Luisa's first "walk" in the snow...

Meet Quincy!

Quincy is our new 8 week old female golden retriever puppy.  We promised the kids that we would get a new dog after Max died, but with the house, move, the holidays and Mexico, we hadn't gotten around to it.  So we decided we had better start getting serious about our quest for a new dog!  This past weekend, we had a snow day Friday and we were all home together so we upped our search efforts and made several phone calls and were able to go pick her up on Saturday! 

We had not settled on a name just yet, I had several picked out, but they didn't like them, so I told the kids that by the time we got back home,{about and hour drive}we all had to agree on a name for her.  So we all rattled off various names that we liked, I was on a website and read off a few names, I mentioned Quincy.  At first the kids said "No!"  But, finally about half way home, everyone had agreed to naming her Quincy!  We used to live on Quincy street, when we lived in Zeeland, but had I not found that name on that website, It may not have crossed my mind.  And that is how Quincy got her name.

We stopped to let her out and go potty, and this is what she did.  Laid down and stayed there!  We ran into a nearby Tractor Supply store and got some food and a collar, then proceeded to drive a bit further.  Soon, she got a tad 'antsy,' so we stopped and let her out.  Thank goodness we did, because that time she did her business, AND PUKED!  When we were bringing Max home he puked all over the car and kids so we were a tad cautious this time! 

Introducing her to her new yard.

look at that face...too cute!

we tuckered her right out!

she'll never lack for love and attention here!

So far she has been doing very well with the whole crate/potty training thing.  You should hear her whine at first when we put her in her crate, it is pretty pathetic.  But, she has been calming down fast and seems quite content in her little space.  I think she will be a blessing....{For the kids for sure, hopefully for me as well, I'm not a huge animal lover, especially not when they are in my house...so we shall see....oh the things I do for my children!}

A few before and after pictures...

Ryan is sick, so instead of him sharing stories tonight,....I thought you may enjoy a few house before and after photos.

Dining room before...

 This is the view when you walk in the front door, you enter into our dining room.  Our bedroom is behind the black door, the red door is just for fun!  To the left is the kitchen, to the right is the living room.

 Dining Room...After

This is looking toward the living and dining room before...

and after...

 This is now the home school area which is to the back side of our living room area. It used to be just one huge room (picture above,) but now it is sectioned off a bit by a wall of bookshelves, which are not quite finished so I don't have a picture of that yet...

left side of the home school area...

and the right side...

Here is my niece and nephew trellis!  {*I am missing pictures of my 2 youngest family members...will fix this soon, sorry Jen!}

 Here is the living room area before...

And after...

the kitchen before...

And after...

 a few fun signs that are hanging in this area of the house

 main floor bathroom before...

And after...

 Kids bath/laundry room (which is upstairs) before...

and after...

 

The rest of the rooms are not quite finished the way I want just yet so you will have to wait to see them.  When we think of how much we still have to do, it helps to look back and see how much we have already done.

yes, we made it back from Mexico...

Safe and sound, and we had a great trip!    We have been trying to catch up on sleep {and laundry} and get over the colds that we all caught.  It was a crazy long ride/drive, {34 hours one way to be exact!} but we survived!  At one point on the way down, I was sleep deprived and I recall telling Ryan that this was his "stupidest. idea. ever!" (to drive straight through.)   I think I only slept about 2 non consecutive hours total on the way down.  The trip back went much better though!  The kids all did amazing.  No one got car sick, we had a few close calls, but between much prayer, sea bands, Dramamine, some oil that you put behind the ears, ginger snaps and peppermints, we were able to avoid the puking!!!!  Such a relief.

Once we got there, Ryan took a group of about 14 people and went to another more remote village 6 hours away to hand out food and blankets to the people for 3 days while the rest of us stayed at the orphanage.  Both groups had an amazing time.  We all got to see God preform miracles!  Not. kidding. so. cool!  I will post a few pictures today and tell a bit about my days in Mexico, then I have asked Ryan to share his stories at some point too.

 Crossing the border went well, our van and trailer got searched, drug dog and all, but of course, we were sent on our way since we had nothing illegal!  It was a welcomed sight to see Lily after all those many hours in the van!  But, the minute I stepped out of the van I began to cry.  It hurt my heart to see how much the kids have grown since the last time I was there, and they were still without a mommy!  I know that they are loved and taken care of, and for that I am thankful, but....It still breaks my heart.

 I don't think I am supposed to post any pictures of the kids, which is a big bummer, they are so cute!

But since these pictures aren't great, and you can't see their faces very good, I thought I could use them!  I just had to share this, as it is one of my favorite times of the day at Lily.  Hug line!! 

 After a day of shopping at the market we went out for lunch.

 Josh {friend from church} loved shopping so much he couldn't even keep his eyes open!

 riding in the back of the van with all of the food and groceries.

 We went to the market and bought food for Lily and then the next day went back and bought food for a church in a very poor neighborhood. We were able to buy all of the staples that were on our list and much more, God just kept the money coming, we could not out spend Him on this trip, it was amazing!   

 We put food bags together to give away that included corn flour, regular flour, salt, sugar, beans, rice, tomato sauce, oil, peanut butter, tuna, potatoes, onions, oranges and bananas!  We made double the bags we had planned on since our money was not running out!  We gave them out at the church to all that were in attendance and still had some left for the pastor to hand out to other members of the community!  We also took a large amount of donated toys, games, and crafts for the kids.  You should have seen the look on their faces.  Priceless.  Some of our teens put on a skit, 2 shared their testimonies, and we sang songs and prayed for each other.  It was a powerful night, after church, they had prepared food and fed us.  We went trying to be a blessing, and came back blessed ourselves!

 Dylan and his friend Sammy {who used to live at Lily prior to being adopted by a family in our church} talking about their experience in the other village in the mountains.  It was such a blessing to do this as a family.  The boys did such a great job loving on the kids, it was fun to watch.

 Here is another picture where no faces are easily recognizable, and I just had to share.  I was attempting to get out a few matchbox cars and tractors for the kids to play with, and instead I was mobbed by the boys all wanting one{I am somewhere in the middle of all those boys!}  Some were very sweet and made sure that the little boys each got one, but pretty persistent in getting one for themselves as well.  Thankfully I had quite a few and most everyone got something out of the bag!

One of the nights I heard 2 of our ladies who were in charge of the finances trying to figure out the money situation.  I heard them say, "well, that just doesn't make sense." "There is no way that adds up right."  "How in the world is that even possible."  Soon one of them comes in my room and says "Stacy, we have added and figured and we can not believe this, but we still have lots of money left over, even after all that we have spent, there is almost the same amount in this envelope than what we started with!"  I rolled over and said, "It's a Lily miracle....now go to sleep!"  It's not that I was not astonished by the miracle, but instead, I have seen first hand and heard many more stories of how God works, and I know this for sure, GOD love orphans, and widows, and the poor.  I LOVE  how he provides for them, I don't like their situations, and don't understand why things have to be the way they are, but I know that when we reach out to help them in the name of Jesus, He will provide abundantly for them! We have seen it time and again, and this trip was no exception!  There are so many more great stories, which I will probably share at some point, and hopefully Ryan can share his soon as well.