The gloomy wet weather this week has been very similar to the mood here in our community.  We lost a great guy early Monday morning when Ryan Prudhomme died and it has literally been raining and dreary ever since.

 I will never forget the first time I met Ryan, we had just moved up here, and it was the middle of winter.  My parents were up so we took a drive to see the area. We found the one restaurant that stays open year round in a neighboring town, and went in.  It's a very small bar/restaurant and when we walked in we saw 2 cowboys sitting at a table and I remember thinking..."where do I live?"  It seemed like a picture from out west!  Well, my dad, who never knew a stranger, decided to talk to these guys.  He goes on to tell them who we are and that we had just moved to the area.  They were both very kind and said they worked at the Ranch at Grace Adventures.  So I wondered if they were just dressed that way because of the ranch or what, I mean they were in full get up, hat, bandanna around the neck, big belt buckles, vests, leather slicker coats, the real deal!  I had seen several cowboys out west, and even knew one, but most people in Michigan, just wear the boots or hat or whatever not the whole shebang!  After living here a while I came to realize that indeed they were true cowboys. And not only that, they had a passion for the Lord and used their love of all things cowboy at the camp to help others grow in their faith and knowledge of the Lord.  It was a blessing to get to know Ryan, yes he was a great man of God, he was also a lot of fun and quite mischievous, he shared some great stories around campfires about his growing up years. He will definitely be missed!

 Today we went to the visitation and were once again reminded that we have a living God who cares for us and gives us the grace we need to deal with the difficulties of this life.  His wife, parents and brothers were all a picture of this kind of amazing grace.  While we are all so very sad that he is no longer with us, we are not like those without hope.  I cannot imagine going through life without the hope that is found in the Lord. 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

There may be some who read this and think this is 'hogwash' so to speak, but I urge anyone who thinks that way to think about something: What if you are wrong?  I mean, if what I believe is wrong, and when we die, we die and that's that, then at least I had hope{don't worry, I'm not changing my mind on this} But, what if what you believe is wrong, and what I believe is right?  Then what?  Just something to think about.  Ryan left a legacy of faith and trust in God, and I can't help but share that with you.  If you've never read Ryan and Kendra's blog, please check it out.  It will be sure to bless you, stretch you and make you think.

Please keep Kendra, Colton and their families in your prayers.

Jehovah Jireh....

A couple of months ago, we had a little budget crisis of our own.

  So, we sat down and hashed out a very tight budget in order to pay off some debt.  We read some Dave Ramsey stuff and we were both excited at the possibility of paying off this debt, we were on the same page, committed, ready to do what it takes to be good stewards of what God has given us.  Well, October came and we tracked all of our spending, trying to stay under budget or at least not go over, and well, we did very well in some areas, but very bad in others.  It was only month one and I was starting to get discouraged.  We had that flat tire I told you about and all of Dylan's extra soccer games that were hours away made us go way over on gas and 'entertainment.'  {Grrr...what were we supposed to do, not go to his games?  Umm, no, we decided that 20 years from now it will not be important to him that we stayed home and saved $200, but he will remember that we were there for him and celebrating in his excitement.} But anyhow, I digress...

We had the flat tire, and we were in desperate need of 4 new tires, the flat sped up that process.  We were hoping to wait a couple months until we had our emergency fund built up...but no.  So, I started out this month thinking we were going to be in the hole already, but I decided to pray that God would somehow provide for the tires. We picked up our vehicle from the shop after they had closed on Thursday, I had no idea how we were going to pay for it, but kept telling the Lord about it.  Today, Ryan and I walked out to the mail box.  He started going through the mail and said "Lutheran Social Services?  Looks like a check."  I said, "It's probably a bill."  mind you, we've never worked with LSS.
{they are an adoption agency}  Then I thought "maybe it's one of those things like, if you adopt through them they will pay your registration fee or something like that..."  I was about to tell him to rip it up, no need for more adopting just yet... lol!  But then he said it was a $1,000.00 check written out to us and it dawned on me, our agency had just merged with them and this was the refund for completing all of our post placement reports!!!!

"TIRE MONEY!!"  I said!  I told Ryan that I had been praying for money to cover the tires and here it is!!!  So excited to see God provide.  Later we went to church for a prayer service and Ryan happened to talk to the guy from the shop and asked him if he had our bill ready...to which he replied, "what bill?  It's been covered, so don't worry about it."...OH. MY. WORD.  I  was seriously jumping up and down, it was so exciting to share this with the kids, I love when they get to see how amazing our God is.  Jehovah Jireh!!  The Lord will provide. We are studying about Abraham and his descendants right now in school and tonight we sang "Give us Clean Hands" I got the goosebumps and all choked up when I thought about the fact that my God is the same God of Jacob and Isaac and Abraham and how he provided for them way back when and he is still in the business of providing for us today!  Amazing.

Here are some of the lyrics of that song, it is a good reminder to seek HIM as we head into election day....
"Give us Clean Hands"
We bow our hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes
From evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh God let this be
a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be
a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, Oh God of Jacob

landscape before during and after....

 Before...

 during...

 this area proved to be the most challenging, there was a lot of cement that needed to be removed before we could plant anything.

 my cute little helpers early this spring when we started this project...

getting bark, and my dutch man scooping up the bark that the loader dropped!

 all of my hostas came from my sister Jen!  They were getting rid of them and gave them to us!  What a huge blessing!  I am still looking for the right bush or something to hide this big monstrosity! 

 we finally got to the bottom of the cement and found this big chunk with metal which Ryan had to cut out!

After...

I was content with my bushes, and a few flowers on the deck, but a friend offered me her flowers for the rest of the summer as she was leaving for a big vacation.  I had no idea what she had, but said "sure!"  She came and brought me all of these hanging baskets and deck boxes!!  I couldn't believe it!  I have never had a green thumb, ever.  But I am super motivated to keep these babies alive!  Now that it looks so amazing, I am spoiled and am pretty sure I'd like to have at least some of these deck planters again next year!

I have a great little perennial garden thanks to another friend who was downsizing her garden, and yet another friend who gave me some of her split plants!  So thankful for amazing friends and their generosity!

one more before and after shot

It was very difficult for us to sell our property back home, let go of our dream house we were going to build and move up here.  But God has given us this place and we are feeling so incredibly blessed and thankful.  We know we need to hold this place with a open hand and not hold on to the "things" of this world too tightly, it is one of the lessons we have learned.  But, we have also learned that when we are obedient to Him and put His plan above our own, we have had contentment and blessings untold!

Psalm 37:3-4

New International Version (NIV)

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

adoption tax credit review...

"Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you experience various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

James 1:2-3

A few weeks ago I got a letter in the mail from the IRS stating that our adoption tax credit part of our income tax return was being held until they had reviewed our file.  Great. Later came a letter that stated we needed to send in all of our supporting receipts and documents with written descriptions within 30 days.  Gulp.  Um...I had them, but...Believe it or not, I am not the most organized person, in fact, I am a terrible organizer.  It's not that I hate organization, I'm just not good at it.  I love having everything organized, and if there is a spot for things to go, I put them there, but...hand me a pile of stuff that has no defined spot in my home and look out.  I tend to glaze over and put it aside, later I will relocate it to another equally inefficient spot, until one day I will finally figure out a plan and take care of it.  Well, while we were in Colombia I stuffed all receipts in my computer bag.  When I got home I stuffed them in an envelope with the other adoption paper work, I stuffed all of that paperwork in a box and forgot about it.  Since then we moved and thankfully I found the box sitting in the basement in the pile of "my junk that needs to be organized."

So, I hauled it all out and began sorting...that was a little fun, kinda like a walk down memory lane.  Then I began adding it all up...it was then that I realized how many of the receipts we had were just invoices, but not receipts marked PAID.  So began my quest for every last receipt, bank and credit card statement to prove our claim.  I had to track down several of them from various places, but I did it.  Most of my receipts were in Spanish and Colombian Pesos, so I spent a great deal of time figuring out the conversion rate and what each receipt was for.  Then came the issue of how to organize it all.  My sister in law Sarah suggested using Excel, she gave me some instruction and ideas, but...I have never used Excel or made a spread sheet in my life!  With a little help, somehow I managed to figured it out.  Finally, I had to make copies of every receipt to send them.  Being that I was gone for 5 weeks, I had accumulated quite a stack!

Did I consider it pure joy?  Um, no.  The entire time I worked on this thing I felt like it was constantly hanging over my head, I just wanted it out of my hands. But when I opened up my Bible study for Tuesday,  James 1:2-3 was written at the top of the page!  Oops.  I was so annoyed by the whole thing and really, it is a huge blessing to be getting a refund.  I know most people who claim the adoption tax credit get red flagged and have to send in documentation for this, but for whatever reason{probably my organization issue} it got me all in a tizzy!   Finally on Tuesday, I was able to mail it out, what a relief!  Now I pray that's enough, and they send us our check with out any further ado...We shall see...but I hope I will be able to choose joy even if they 'bug' me again!

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.

this old house...

Is our new our home!!! 

It seems as though this has been a long time in coming, but, we finally have a HOME!!!

We had been searching for a home and seeking Gods leading for quite a while, and as we thought about all of the possibilities for our future, a conversation I had with a friend a few months prior to going to Colombia stuck in my head.  She adopted a special needs child and made a comment something to the effect of: following God and doing that adoption was such an incredible, exhilarating, and wild ride that when it was all done, it was like...now what?  A few years later, they started to take steps to do a second adoption, but soon felt that God did not want them to proceed.  They realized that for now, doing the seemingly "mundane", caring for their family, and ministering to others in their community is what they were supposed to do.

Doing what is in front of you, being diligent and obedient in the here and now, is just as important, although it may be much less exhilarating or glamorous at times.  It's all about God, and what He wants to do in and through you, and sometimes that may look like selling everything, and moving to a foreign country or, it may 'look' very normal and boring, but I assure you, if you are seeking opportunities to serve Him, He WILL give them to you, and your life WILL NOT be anything BUT normal and boring!

I get that!  We were sorta at that place, where, the adoption was done, we knew we had to move from our current house, and we wondered if God was going to use that, to send us elsewhere, especially when so many houses just didn't 'work out.'  But, we prayed that God would let us know what HE wanted for us, not what we wanted, {although to be honest, staying was my first choice, I find that alone unbelievable, as most of you know I came here kicking and screaming, so to speak.}

We are excited and once again humbled by the outpouring of love from our wonderful church family.  We are biting off a bit okay, way more than we can chew with this "fixer-upper" and once again our faithful friends are coming along side us and helping us out.  We really look forward to the day that we are NOT the recipients of the blessing, but the givers!!! 

Stay tuned, I will certainly be blogging about the before, during and after of our renovation {in reality, this old house could be a forever project, we are just hoping to get some of it done before the snow flies as we have to move in by then!}

We are really excited for it to be done....is that a bad thing?

Keeping my eyes on Jesus...

Okay, so here is the back story on the last post.

First off, the IRS.  Funny how they demand your money from you at a certain time or else there is a big penalty, but when they owe you money, they can simply say..."We think there was a miscalculation, here is $5,000. less than what you were supposed to get, have a nice day!"  Um, no, you still owe us $5,000. and so, we are fighting with the IRS.  Our tax guy assures us we will get it, we just need to bug them for it!  Okay tax guy, have at it, and I am so thankful that that is what he is doing!

I was hoping to post this exciting post about our 'new home,' but, we are having some major issues with our FHA, 203k "Specialist"   Ha!  That is a huge joke.  This person is completely inept, you can read about what they are supposed to do here but, unfortunately our experience,  has been one of delays, in fact, we were supposed to close on this house on June 29 and this is the 3rd extension we have had to file since our 'specialist' keeps asking for more information and more inspections usually a day before we are supposed to sign on the house!  Now, I don't have a problem giving them the info and doing the inspections etc...because we don't have the $$ and we need it from them, but for heavens sake, make a list, check it twice, if certain things need to be done, tell us up front, don't wait till the last possible second!!!  So, yes, we are hoping we will have a house soon, but I'm not gonna tell ya all about our new place until it is signed for!  Hopefully with in the next 2 weeks...we shall see.

What does all this have to do with keeping my eyes on Jesus?  Well, sometimes, especially in situations like this, I take my gaze off of Jesus and fix my eyes on something else.  In this case, money or a house.  All of a sudden that 'thing' becomes the most important 'thing' and well, that's just not right.  I did that with Anaya, when things started going awry with her adoption, I stopped focusing on Jesus and the things God wanted me to do, learn, and cling to at that time, and I became fixated on her, and the things that were going wrong.  And that, my friends, is a miserable existence.  Easy to do though, isn't it?  I don't know about you, but when things go wrong, I get all aflutter and start questioning, "Now, where is God in all of this, what in the world is He doing?"  And while I might ask myself that, the answer I am coming up with {this time} is that God has a plan, HE knows, HE cares, and I better believe that this is for my good, and trust HIM.  And so, as we wait, we are fixing our eyes on Jesus and trying to live by HIS example, waiting patiently for God to reveal HIS plan and continuing to trust HIM!    

Hebrews 12

                                                                             ( The Message)
 ^1-3Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Sanctity of Life...

Sunday was Sanctity of Life Sunday.  We were blessed with the opportunity to share Luisa's story with our church family.  Ryan spoke on the value of life, especially one little life that has changed our whole world.
He used the story of lepers in Jesus day, and how Jesus responded to them. (Luke 5:12-13)  He had compassion on them, he touched them, and he healed them.  The same actions are required of us today, we are to have compassion on people that society casts off, we are to reach out to them and touch them, and we are to heal them, or pray that God would heal them or offer them the life saving medications that they so desperately need.  We are not to be like the shepherds God talked about in Ezekiel 34. 

...‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? ³ You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. ⁴ You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured....

He talked about the faith steps we took as we set off to do what we felt God was calling us to, even when it did not make sense to do it.  About how we are to say "YES LORD" even though we have no idea how things will turn out.  Too many times Christians take 'safe steps' rather than 'faith steps.'  If everything we do can be accounted for from a human perspective then what difference is there between us and the rest of the world?  He also shared Psalm 40:1-5

 ³ He has given me a new song to sing,
      a hymn of praise to our God.
   Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
      They will put their trust in the Lord.

 ⁴ Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord,
      who have no confidence in the proud
      or in those who worship idols.
 ⁵ O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
      Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
      You have no equal.
   If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
      I would never come to the end of them.

Then it was my turn to share a bit of Luisa's story (I condensed the story I have posted on the blog under the header if you have not read it before and are interested.) Then we shared the vehicle story and how God has been funding this adoption.
We also shared the Truth Pandemic video with the congregation and God blessed us with an amazing doctor from Grand Rapids, (who is a friend of a friend) that came up to share as well.  He did an incredible job explaining HIV/AIDS and how it is, but more importantly how it is NOT transmitted.  The reason we say it was such a God thing is that, we had asked our dear friend who is a nurse, to share the medical side of HIV, as we felt people would be more inclined to believe a 'professional' than what we, the adoptive parents would say.  She said she would be willing to share...BUT GOD...laid it on her heart to have her dear friend the doctor share, and (at the last minute I might add) he was not only willing, but also able to come up and share. And what a complete blessing he was.  Only God could have orchestrated that the way he did! 
We are so thankful for our church family, their love and support has been amazing!
*And no, we still have not heard anything from our agency...so we still have not booked our flights!  But, I checked today and Spirit Air has a sale going on the flight we will probably take so this delay could be a good thing?(IF we hear something SOON!)  We shall see... I will post as soon as we hear anything!  Thanks for checking in!

the ride...

and what an *AMAZING* ride this has been!  I feel like we keep getting invited by God on these wild adventures, and while I don't always go with the right attitude, I am always so glad that I went!  We have been reminded time and again, this isn't about us, it is all about HIM, and what HE is doing, we are just blessed to be a part of it!  Something AMAZING happened this week, something only God could orchestrate.

A fellow blogger has a name for God that I just love.

They call Him: the Miracle-Working, Mountain-Moving, Awe-Inspiring, Gasp-Giving God!! Yippee Jesus!!  


And I just have to say...That is what we are calling Him too!!!

When we started this adoption process we sat the kids down and told them there were several things we needed to pray for.  In fact, I blogged about it here.


Well, we have been praying for over a year now that God would provide the money for the adoption and an 8 passenger vehicle.  Jayden was specifically praying for money to just fall from the sky.  And truly, that has been happening.  {OK, so it's not from the sky, but you get the picture!}  


We have received several grants from organizations, gifts from loved ones and complete strangers, and of course money from our fundraisers.  God is providing the money we need for this adoption, and we are so incredibly grateful!  We just shake our heads and praise the Lord every time a need is met!


This weekend, we got an 8 passenger vehicle.  It is exciting and wonderful to know that we will all be able to ride in the same vehicle together once we get little Lucy home.  But, what is even more amazing is that the vehicle was GIVEN to us.  GIVEN.  Now, we were praying for a vehicle, and I imagined that God would provide a vehicle, perhaps someone would donate an old church van, I even settled in my mind that we could paint it black and that I was going to be happy with whatever he provided.... 

BUT GOD.


God provided us with an AMAZING vehicle.  Like, if I were able to pick any vehicle in the whole wide world, I would pick THIS vehicle. {In all honesty, when I first saw THIS vehicle a few years back I thought..."man, I would really love to have one of those!"}  Only God.  Only my Miracle-Working, Mountain-Moving, Awe-Inspiring, Gasp-Giving God!! Yippee Jesus!!  God would do this.

MISSION 1:27 donated this vehicle to our family.  God moved on our behalf and used this wonderful organization to graciously deliver a miracle to our family!  They knew of our need, and God laid it on their hearts to respond to that need.  I can't say Thank you enough to them for their faithfulness to God!  There are no words that could convey how elated we are with this gift.  Saturday I just shook my head and kept saying "I can't believe this."  I think I was in shock.  Sunday the tears came, "so undeserving."  And today, well, every time I walk past the door and see this vehicle outside I think someone is here!!!  Then I say a prayer of thanks, offer my praise and ask a blessing on Mission 1:27.


It was so much fun for the kids to see how BIG our God is.  They were just as giddy as Ryan and I to know that God answered our prayers in such an amazing way.  They were with when Ryan picked it up and they kept saying that they felt like they were stealing it!  The God of the universe who made all things cares enough about us to listen to our prayers and then go on to answer in a BIG, AMAZING, EXTRAVAGANT way. God is Jehovah Jireh, our provider.  The one who takes care of every single need that we have.  We are so thankful for the way he takes care of our family.  And that he used our friends from Mission 1:27 is even more special.  We now get to sit back and watch how God will bless them for blessing us!  How awesome is that? 

^{2 Corinthians 9:8-11}God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you're ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,

   He throws caution to the winds,
      giving to the needy in reckless abandon.
   His right-living, right-giving ways
      never run out, never wear out.
This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. (The Message)

Every year we spend one night in a hotel a hotel to celebrate Christmas with our 'little' family.  This year we had contemplated not doing that to save money.  Adopting is expensive, and our kids have sacrificed many things happily in order to do this.  So when we said there would be no hotel this year they all agreed it was okay.  But Ryan and I found a hotel that didn't cost us an arm and a leg and they had one room they allowed us to stay in (most hotels won't do that, they want us to rent 2 rooms!)  So we decided not to break tradition, but we also decided not to tell the kids until we got there!   We never do stuff like that, so it was kinda tricky to get packed and load up all of the stuff we hauled along, but oh so worth it!  They were so surprised and so excited, it was so much fun. 

Okay, so I look sorta goofy in this picture, however, I want to remember this moment forever.  They were so excited they picked me up off the ground!  Love those kids!

Anaya is THE MOST  UN-photogenic little person. EVER.  She CAN.NOT.LOOK at the camera. EVER!  Drives me NUTS!  Thank goodness for digital photos, I tried a few times and gave up.  Can you imagine my frustration if I were still using film!!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

The hotel even had a water slide!  Do you see the next picture of me?  I actually went into the pool with my kids, and yes I did the water slide too!  We had the place to ourselves, it was great!

Dylan went out and bought gifts for everyone with his own money!  Let me tell you, it warmed my heart to see him search for the perfect gift for each of his siblings and then the joy on his face when they opened their gifts...it was a gift for me just to watch!

After our party at the hotel we headed to my parents house.  Ryan, my dad, Jayden and Dylan went hunting and Jayden was able to shoot his first squirrel, and a partridge!  I wonder if it was in a pear tree?

We all headed over to my grandma's nursing home and caroled!  None of us can 'really sing' but we made a joyful noise unto the Lord and my grandma loved it!  It was really fun.  We are too big of a group to fit in her room so we stood outside her window!  You can't see everyone in the picture, but all 18 of us were there!

 

After a huge breakfast and the reading of the Christmas story, we opened our gifts and made pea soup, and did a puzzle.  Steph and I took up crocheting and decided we would rather watch the puzzle come together than actually do it, so no credit to us there!  But I was able to make this fun little hat! 

We then headed over to the Vander Zwaag's and ate some more, and celebrated with them as well.  We had lots of fun getting together with those we love, and we know we are blessed to be able to do so.

I was really struck this year on the generosity of God.  That he sent his son to us, to die on a cross for our awful sins and that we are invited to walk with Him on a daily basis.  His love is so amazing!   We have been blessed by the generosity of so many of you this year and it is truly overwhelming to think about all we have been given by our heavenly father!  We hope and pray that you too were able to ponder the amazing gift we have been given in Jesus, and find that God is the most lavish gift giver of all!  Praise Him!