A Little Bit Like Me

There are dozens of pictures of me like this at my mom and dad's house...looks like they be a little bit like me when it comes to musical interests and talents.  I'm good with that :)

  They love to push all of the buttons on my keyboard and play the keys.  Sometimes they sing along, too, making up their own tune and made-up words.  But the other night at supper, I realized they may be a little bit like me in another way. 
  If you know me, or have read some of my posts, you know that my heart is for adoption and orphan care.  And that our family will not be complete until we adopt our final child (children? maybe?)  Anyway, we've been talking a lot in our house about adoption and orphan care the past few weeks because the preschool ministry that my kids are involved in at church is taking up loose change each Wednesday and Sunday to send in to an adoption/orphan care ministry called Show Hope.
  Now, back to my girls being a little bit like me.  A few nights ago, Anna Beth got a little quiet at supper and I could tell she was thinking.  I just love watching the wheels turn in their little minds, don't you?  Then Anna Beth looks at me with this face that says, "I have the perfect solution! And it just simply makes sense." Can you picture it...like a light bulb came on in her head.
  She says, "Mommy, if orphans don't have a mommy or a daddy...why don't they just come live here with us.  You can be their mommy, daddy can be their daddy, me and Lynnsie can be their sister, and Creek can be their brother.  And they won't be an orphan anymore." Then Lynnsie chimes in with, "Yeah!", in total agreement.
  Talk about a heart overflowing with joy.  I love when God uses my children to teach me things about Him and His love.  And I love it, too, when He affirms callings and promises through them.  I love that He put that on her heart and made it all make sense.  I love that Lynnsie got it, too.  I love that they think adoption is perfect for our family.  I love that they are a little bit like me in this.

Over the Rainbow Birthday Bash

For Anna Beth's 4th Birthday Party, I really, really, wanted to do some type of art party.  I saw the idea on Pinterest last fall and thought it was adorable!! I also really, really, hoped she would want to do it, too!  Of course, I let her pick her theme and what she wanted to do from a list of suggestions and

 a Rainbow/Art Party it was!!

My friend, Becca, came over the night before and iced 8 dozen mini cupcakes!

Rainbow Cupcakes

Fruit bites in color coordinating Fiesta Ware made for a perfect & colorful addition

The painted rainbow centerpiece was done by our very own artist,
Miss Anna Beth, when she was just 2 years old!

We made ice cream cups using fun cupcake liners.  Got it from Pinterest.

The birthday girl painting her rainbow

She got lots of great presents from her friends and this super, awesome new bike
from Jacob and I.  I'm sure it's the first of many Jacob will put together over the years for our kiddos!

 

She's 4!!!

  Anna Beth turned 4 on the 25 of May.

The day was spent making 8 dozen (that's 96) mini cupcakes for her birthday party

She woke up to the house decorated for a birthday celebration!

Then we went here, to grab breakfast because that's what the birthday girl wanted.

We went in our pj's because that's more fun.



Birthday Girl!



Jacob had to work, so we didn't get to have a family celebration that day, but she had to open at least 1 present on her birthday!! It was a new Fancy Nancy book about tea parties.

  Four.  4.  F-O-U-R.  Almost 5.  Just shy of a third of the way to being a teenager.  And one fourth of the way to driving.  Yes, she is 4.  Where in the world has the time gone the past 4 years?!  Happy Birthday, my sweet Anna Beth!

The Battle: Part 4

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

  I've come a long way since that night in December, when I finally shared my brokenness with Jacob.  Looking back on it now, it's hard to exactly remember what the feelings were like...and I'm okay with that!
  One of my favorite books of the Bible is James...so much good stuff in that one, so much.  One of the first few verses has really been loud to me these past few months, "Consider is pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
  Complete.  Not lacking.  I want to be those things.  I made a note in my Bible a few weeks ago that looks like this....trials = completeness, wholeness.  The fact is, I can't be complete, I can't be like Jesus, if I don't have to hop over a few hurdles now and then.  And I want to be like Jesus.
  So, yes, I am considering it a blessing that I have had to fight this battle, endure this trial.  Here's why:
  - I had to rely and trust in God more than I think I have ever had to
  - I got to see God's work and provision in my life up close and very personal
  - It made me more confident in that I am who God made me.  I am the mother He made me.  I am not a perfect mother, and that's okay. 
  - Not that I have ever been insecure in my marriage, but it made me even more secure to feel Jacob's love and his strong, protecting arms around me.
  - I was reminded of just how awesome my friends are.
  I could have let this battle define me.  I could have believed the "I"m weak" lies.  And I would be in the same place, probably worse, than I was a few months ago.  But now, oh, now God has restored my joy.  He has restored my smile, my happiness, my love for being a stay-at-home mommy.  He has restored me to the life He has so richly blessed me with.

To read a little follow up post I wrote a few months later, completely in love with life and in awe of the Lord...click here

The Battle: Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

  I left off in Part 2 talking about the medication that my doctor prescribed for me.  The medicine really did and still does help.  A lot.  When we were all sick with the stomach bug last week, I couldn't take it because I couldn't keep it down and then with all the craziness, I forgot two other nights.  By the third night that I had not taken it, I could feel the ball of weight starting to pull me down again.  In a way, it was frustrating in and of itself because I had hoped that I was getting ready to be off of this medicine  But it did answer the question of, "Is it time?" for me, so that was good.
  There was another huge factor in seeing me through those first really hard weeks - God, Jacob, and my friends.  Jacob has been amazing through all of this.  He has been so very supportive and patient, asking me how I am feeling and listening while I talk, picking up the slack when I've had bad days - on top of everything else he does around here and at work.  I absolutely could not have gone through this without him.
  God also perfectly lined up some super-amazing, Christian friends who walked with me every single step.  I only told a few friends what was going on.  I knew that I needed the support.  I knew that I needed people I could call in the middle of a really bad day, who would offer me nothing but love and encouragement.  And free childcare if I needed it. 
  In those first few weeks, each friend that I shared my battle with called or texted me every day.  I knew that when they said, "How are you doing?" - they wanted my real answer.  I was so thankful to be able to give it to them without fear of judgment or harsh words.  As my medicine began to help and after I had met with Lea a couple of times, I was slowly starting to feel better and my friends could tell.  It was great to be able to have regular, girl-talk conversations again.
  But in true fashion of God's great love for me (and for all of us!), every morning that I woke up feeling bad or every day that left me feeling worse as they day went on...at least one of them called, texted, or showed up with a Starbucks just to check on me, to really ask how I was, to tell me I had been on their heart that morning and they had prayed for me.  Y'all, that's no "coincidence".  That is God intervening on my behalf, putting in place exactly what He knew I needed that moment of that day.  Every time. 
  From the moment that I finally stopped believing the "you're weak" lies and everything and said out loud what I was going through to Jacob, I never spent a hard or even semi-hard day alone, without love, encouragement, and support from my husband and friends.  Even on the darkest and deepest days, I did not feel alone for a second.  I knew in my head and my heart that God was with me through all of this - because that is what He promises me (and all of us!) in His Word.  Every single day I felt His presence with me.  Every single day that I needed that call, text, or hug...He gave it to me through Jacob and my friends. 
  Every day.  I was never...ever...alone in this.

Part 4

Making Change for Orphans

  I'm so excited to share with you what our church's preschool ministry is doing - we're making change for orphans!!  Show Hope is Christian singer, Stephen Curtis Chapman's, adoption and orphan care ministry.  It's an Ah. Ma. Zing. ministry.  They do all kinds of great stuff for the cause of the fatherless.
  Right now, they are trying to mobilize - get people to MOVE - for orphans by encouraging individuals, churches, and communities to do their own fundraisers to send in to Show Hope.  It's a great way to get everyone involved in adoption and orphan care.  So, our preschoolers are collecting loose change for the months of May and June to send in.  Guess what the goal is?  $2,000!! And I totally believe we will pass that!!
  I'm so excited about this because 1) it's advocating for and helping babies, children, and teenagers who don't have a mommy and daddy & 2) because it's teaching our young, moldable children how to show God's love to others.
  So how is this impacting my family? Well, given that my kids are 3, 2, and 7 months...we have 3 prechoolers in our churches ministry!! So, we made a change bucket that we keep on our kitchen counter.  We'll toss in our loose change and I'm encouraging the girls to keep a lookout for pennies in the parking lot and stuff (but I'm picking them up!!). 
  But I also want our girls to "own" this project for themselves.  I don't want Jacob and I to do all of the change collecting and then just hand it to them to put in the bucket at church.  I want them to learn during this ministry project.  I want them to learn how to work to help others, how to sacrifice a little bit of their time for someone in need. 
  Even at 3 and 2, our girls have things they are responsible for...they put their dirty clothes in the hamper after bath, pick up their toys, and put their dishes in the sink after each meal.  These are not hard tasks.  But we're also giving them the opportunity to earn some change for their bucket by doing extra stuff...if they pick up Creek's toy - they get a handful of change; if they put the clean tupperware away - they get a handful of change; if they help me fold the towels - they get a handful of change.  Today I went to mow the yard, but first about two dozen toys had to be picked up.  So, they ran around the yard picking them up so I could mow - and they got a handful of change. (I don't usually mow, but things have been crazy busy again and I needed a workout!)  We let them get a handful of change because, well, their hands are really small and we don't want to be stingy with the change! Plus, it was too confusing to come up with a "this task gets this amount of change" system. 
  We've talked to our girls about orphans and the reality of the lives they live.  And how they need our help, our love, our home, and to be part of our family.  We've shown them pictures of friends who have adopted children and watched "coming home" videos over and over again.  My heart leaps with joy when I hear them pray "for the orphans that their mommy and daddy will find them real soon."
  So, I guess another reason why I love this ministry project is that it is getting our family involved together for the cause of the fatherless. 
  What about you? Could you collect your loose change for the months of May and June and send it in to Show Hope?  You could play a very real part in there being one less orphan in the world - forever united and home with their mommy and daddy. Visit showhope.org to find out more!

You've Got Mail

  As a kid, one of my favorite things to do was check the mail.  Rarely was there every anything for me...unless it was my birthday.  Mail is so much fun! A surprise card in the mail can make someone happy for days.  It's like a little present.  Now, going to the mailbox is not so much fun.  And it's no longer free, really, since its full of monthly bills that must be paid.  Or junk mail and I despise junk mail.  If a business sends me junk mail, it's a surefire way to never have me as a consumer.  Can't. Stand. Junk. Mail.
  However, last Thursday I went to the mailbox.  Thursday was, well, really stinky.  It was Day 5, victim 5 of the stomach bug in our house.  And going to the mailbox was a little relief just to get out of the house!
  There were a couple of junk mail items...ugh...and a brown envelope. Ooohhhh, I just love packages! I first looked to see who it was addressed to...it simply said Colemans. Then I looked to see who it was from...no return address. Weird. As I walked back to the house I started thinking about movies I had seen where people get random, no return address mail from stalkers. Shivers! Impatient as I am, I started opening it. Inside there was a regular white envelope, sealed, and nothing written on it. Kinda, slightly, nervously laughing. I open the envelope and there is a folded paper inside. As I opened it, I could tell it was a printed note and there was something folded inside the paper. This is getting weirder...
  And then tears completely filled and poured from my eyes. I saw these words... To START YOUR ADOPTION FUND
  And there was a sacrficial amount of money in there. I mean, seriously! Anyone who has known us for more than five minutes knows that we want to adopt, but they also know that it is in our future and not happening immediately...God's timing, not ours, and His timing is perfect (I have to repeat this to myself, um, daily.) And yes we have started sslloowwllyy saving what we consider "surprise" money, or money that we get that we hadn't counted on. I cannot even tell you how amazing this is. It was completely a gift from the Lord in more ways than just a monetary gift.
  It was a way God said, "I've got this. Follow me. Wait for me. I will complete your family with the child I have chosen for you." I hope to write a little bit more about what had been going on in regards to our talks about adoption and all that God had shown me that week in the future, but not yet.
  So, whoever you are...a million and one thank you's. You will forever be a part of completing our family. Please give yourself a ginormous hug from us!