Winter Daze

Honestly, it's starting to feel like the winter is just never going to end, and one very cold day fades right into the next. But.it.can't.be.much.longer. It's almost March and March means SPRING....or not. This is Iowa after all.

I used to take a lot of pictures of my children when they were all little bitty things running around here and doing their cute stuff. Alas, I often forget to take pictures of their half grown cute selves these days, but don't worry, the camera is still well-loved. They are the ones behind the camera now instead of me. And I delete many pictures and deal with dead batteries all the time. The latest rage is video clips, and lots of them. Sometimes I just can't believe what I find on my camera that was 'photo worthy'!

Brooklyn is reading and reading and reading these days!

We celebrated our 100th day of school with a family picnic on the living room floor. It was a wild day in which Leon and I dashed off for a tax appointment soon after this photo was taken. Several years ago, we surprised the children with a night out at a hotel with a water slide for our 100th day of school and let's just say, every year since, they are a wee bit disappointed when that special day doesn't bring with it an extravagant celebration.

For Christmas, we gave the boys a model of an engine. Leon had almost more fun than the boys did, putting this thing together and explaining all the parts to them, one cold, snowy evening.

Jamison and Annika are digging behind the dryer for 'lost' items. Every item they retrieve has a cash prize of 10 cents so it's pretty exciting for them.

The girls and their pets......

We got 10 baby lambs for the children to bottle feed. They have a love/hate relationship with these little guys. But everyone agrees that they are soooo cute!

Leon installed my microwave over the stove this week!!!! This has been on my 'honey-do' list for awhile, so I am thrilled to have it done.

We went to see the newest little family member last weekend. Oh my! What a beautiful little girl and just the perfect size! We didn't want to leave her!

I found this sign on the girl's bedroom door.

Since becoming chicken farmers, we now have lots and lots of eggs to pack each day. Annika took a  photo of the eggs on the conveyor belt.

And last but not least, today we are celebrating Logan's birthday! We are now officially parent's of a teenager! He's been a bit under the weather and so we are holding off on his steak dinner until tomorrow, in hopes that his appetite will be back to normal.

21 more days till Spring starts! Hang in there!

Just One

I'm just one of many, but I like to think that my story is unique.

I was about 14 weeks 'along'  when the doctor told my mommy that I wasn't healthy. I was going to be a Downs Syndrome baby and would possibly be deformed. (Whatever that means....who looks 'normal' around here anyway?)

The doctor said that the kindest, most loving thing my Mom could do for me was to abort me. To end my life.

My Mom wrestled with this. She was older, a single mom, and considered high-risk. She really felt like abortion was wrong. But everyone said it was the best thing for me.

The best gift for me was to end my life?!

The abortion appointment was made. Then Mom met a lady at work who was a Christian. Mom told the kind lady about her plans for me. The lady asked if she could please meet Mom for lunch.

They met and talked. The kind lady told my Mom that she herself was supposed to be an abnormal baby and her parents chose life for her. She told my Mom that every life is precious. She encouraged my Mom to find someone who could care for me and adopt me as their own child. I liked that idea.

When the lunch ended, my Mom had a phone number to call, and my future was looking much brighter. I was so thankful to the kind lady for talking to my Mom. Mom told the lady she would cancel the abortion appointment.

The kind lady texted a bunch of her friends. People were praying for me. Lots of people. People my Mom didn't know.

God was busy. He was laying the burden of me on people's hearts. There were some family's who were willing to adopt me. God even revealed special things about me to one of them.

My Mom called the clinic to make an appointment to talk about options. Options like adoption.

But then Mom changed her mind.

And it was all over. My chance at life. My opportunity to impact the world. Just like that, it was all over. I know I'm just one of many. But I'm just one who could have made a difference in my world, if given the chance.

************************************************************************

(This is a true story about a little girl that was aborted this past week. Oh, how our hearts broke as we heard the news of her abortion!)

Rest safe in Jesus' arms, little Hope.

Trust {no matter what}

Somehow, when I was in my early twenties, and living my life, I looked loftily upon the almost 40 year olds around me, and thought that when I get to be their age, I would certainly have life figured out. I mean, I already knew a lot, and give me another 15-20 years, and I'd pretty much have a handle on knowledge.

Call me arrogant, or naive, (I'll own up to both) but I really did think that way down deep.

Well, hello. Here I am. Staring 40 in the face and feeling like there are so many, many things I don't know. So many things I don't have figured out. Somehow that doesn't start a panic attack like I thought it might. Because I think I've figured out some basic truths, and I'm learning more and more about God's Father-heart towards His children, and somehow, that is enough.

The last several years have been rich. Rich in learning, learning so much more about Jesus than I ever knew before. And with that learning comes the realization that, the more I learn, the more I have to learn and how little I actually know.

These years have been rich in relationships. Not with the kind of friends that know every detail of your physical life, like how many quarts of green beans you canned, or how your child lost his new shoes, but the kind of relationships that care for your heart. I am so blessed to have friends who pray for me, who ask me how I'm doing, for real, and who share words of encouragement with me.

The past several years have also been filled with pain. Deep, aching in my heart. Strained relationships, disappointments, longing for other's to experience freedom and unconditional love.

Recently, I was in a discussion with someone and the subject of breaking habits and living victoriously came up. I was asked for ways to do this. I sat and thought. My mind flashed back to years ago when I would've had a formula figured out at the snap of my fingers. It was different this time. I sat and waited and I heard God say to me, "It's not so much about the Doing, as it is about the Knowing." The words I said to my friend were not my own. I shared the deep unconditional love of Jesus. I encouraged this person to fall in love with Jesus. That in itself would change his appetite. I also spoke of Grace, and not trying to earn our way into a close relationship with Jesus. I don't know if my friend 'got it'. But I do know that as long as I have breath, I will share about these two truths to everyone I can.

And now, somehow this is all supposed to have what?! to do with my title.....

pardon the bunny trail..... :)

my words for 2015 are Trust, No Matter What.

In the midst of one of the most difficult situations I have found myself in yet, I know that God is clearly saying to me to Trust Him, no matter how I feel, no matter what the future holds, no matter if everything comes crashing down around me, Trust. That's all.

....there is a plan and there is a purpose

and there is a God in Heaven who didn't

just ink you onto the palm of His hands

but etched your name right

into Himself with nails and

He hasn't just got your number,

He's got your heart.

He sees you, hidden in Him,

and you aren't ever forgotten

because God can't forget those right in Him.

because God's writing your story and

He never leaves you alone in your story, and

His perfect love absorbs all your fear

and His perfect grace carries

all your burdens.

and your story is a happily ever after

because Christ bought your happily ever after

so you always know how this story ends.

You're going to be okay.

                       -Ann Voskamp