It's easier than I thought...

I didn't realize how easy it would be to log in to blogger again after such a long absence. I thought I'd have to give a retinal scan or something...

Anywhooo...Here are some pics of the last few weeks...

Thanksgving visit to Princeton...

Shawn's birthday - kiddos with the cousins in NJ

Ezra in PapPap's backyard... Roosters!


Here are some stats of the last few weeks.
The bad news first...
Our foster german shepherd, Otto, is no longer part of the family. Sadly, he died in an accident. That leaves our elderly lab, Keely and our death-cheating beagle pup, Echo.

My father has had some serious health problems and remains in the ICU following his craniotimy last week. His recovery (if he is even considered in recovery yet) is slow and we hope he will regain his previous mental status, though that remains to be seen.

Our entire nuclear family experienced some sort of flu that could've been swine-flu or maybe not. It was a long drawn-out couple of weeks. Glad we're all better.

Now the non-bad news...
We had a nice time in NJ for thanksgiving. The kiddos enjoyed the time they spent with cousins, aunts/uncles and of course 'grammie and pap-pap'. On Thanksgiving day, Al and I wandered the Princeton campus and the very historic cemetery there.

We're almost done with Christmas shopping!

Ezra seems to be progressing with his speech and behavior - although he really is still the terror of the church nursery.

Uncle Chris came for a visit.

Ruth and Daniel are doing well with school. Tests today - so I really shouldn't take forever on this post. :)

So, there it is. My silence shattering post. As you can see, there hasn't been much to blog about, but I hope you will enjoy the pictures, Uncle Charlie.

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Another hero...

There have been times in my life when I have the opportunity to meet people who, for varying reasons, I have held in high esteem. And then there are times when the meeting of a stranger makes me realize that my esteem system is flawed and there are heroes waiting to be met.

One such time was just this past Sunday when we met and got to hang out with Getaneh Getaneh. Wow! Please read about his amazing testimony here! Getaneh has encouraged us to call him and build a relationship with he and his wife. I look forward to sharing with the kiddos the high value of meeting and getting to know such a servant in the kingdom.

Getaneh's ministry

One of my all time real life heroes - click here to read...

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All things...

"So let no one boast in men.

For all things are yours,

whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas

or the world or life or death or the present or the future

—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s."

I Corinthians 3:21-23

"Being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus Christ is the essence of faith in future grace." - John Piper

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Adoption, Birthday, Brigade!!!!

I've been having camera problems but I've been able to capture a couple of moments from yesterday and today...

Daniel went to Boys Brigade for the first time last night. He was so excited!!!

Ezra's readoption was finalized in county court today! Our small county doesn't have much experience with international adoption so the process took longer than usual. However, it is now complete. Our attorney and the judge were very kind!


Ruth turns 8 today!!!!

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John Owen: The Grave That is Never Satisfied

"Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, if it has its own way it will go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could, every thought of unbelief would be atheism if allowed to develop. Every rise of lust, if it has its way reaches the height of villainy; it is like the grave that is never satisfied. The deceitfulness of sin is seen in that it is modest in its first proposals but when it prevails it hardens mens’ hearts, and brings them to ruin."

HT: Whitewashed Tombs

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Does God heal dogs?

On Labor Day, it was apparent that our puppy drank antifreeze. She had all of the classic symptoms of antifreeze intoxication and there was antifreeze in a place she had access to (sadly unbeknownst to us at the time). Unfortunately, by the time we put the pieces together, she was past the point where treatment would've saved her. So we decided to keep her with us and closely watch her until the symptoms seemed to show that she was in pain, etc, and then she would need to be put down. (I know, sad). There is a stage in antifreeze poisoning where the dog seems to recover and is the point where the real damage is taking place in her body. The liver processes the poison and crystals are formed where they stay in the kidneys and shortly after cause kidney failure. So we played with her while she was good and kept a close eye on her condition. Five days later, she is as peppy and healthy as she was before she got sick. Normally, from what I've read and discussed with the vet, the animal would be dead by now. But Echo is acting great. So we've had this extra time with her and for all we know, she didn't ingest enough to do the damage. It's a mystery to me. There was no doubt to us that she got into the antifreeze, but here she is, happy and loud.

Our kiddos were upset, but they were coming to terms with the situation. Some people told them they were praying for us and even for Echo. At the time, I was kind of wary of the prayers for the dog's healing. I guess I need to know that God does what He wants always for His glory and the good of his children. God hears the prayers, knows the hearts and hurts of his children and is gracious and good in all things including the life and death of our pets.

PS - I LOVE teaching Daniel!

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Summer break is over...

Summer break is over. Not that I really had a 'summer break', it just seemed like a good excuse for blog silence.

Some highlights of the last two months...

1. My mom bought a new house and moved in last week. It's a great place and I think she will love it! (right, Mom?)
2. Ruth and Daniel went on a camping trip with their father and another dad/kid combo and one other guy. Sounds confusing. It was rainy but they had a great time and Al caught a 38" pike.
3. Ruth was stung three times by some nasty bald-faced hornets. She had previously never been stung and it was worse than she imagined and she has a vivid imagination. What's up with the bees this summer? They seem to be everywhere. So now, Ruth stays inside even though the weather has been gorgeous lately.
4. Daniel turned 6! He got a new bike and has officially changed his favorite color from yellow to blue. Blue & yellow is his favorite color combo. He's very loyal to his colors. Just ask him.
5. Ezra is the terror of the nursery and 'very active' to put it nicely. I constantly get asked, "Is he like this all the time?" by worried moms. The answer is YES, he is ALWAYS moving and talking. He is the busiest of my children. It's usually a very happy busy, so that's good. We finally finalize his adoption on Sept. 18th.
6. I turned a year older.
7. Al made a sign for our driveway. Seems like a minor detail, but we've lived here for 13 years and it took 911 laws to get him to label us. He's very private. He doesn't even know I have a blog - he'd die! (Just kidding, he knows I have a blog)
8. My friend Kim stayed over one night. It was a highlight. She's awesome.
9. I babysat for two sweet girls.
10. I took the kiddos to Great Escape with my sister and her kiddos. Crazy day.
11. Keely, our 13 yr. old lab, got a lure stuck in her tongue. It was 20 minutes of pure chaos, but the lure is out and she is fine, I think.

We start school on Tuesday. Ruth is in 3rd grade, Daniel is in 1st and Ezra will be in the pack-n-play.

My house does not sparkle as I hoped it would by the end of the summer. It's worse for the wear. Argh.

We are going to Minneapolis for the National Desiring God Conferenc in three weeks! YEAHHHH...

That should bring you up to speed.

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kid pics - feel free to scroll past :)

At the playground...

On the lake...
On the trail...

Let's go for a walk...




Miss Grump

Echo!...

Playing together...

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Take a fresh look at your To-Do list. (and I will mine!)

Do you feel so busy that you can barely catch your breath before the next round of activities begins? I have been following the journey of a young woman who has bravely shared her experiences as she is 'waiting to die', in her words. Our friend Tim shared this video on Facebook a while back (thanks Tim!). I encourage you to watch it after you read this post by Rachel... To- Do List - and to remember her in prayer as you rush around trying to get your to-do lists checked off.

Edit: As I was looking at Rachel's site today 7/7 - a box popped up informing us that Rachel's wait ended on July 2nd. Her testimony endures.

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The Summer of the Sparkling House...HELP!!!

We have been living in our cozy little Teahouse for 13 years now. The 10 months before we moved in was a process of complete gutting and remodel of the original house and putting on an addition. We don't have a huge house or even a large house by many standards. It's a modest 3-bed/2-bath house which seemeed much bigger before we had kiddos!

I am not much of a housekeeper - there, I said it! I would like to be but I fall woefully short. I always have a load or two or eight of laundry to do, dishes in the sink or drainer to take care of, floors to sweep clean of all the dog hair, carpets to vacuum... you get the idea.

I've begun the process of cleaning the basement and am about 3/4 finished. The part that is not done is Al's tool bench, fishing gear storage, etc. I can't really do anything with that. So, now I must maintain and move upward to the rest of the house.

The challenge for me this summer is to make my house sparkling clean - from the floors, cabinets (inside & out), closets, baseboards, walls, underbeds, corners and ceilings! This is something I hope to accomplish while I take care of my kiddos along with two other sweet girls. On top of that, we have 3 dogs (1 is a puppy!), 2 cats, and me! We have limited storage and literally piles of books everywhere. I'm going to have to look past the things I can't control and cheerfully take care of the rest. I've got a handle on the clutter - for the most part.

Why should you care? Well, you don't have to, but I want some advice and tips! When I was at the church making the copies of the bulletin last week, I saw that Barb had her youngest sweet girl cleaning the scuffs of the floor with a magic eraser. Well let me just say that I tried it on my floor and the scuffs that I assumed were just part of the design were gone!!! Thanks, Barb! I'll return your little girl soon! (haha) So you all have favorite cleaning tips & products. Help a sister out!

First - any ideas for cleaning my white laminate kitchen cabinets? I've tried soap/water, scrubbers, goo-gone, and even the magic eraser. It's not too bad, but it could be cleaner...

I'll come up with more questions later.

PS - for any Seinfeld fans, the title is an homage to ...'The summer of George!'

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