, I "threw out a fleece" for the Lord. I told Him that Dec. 9th would be perfect.

But, obviously, it wasn't a perfect plan. Because that wasn't His plan.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)

And I really do know and believe deep in my heart of hearts that the Lord's plan is perfect and His timing is perfect. I have no question that He is working all this out according to His will.

I just want to know what that perfect will is. When that perfect will will come to pass.

I memorized the above scripture a long time ago...because this wanting/needing to know and be in control of things has been a struggle of mine for a long time. I still haven't learned, obviously.

But I want to. Oh, how I want to. And I know that the Lord is working on this in me during this adoption process too. **He** is the ultimate multi-tasker - working on the sanctification process in me (and the other members of my family, too) WHILE he is working out every detail of bringing Gabriel into our family.

What the children are learning personally - and what they're learning by watching us - as we travel this adoption road again...it is invaluable.


I have lots of questions. From big, theoretical questions....to practical details questions. Concerns, worries, frettings. But I need to remember (for good) that He has everything - down to the last little detail - under control. He won't work everything out...but, (oh no!) forget one little thing over there...

He's got it. Really and truly got it.

As I had a good, tear-filled heart-to-heart with the Lord on Friday (during the children's rest time) at one point I physically just held my hands out, empty palms up, to the Lord.

I give Him all of it. The plans. The details. The control.

Truth is, it never was mine anyway.




We sang this in church this morning...I love it:



In this adoption - in every area of my life - I need to open my hands to the Lord.

Getting Ready: Gabriel's Accessories

Just in case anyone is still concerned that we're not really ready for Gabriel's arrival after reading about his room...I thought I'd better do a post about the rest of his "stuff"!

I asked here for input on what we would "need" for our little guy...and you helped me with your sage advice - which I greatly appreciated!

And I could not be happier - or more blessed - to see how the Lord Himself has provided those items that went on our List of Things that Make Life With a Newborn Easier/Better.

First up, there is the bassinet that our beloved Dr. Kathy bought for Gabriel:

Next, our dear friends, the S Family, are letting us use their high chair. I do not have a picture of it here because they are also kind enough to store it for us at their house until such time as we actually need it! Love you, Melissa!

And this little playmat I actually just got from Kami at church last night. It's a 3-in-1 deal: Gabriel can play on his back with the hangie-down thingies, have tummy time, AND it converts into a tunnel he can crawl through when that time comes.

I did not take a picture of it as a tunnel because you have to be very smart and very talented to convert it...and that ruled me out today.

Jas and I picked this little baby up months ago:

Yes, a video monitor. Posh, I know. We never had one with our other children...but we couldn't pass this up when it was the Amazon deal-of-the-day and was a great price!

And not wanting to ignore Gabriel's little bum...I received this from my dear friend Kathy when we visited Colorado back in May:

Don't know what it is? It's a Wipes Warmer! We can't have that baby's bottom getting touched by anything too cold!

And the final two "new-to-us" accessories come from my dear friend, Shanna. Shanna had her third precious child 7 months ago now, and has just passed some of Natalie's things on to us, like this swing...




...and this bouncy seat:

Yes. Yes, it is pink.

I just smile and try not to laugh every time I look at this bouncy seat. Shanna originally mentioned it in passing by saying, "...and we also have a bouncy seat but I don't think you'd want it because it is pink..." But I stopped her right there. If this was my first child I might feel differently...but this is not our first child. And pink is just fine. Besides, he'll only use it for a few months.

**I** think it is fine, anyway. But I don't think Jas has even seen it yet...he might feel differently...

Getting Ready: Gabriel's Room

I do believe that Mr. Gabriel's room is ready for him.

Want a tour?

Just smile and nod "yes" and indulge me.

We added a master suite 6 1/2 years ago during Noah's adoption process, so our home currently has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. This room that will be Gabriel's has been our nursery for each of our new children as they've come home - with the exception of Lily Kay, who went straight into sharing a room with Elisabeth (they share the original master bedroom that has its own bathroom in it).

Gabriel's future room was a nursery for the 9-month old that lived in the house when we purchased the house 8.5 years ago. It was already painted a pale yellow, and while we repainted it before Elisabeth came home, I loved the color so we repainted it a very similar color.

First the room looked like this as we waited for Miss Elisabeth:

Red and white...and ladybugs everywhere.

And when we adopted again, Noah snuck up on us...and I had to change out the room in pretty short order:

The red and white gingham check was replaced by blue and white gingham check. And the ladybugs flew away to be replaced by a sports theme.

But then the room stayed very similar for Mr. Daniel:

And when we were just about to bring Lily Kay home, and we knew that the girls were going to be sharing a room, the boys thought that sounded like fun and decided they also wanted to share a room. So we've had an empty bedroom for 2 years now...

And that bedroom became very empty after we had a garage sale and sold ALL of our baby stuff because we knew we'd never need it again. Sold: crib, glider rocker, changing table/dresser.

And then...the Lord led us to adopt again. An infant. ("We make plans...God laughs!")

Back to the room...

This is the smallest bedroom in the house, so it's pretty tight quarters in there right now! Yes, that empty nursery is full again...mostly due to precious family and friends. For instance, that beautiful crib and bedding? On loan from our dear friends, the S family.

But let me back up...

When you first enter the bedroom door and start looking on your immediate left, you have the closet...
...which is a nice size and has a great organizational system in it (the former owners installed these in all three of the original bedroom closets - I love them!).


Yes, Mr. Gabriel is already set for clothes (thanks to Laoli and Leah).

And over his crib is the art project I did (with some expert input from my dear friends Vicki and Amy).


These are each a combination of a plain art canvas, scrapbooking paper, and mod podge - so easy!



And then next to the crib is this beautiful and oh-so-comfy glider rocker from my brother Jeff and sis-in-law Mandi.


And on the wall above the glider rocker are these two little shelves. We've had them for years and when I mentioned to Vicki that I would repaint them white or red or blue, she said "Every room needs a splash of black." So, that advice - combined with the fact that I'm always in favor of the easiest option (not repainting!) - they're still black!

On the shelves are some books and toys we've had for years. But then there is a picture that Elisabeth drew of her and Gabriel, and then some cute little shoes that Noah insisted we buy for Gabriel when he found them at a consignment shop months ago.

Then looking further around the room, you see this view:

I'll start with the curtains. Laoli and I sewed them in anticipation of E's arrival over 7 years ago. It's the only thing I've ever sewed and we had so much fun making these! I knew exactly what I wanted and couldn't find it...AND I didn't have 4 children then so I could take time to do projects like that!


Under the window is this "picket fence" bookcase made before Elisabeth came home.

I had a vision and Jas made it come true. I've always loved this bookcase!

We purchased this changing table at a local consignment shop....although it looked very different then. It was missing the bottom shelf, and was - therefore - a very good price. But when I saw it I thought, "Jas can easily fix that." And when Jas stopped by the store to check it out, he called me and said, "I can fix that real easy!" So he bought it, fixed it, and I repainted it.

(You can see the moby wrap and My Brest Frend peeking out from the bottom shelf.)

Above the changing table is this art project I did over 7 years ago:
Mr. Gabriel won't be from China like his siblings, but we weren't about to paint over this scripture on his wall!

And that, my friends, brings us back to the door that we used to walk into Gabriel's room!

We are ready for Gabriel.

Oh. so. ready.

But, to be honest, this all feels so surreal at this point. Like, "well, it has been fun getting everything ready...but it's not really ever going to happen." I can't really believe a precious baby boy is ever really going to sleep in that crib. Am I ever really going to change a new little treasure on that changing table?

I've gone through this "surreal-feeling" stage every time we've adopted.

But...in previous adoptions I've always had a photograph to look at and pine over. And to help me remember that it is real. It is really going to happen.

What I have this time? The Lord.

I'm learning to rely on Him - trust Him - in a different way than I ever have before. He led Jas and I to this - each separately. This is where He wants us. And He will bring Gabriel to us, in His perfect timing.

Getting Ready: Filling Up the Freezer

Being the organized and prepared (read: control-freak) gal that I am...I've started trying to fill our freezer with some extra meals, in anticipation of little Mr. Gabriel's arrival.

Have I mentioned lately how hard this "aiming at an unknown target" thing is for me? But I digress....

So I'm filling the freezer.

I got busy on this project over the past week. So easy! Just make supper like normal every night...only make more than normal.

First, one night I made a double batch of Lentil Stew...and froze an extra meal.

One day I used my big crockpot to make a double batch of some Crockpot Lasagna...and froze two extra meals.

One night we tried this new recipe that I'd been wanting to try. It was yummy! I doubled it and we now have an extra meal of it in the freezer also!

Italian Pasta Bake

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion or 3 Tablespoons dry minced onion
4 cups tomato sauce (I doubled this recipe. I used one 29-oz can tomato sauce, and one quart of tomatoes that Kris and I had canned)
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons basil
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder or one clove fresh garlic
Sea salt to taste
10 ounces whole wheat pasta, any shape (I used bow-tie)
2 cups shredded cheese

Brown meat and onion together. Meanwhile, bring tomato sauce, water and herbs and spices to a boil. Stir in pasta and boil until tender. Do not drain. The pasta should have absorbed the liquid! Mix in cooked meat. Salt as desired. Spread mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350° for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through and through.

And then, I made a big 'ol batch of Kris' Italian Stew...and put away THREE extra meals in the freezer!

Now I've always known this as "Kris' Italian Stew"...but I honestly don't know if it is just an Italian Stew recipe that Kris passed on to me, or if it is a recipe that she invented. But looking at it - and the directions - I really believe it is a recipe that she invented. (She was a whiz in the kitchen!)

Kris' Italian Stew

3 lbs. ground beef (I used ground venison)

1 large onion

Garlic powder or pressed fresh garlic (I used fresh - so good for us!)

8 cups beef stock (I use "Better than Bouillon" because it doesn't have MSG...I get it at Wally World)

2 qts. tomatoes

Palm-full of basil

Little bit less than a palm-full of Italian seasoning

Salt

Pepper

Box of rotini (I usually follow directions and use rotini, but this time I got a wild hair and used medium shells instead. I'm wild and crazy that way...)

Brown the ground beef and onion. Add garlic, tomatoes, and beef stock and seasoning and bring to a boil. Add pasta and boil until pasta is cooked...then lower temperature. Enjoy!

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In our utility room we have an extra fridge (the couple we bought this house from unexpectedly left their fridge behind - score!) and a chest-style freezer (I was young and naive when we purchased it like 12 years ago...I would so buy a stand-up if I could do that over!).

This means lots of room for me to make and freeze more meals, right???

No, unfortunately.

Even though we have more freezer space than most people - with our monthly co-op buys, plus the 98 pounds of venison we recently had processed...I actually don't have any more room to keep on freezing extra meals like this!

Filling Up The Freezer: Check

Ramblings about Gabriel

In some domestic adoptions you get chosen by a birthmom in her 7th or 8th month of pregnancy and you know a couple months ahead of time when your child's due date is. But in talking with our contact at our adoption agency, we know that the norm for our program is that they will allow the 10-day window that the birthmom has to rescind her decision to pass before they call us.

What this means? We will wake up one morning, everything normal, Jas will head off to work...and by that evening we will have a precious newborn living in our house. Just. like. that.

And for this planner/organizer/scheduler? That is - in a word: hard.

I've heard multiple stories of parents heading to pick up their new treasure - while their friends head to Wally World to pick up much-needed supplies. I SO do not want to have to do that. I don't want chaos and craziness. I've had multiple friends volunteer to make that Wally World trip for us...but let me say it again: I SO do not want to have to do that.

I want to be ready. Calm. And ready.

I've been trying to get us ready along and along.

I bought diapers a couple weeks ago.

And I bought some formula too. (Yes, I intend to give breast-feeding everything I've got...but I now know it will take 3 days for my milk to come in.)

And wipes.

And I've started to put some supplies in our diaper bag.

And I got all the Newborn size clothes out and ready.

And I'm seriously contemplating having Jas go ahead and put Gabriel's carseat in the van...because I do NOT want us wrestling with a carseat while we're supposed to be on the road to go pick him up!

Remember all my oh-so-eloquent professions of how peaceful I have been about being patient in waiting for Gabriel? (Like here.)

Well, disregard that...it's all flown out the window now.

I'm anxious and on-edge when I think about it. I get butterflies in my stomach. My dear friend Amy says that is the Lord giving me discernment and getting me ready. Oh how I pray you're right, Amy!

All I know is: The Lord certainly knew what He was doing when He had us go through an adoption process like this for our 5th adoption...instead of our first or second. I just really don't think I could have handled this earlier, if this is the way I feel and it's our fifth!

I mentioned in this post that I've felt for months now that he would be coming home in November or December. (In family discussions about it, we've all decided that December 9th would be perfect - thankyouverymuch) I struggled with whether to even say all this out loud or on the blog at all. What if it turns out not to be true? What if it takes much longer? But, ultimately (obviously) I felt that I should tell it. Ultimately, I do absolutely totally and completely trust the Lord's timing in bringing Gabriel into our family.

But I'm anxious now...and not handling as well as I'd like. Just being honest.

We covet your prayers for our Gabriel and the Lord's perfect timing in bringing him into our family.

The Tax Refund Debacle of 2011: Almost Over?

We submitted our tax return in February.

And we're still waiting for our refund check, as I've whined about...

here...

and here...

and here...

and finally here.

Over the last 9 months the IRS has gone from wanting more evidence (yes, receipts dating back to 2004, which we have!), to saying that we owe them over $6,000...to saying that they do owe us, but saying they owe us $6,000 less than we say they owe us.

The Tax Payer's Advocate office didn't get back to us quick enough, so we had to prepare this response to the IRS on our own again. We pointed out to the IRS that while they were correct in the amounts they claimed we received against the Adoption Tax Credit the past few years, they were incorrect in thinking those should be counted against Noah's adoption (in 2005)...they were all going against Elisabeth's adoption (2004). Jas included a very nice little spreadsheet to show them all four of our children, the corresponding tax credits/refunds (because it is different every year), and how we had had to roll Elisabeth's credit forward the fully allowed time (we just don't owe enough taxes in a year to use it up quicker). All that to say: they really do owe us ALL the money we say they owe us.

And after we faxed and mailed our response on Wednesday...the Tax Payer's Advocate office finally called us.

While they were too late to help us in responding to the IRS, we were encouraged by them telling us that we have a very solid and well-documented case. And - this is very good - they should be able to help us now by prompting the IRS to get our refund to us before the 8 weeks that the IRS says it will take. The Tax Payer's Advocate office says we should have an answer from the IRS by December 9th...and should have our refund at least by the end of December, but probably sooner.

The Lord is bringing this one down to the wire. If we don't have that tax refund in hand by the time we have Gabriel in hand, we're going to have to do some fancy footwork. But the Lord has us covered. It will work out fine...I just can't wait to see how He works the timing out on all this!

Miscellany Monday: November 7, 2011

Here is all the miscellaneous stuff that is going on in our lives right now. Stuff that might not necessarily deserve it's own post...but all combined, it's stuff that keeps us hopping around here:

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This snippet - because of the hugeness of how it hit me - does deserve it's own blog post, but I don't want to give it that much power...

We went to a fall festival at our friends' church on Saturday night (we missed our own church's fall festival because it was held on Noah's Day)...and a very pleasant-looking woman came over to welcome us and tell us she was so glad we'd come and to come back to their church anytime.

I was in the middle of thinking to myself how very nice and welcoming she was...

...and then she asked me if these were my GRANDCHILDREN???!?!?!? (**BAM!** did you hear that? that would be my self-esteem slamming into the floor!)

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This snippet also actually deserves it's own post. But if I write a whole post about the IRS and our continued problems with them I will probably start banging my head against the wall and screaming...

They are still jerking us around.

Jas called them 4 weeks ago. They said - looking at the date our reply was received - that our return would be looked at the following week, and then we should call them back the week after that.

So Jas called when he was supposed to. The very nice man told us it appeared they had never received our reply. Yes, that one. The one that we faxed (and rec'd confirmation) and snail-mailed. He also suggested that we call the Tax Payer's Advocate number.

We tried calling the Tax Payer's Advocate several months ago (at the suggestion of multiple adoption friends) and at that time they couldn't help us (because we were responding to the IRS at that point). But now they can assist us.

As soon as they assign someone to our case.

That was almost a week ago, and we haven't heard anything back from them yet.

AND, on Friday we received another love note from the IRS. Apparently they did receive our bundle-o-papers. But they disagree with our calculations. While they no longer claim that we owe THEM over $6,000...they say they owe us about $6,000 less than we say they owe us.

They gave us a deadline to get back to them - 12 days. Oh, but it took several days for the letter to get to us by snail-mail, so we really only have like 4 days to get back to them.

I may be being paranoid and a skeptic...but I totally think they are just jerking us around because of the amount of money they owe us. Just trying to see if they aggravate us and string us along long enough, can they get out of paying it...or out of paying some of it, at least.

Jas says, "They've bumped their heads if they think we're giving up!"

Amen.

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Now, on to more pleasant topics...

I mentioned here that my dad killed an 8-point buck a couple weeks ago when my brother Jeff was here visiting. And he gave us the deer so we could get the meat processed and keep it. Well, a couple days later Jeff killed a 9-point buck, and he gave us his deer also.

So we are now the proud owners of 54 pounds of smoked venison sausage....

...and 44 pounds of ground venison. WOOHOO! I've never been so glad for our freezer to be busting at the seams!

Jas would like to get one more deer himself...and then we should be set until next year.

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(sigh) We have totally given into peer-pressure...

My friends Amy and Sabrina have told me recently how their families have been watching the Andy Griffith show on netflix, and how much they've been enjoying it.

Well, we broke down and tried it with our kids.

They are. loving. it! And so are their parents, for that matter.

They think Opie is funny...and Barney is hilarious...and Andy is so cheesy, but in a wonderful and usually lesson-filled way.

Wow, I wish TV shows were still this sweet and clean...we might still have cable...

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Our pediatrician's office closed, so I've been on the hunt and praying about a new one. There is really only one in town here (and actually, she's in the town next to us), but she's so busy you apparently always have to wait forever.

So we expanded our search area. Several of our good friends take their children to this young, black man about 45 minutes away. Now remember, I'm 38 (and grandmother material, apparently) so "young" could still mean 35 years old.

I would love to not have to drive that far, but this situation appealed to me for many reasons. So we went and had a first appointment with him a few days ago. I scheduled a well-child for Elisabeth - because she's the only one who hasn't seen a doctor this year - but all 5 of us went.

Being truthful, I was completely nervous. I so wanted to find a good pediatrician that we clicked with, that we love and that loves us. We really haven't been going to the pediatrician much the past few years (LK has never had an appt with a regular pediatrician!) because we usually just see specialists. BUT, with Mr. Gabriel coming home, I knew we needed to have someone in place. And soon. And prayerfully, someone we loved and who loved us!

I'm happy to report that things went fine with Dr. J. More than fine, actually. He has a very dry sense of humor. But once I figured out how to take him, I really liked him.

He knows we have another child coming home anytime now. I felt him out about the possibility that we might not want to vaccinate. He was fine - he'd just have us sign a waiver stating that we understood what we were doing. (YAY) He apparently has worked with moms who've induced lactation before. (YAY) He acted not in a hurry at all, so I gave him the low-down on each of my children quickly: Noah (2 open-heart surgeries, pacemaker), Daniel (PDA, hypospadias), Lily Kay (adrenal issue). He asked questions back that were specific enough that I knew that he knew what was what with each of their special needs. (YAY, YAY!)

Thank you Kami, Sabrina and Leah for sharing Dr. J with us!

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On Saturday, the 6 of us went and met with the rest of our community group from church. It was the first meeting of the monthly Bible Club that we're starting in a neighborhood across town. Eleven children (ages 4-11?) came to this first meeting - praise you, Lord!

We played kickball, colored and did crafts with them, did a bible lesson, and gave them a snack. We were there for about 2 hours...and it. went. great! This is a rough neighborhood and these children live in situations vastly different from our own - situations I couldn't begin to imagine....and we all couldn't be more excited to love on these children and share the gospel with them!

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Our "Love The Least" ministry team had the chance to share our message at our church yesterday.

It was powerful. People were impacted. I got choked up up there, after looking out at so many faces in the congregation who were also getting choked up...

And - praise you, Lord...

...we get to do it again at another church next Sunday!

What ELSE I bought...

In this post I mentioned some books that I recently ordered (which I have received and am currently devouring), but I also added something else to that amazon order (gotta love that free shipping!).

Something I've had my eye on for months:

A Moby Wrap! And, yes, I ordered it in this beautiful blue color.

OH, I've been coveting these Moby wraps for a while now! I think I've become a Baby-wearing addict...and Gabriel is not even here yet!

Jas and I saw a woman put on a Moby wrap in person several months ago (in the airport on our Colorado trip, to be exact)...and we were both amazed. We both watched - while trying to pretend we were not watching - as she wrapped that thang all around her and VOILA, created the perfect nest to put her little babe in. We looked at each other with wide eyes - "THAT was so cool!"

And then a favorite blogger posted this. And my friend Kristin sent me home from North Carolina with her copy of The Baby Book (by Dr. William Sears) - and this father of 8 is a HUGE baby-wearing proponent. And then another favorite blogger posted this.

And I was sold.

When my Moby wrap showed up, I don't know who was more excited - the children or me!

They wanted me to try it on immediately (they didn't have to twist my arm), and Noah wanted to take my picture so bad he could hardly stand it. "Show me how to do it...I can do it!"

SO, introducing my new Moby wrap, from the height and perspective of my 7-year old.

Two things I learned from this:

I need to pull my Moby wrap tighter when I put it on...

...and if your 7-year old is going to take your pictures, it's best for him to just go ahead and cut off your whole head, so he doesn't capture a picture of the boogers in your nose.

Moby Wrap to carry my precious Gabriel around in? CHECK