May Update

Martin has participated in the Awana program for many years. He completed his 2nd year of TNT at the end of May. These were taken after the award ceremony. Grandma, Grandpa and Great Grandma all came to celebrate his achievement.

Luke enjoys building with Lincoln Logs. He was so

happy with what he made he asked me to take a picture...

how could I resist this face :-)

One thing my boys love to do is paint. We had a beautiful day in May so they decided to paint outside. Here are the results.

Martin's finished masterpiece.

Luke's almost finished masterpiece.

In the process.

Tetherball (May)

Our boys were given a tetherball for Christmas last year and in May we finally figured out where to put it in the yard. The boys wanted to dig the hole all by themselves. Grandma and Grandpa came over to put the concrete in, shortened the rope, and they have been playing ever since. When I see them playing tetherball all I can think of is the tetherball scene in the movie Napoleon Dynamite :-)

This photo cracks me up! The post hole digger is
bigger than Luke. He also has his tongue out, which
is pretty standard when he is concentrating on something.

Martin has a lot more leverage than his brother

Team work....makes any mom happy

Complete, now for concrete.

The finishing touches

PORTLAND MARATHON - 10-4-09

Today my husband ran the Portland Marathon. This was his 3rd Portland Marathon and 5th total. I took the boys, my mom, and grandma downtown to watch Darin run the final stretch of the race. It was SO fun to see all the runners come by. I am always just blown away to know that every person that passed me had completed 26.2 miles!! It is truly a great accomplishment.

Darin finished in 4 hours and 13 seconds!!!! I am SO proud of him. It was a hard run for somebody that signed up at the last minute and his longest run was 16 miles a week before the big day. My husband has a lot of determination and strength and I was so glad that we were there to cheer him on for the final stretch!!! Good job, Babe, I love you!!!!!!

As you watch the finish of a marathon you see so many things. You watch as runners achieve their ultimate goal of finishing the race. Some runners give all they have left for that final sprint, other runners are injured, yet still putting one foot in front of the other to hit that finish line. There were the defeated runners that just couldn't run anymore due to injury or just didn't have anything left. To see runners holding hamsting muscles and sides that were all cramped up yet still moving was inspiring. There was a runner who had his arms hanging on two other runners shoulders, one on each side, to simply keep him in the upright position so he could finish the race. He must have gotten injured because he was in the 3hr 40 minute pack of runners. This was very moving for me to watch. Standing on the sidelines cheering was a lot of fun and to see the smiles and tears of those that had accomplished their goal was amazing.

I love this one. The little hand in the left corner is Luke waving at his dad. He was So excited to see him!

Darin is in the blue shorts.

Going into the turn for the very last stretch.

God's Masterpiece

This video really spoke to my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyOIBnExlrw

India Festival 2009 - Portland

My boys and I walking towards the festival.....(my husband took all the photos)

Today after church we headed downtown for our first India Festival. This is an annual event, but this is the first year we attended. We had a wonderful time. I felt like I was in India again. All the beautiful colors, clothes, music, dancing, food, etc. I was really excited, because I was able to meet in person one of my "blogging friends" at the festival. Cheryl, her two daughters and friend were there. Cheryl has been home from India with Adia for 2 months. Adia is beautiful and looks so happy. It was fun watching her take in all the sights and see here interact with her older sister, too. How fun to find somebody that lives in Oregon who has adopted from India!
Seeing their family gives me hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel and it will happen!

Sitting at the festival made me miss India, remember my friends that are currently in India on a mission's trip, and make me long for my little Indian princess even more. Hopefully next year we will have our little Alesha home and we can attend the festival as a family of five!

First sight of the festival...looks fun, huh?

Tons of people were there.

Here I am with Cheryl and Adia.

Dancing

The dance teams were great and were having a blast!

ONE YEAR MARK

Today marks one year that we have been waiting for the referral of our precious Alesha. I can't believe we have already been in this process for 1 year, 6 months, and 2 weeks, but who's counting right?? One year ago today we were placed on the waiting list at #13 and now we are waiting at #3. I am excited to finally be close to the top of the list.

As I sit here writing I am wondering where our baby girl is?. Is she born yet? Is she safe? What does she look like? When will she be coming home? What about her birth mother? When will "the call" FINALLY come? To all these questions I have NO answers, but God does. I MUST rest in this truth. I know that Alesha will come home when the timing is perfect. When I look back over this LONG and at times PAINFUL process I know in the end I will see God's PERFECT plan. I have been able to look back over my life and see how God planned out situations that didn't make sense to ME at the time, but now that I am on the other side I see His wisdom in the timing. If only I could see the big picture like HE does :-)

Yesterday, I took the boys to the library to pick up their prizes for completing the Summer Reading Program and was blessed to see the most adorable little Indian baby girl. She was SO precious it was all I could do to not ask if I could hold her. She had the biggest brown eyes and gorgeous smile. She had a little pink hat on, cute little outfit, jewelry on both arms and legs, and a bindi on her forehead. I told her grandma how gorgeous she was and told the baby girl what a pretty little girl she was...the baby gave me the biggest smile...it melted my heart. MAN do I want my baby girl home!!!

Today my heart is in India with my baby girl. We will be celebrating this 1 year marker with a home cooked Indian dinner.

We love you Alesha!!

Going Through the Motions

This song has really been ministering to my life the past couple of months. I so desire to NOT just go through the motions. I want to have a passion for the things that matter to Christ and have my life reflect those things in action. Orphans internationally and our modern-day orphans in the foster care system have been heavy on my heart. I am excited to see God giving me more passion in this area, getting me past my fears, and giving me ways to make a difference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_rmCeAzqKc

Darin and I just completed our foster parenting classes a couple weeks ago. These classes are an eye opener for sure!!! It is heart breaking to hear about the abuse and neglect that so many innocent children go through on a daily basis!!!! It is so sad that there are so FEW foster care homes to care for these children until their parents can address the issues that resulted in their child being removed from their home.

I was challenged emotionally week after week. To see videos and hear stories from children about their experiences of being moved from home to home and how they view adults after stuff they have been through...it just really ripped my heart apart. It is NO wonder that children would have behavior and emotional issues after some of the situations these precious children have come out of. The biggest issue for children is trust! How difficult it must be to trust anybody when the people that you love and say they love you hurt you. It is difficult for children to not put up HUGE walls to protect themselves from being hurt again or allowing themselves to feel love.

I will be honest that I had a pretty narrow view of foster parenting before I started these classes. I always thought that to do foster parenting you had to take on children for a couple of years and then they would be taken away, it would be too expensive, too difficult, too uncomfortable, etc. God has been breaking through ALL of these fears and misconceptions and speaking to my heart that it doesn't matter about ME and MY fears comfort, etc. it is about HIS hurting children. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. What better way to serve Jesus than by touching the life of His little ones.

After this class I realized that there are MANY options to help in the foster care system. You can take minimal training and provide care for a child ONCE a month to give that child's foster parents a break or you can provide a week or weekend of care for current foster parents. The next level would be to take the traditional 30 hours of foundations training to be able to provide short-term or emergency shelter for children. The same training gives you the option of being a long-term care provider or the option of adopting a child out of the foster care system. The options to serve are endless and VERY needed.

At this point our family will provide short-term/emergency care while we are waiting for our adoption to move along. We have a specific time frame that we can work under with our adoption and hope to be of help during that time. Our adoption comes first so at this point the timing of all of this in God's hands. Darin and I are a bit nervous about taking in foster children, but are so excited and pray that God will work through our family to touch the life of his precious children. I know it will be probably one of the hardest thing we have ever done, but it will be so rewarding at the same time. Our boys are really excited to have foster children in our home. It has been a great time of discussion with them. We have talked about the many challenges and the joy that will go along with this decision and we are all in agreement to move forward.

On a side note, all the training and preparing for foster parenting has really helped with the long wait of our adoption. The funny thing is now I am waiting for TWO calls. The first is the call on the referral for our precious Indian princess and now the second call from DHS to place children in our home. It is never a dull ride when God is in control.

I would encourage anybody who has ever thought about or even considered doing anything with the foster care system to look at the different options that are available and see if there is a way you can contribute your time to help with such HUGE need.

Orphan Movie

I have heard various comments about this movie in conversations, radio, etc, but have never watched the trailer for it until tonight. YIKES! It is scary!

I am impressed and so thankful that the Christian Alliance for Orphans put together this video in response to the movies current trailer. Please view by clicking on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVdluy-hEF8. There is a petition I encourage you to sign by going to www.orphansdeservebetter.org . I am disappointed and angry that Warner Bros would make such a movie at the expense of children and portray orphans in this light. I am not quite sure how to put into words what I am feeling at this moment. I just hope that this movie will not scare people away from adoption. There are so many beautiful children needing a loving home.

Indian Food Recipes

One of my blogging friends suggested that I post the recipes for the Indian dinner I made for my husband on Father's day, so here you go :-)

Chicken Tikka Masala

3 chicken breasts
4 T olive oil
5 Cardamon Pods
1 Cinnamon Stick
1-1/2 onion
1 t fresh giner minced
2 t garlic minced
1 t cumin powder
1 t coriander powder
1/4 t turmeric powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 T paprika
1t garam masala
1 large tomatoe
5 fl oz water
salt

Cut chicken breasts into cubes - salt cubes and set aside
Dice onion - cut tomatoes - set aside
Put oil in pan- heat oil and add cinnamon stick and pods and remove after 1 minute (leaving oil in pan)
Add onions and cook until brown
Add water and mix in all spices along with ginger and garlic
Add tomatoes and stir and mix well
Add chicken and cook 10-12 minutes and then simmer until chicken is cooked through
Add salt to taste

Jeera Alu (Spicy New Potatoes ) - I got this recipe from my blogging friend Pam

2 16 oz cans whole new potatoes
2 T canola oil
1/2 t cumin seeds
1/4 t turmeric
1 t salt
1 T coriander powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 t garam masala
1/2 mango powder (optional) I don't use this because I am allergic to mangoes.

Drain and rinse potatoes. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
Heat oil in heavy pan on medium heat.
Add cumin seeds and cook until golden brown
Add potatoes and stir to coat.
Add all spices and stir to combine
Reduce heat and fry 15-20 minutes

Naan Bread - My families FAVORITE!!!

1t yeast (I use quick-rise yeast)
3 C white bread flour (don't use all-purpose flour it doesn't turn out..I found out the hard way)
2 T canola oil
4 T low fat yogurt
1 t honey
1 t salt
Garlic seasoning if you like garlic
3/4 C warm water

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Make 8 small balls and flatten them a bit.
Place the balls on wax paper and cover. Let rise for 20 minutes.
Press balls out flat into thin round circles. Place in oven on broil until brown on one side and then flip over to brown the other side.

Happy Father's Day to My Husband

My husband's one request for Father's Day was to have Indian food for dinner. I made him rice, Chicken Tikka Masala, Jeera Alu, and homemade Naan. I love you babe!!

Makes Me Smile!

Today I stopped at a garage sale on my way home from running an errand and this beauty was waiting for me. I could NOT resist!! It is like brand new. It looks like it has maybe been worn one time! Cost of item $3.00 to me it is priceless :-)


Front view

Back view

Little Girl Shoes

I have always found it funny that when I go shopping for my boys how I always gravitate to the little girl racks. It makes NO sense since clearly my boys will not be wearing any pink, purple, lace, or girlie shoes, but somehow I always make my way to the girls section before the trip is over. This goes for garage sales too! About 4 years back I was at a garage sale and saw these shoes and I thought they were SO cute. They made me smile. I didn't have a little girl at home to put these shoes on, but I decided I was going to buy them anyways....so I did! These little shoes have sat by my computer for the past four years and every time I look over at them I smile. Little did I know that God had a plan to bring a little girl into our family. I now look at these little shoes and dream about the little girl that will be joining our family and wonder how cute they are going to look on her tiny little feet.








Shoe story Part 2. I was shopping with Martin for new summer clothes and once again found myself at the little girl section and these beauties were just calling my name. They were on clearance for only 3 bucks!!! I couldn't resist. Our little Alesha is going to need red shoes...right?








The thing that is REALLY funny about the shoes is that I cannot STAND shopping for shoes for myself. I have a small wide foot with high arches and it is impossible to find anything cute that will fit my foot! I guess now I can buy all those cute shoes for my daughter.

Finding Good News in Hard Times

This was the title of a sermon series we went through at our church last month. You can hear the entire Upside Series on line at http://www.westportchurch.org/ Click on the listen tab and search for the series by name. Pastor Shane Fookes spoke on 4/19/19 and his sermon really hit home with me. He was talking about difficult times and waiting. For me personally, I thought of this adoption process and how difficult it can and has been and how the waiting is excruciating at times! I wanted to pass along the notes I took on the outline Shane gave us. I hope this is an encouragement to you in whatever difficult time you find yourself in. The application of his sermon is at the bottom of the notes. At the end of the sermon our Worship Pastor sang a song that really hit home with me on where I was at on that given Sunday and many times since then. It is called Alright by Paul Ramey. You can go to Paul's website as http://www.paulramey.com/ and you can download a free MP3 copy of this song by simply clicking on the box toward the top of the webpage that says "spread the word button". It really touched my heart and still does in those down times. The 2nd verse of the song is what I try to focus on, it says

"I'm trying to trust you
but I feel abandoned.


Please help me remember
this is how you planned it."

Then it breaks into the chorus of

EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT.........................

The Sermon -

DIFFICULT TIMES CAN DEEPEN OUR DEVOTION

We deepen our devotion in difficult times by learning the language of lament. (Psalm 13)

1) We COMPLAIN to God.

Psalm 13:1-2 "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"

2) We CRY OUT to God for HELP

Psalm 13:3-4 "Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death: my enemy will say, "I have overcome him." and my foes will rejoice when I fall."

3) We WAIT

Psalm 5:3 "In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and WAIT in expectation."

Psalm 27:14 "WAIT for the Lord; be strong and take heart and WAIT for the Lord."

Psalm 33:20 "We WAIT in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield."

Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and WAIT patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."

Psalm 38:15 "I WAIT for you, O Lord; you will ANSWER, O Lord my God."

Psalm 40:1 "I WAITED patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry."

Psalm 130:5 "I WAIT for the Lord, my soul WAITS, and in his word I put my hope."

4) We PRAISE

Psalm 13:5-6 "But I trust in your unfailing love: my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me."


APPLICATION-

1) Learn to say OUCH! God knows we are hurting. Cry out to him and tell Him.

2) Take the time to understand the hurt.

3) Turn to God with the hurt as an act of worship.

4) WAIT for God.

5) PRAISE Him!!

I liked this saying


GODISNOWHERE = God is nowhere

BECOMES

GODISNOWHERE - God is now here


GOD IS FAITHFUL!!! WE MUST HOLD ON TO THAT PROMISE EVEN WHEN THINGS SEEM IMPOSSIBLE!!

February/March Update

Martin's face paint artwork for his funny face night at Awanas.


This year I only provided the cardboard, tape, and paint and
Martin created his own car for Drive-in Movie Night at Awanas.

Luke as been into tearing phone books in half!
Here is the final product. He can rip through
an entire phone book in about 5 minutes....pretty
impressive for only being 8.

HELLO NUMBER 3!!!!!!!

I have been taking a break from posting on my blog lately (things have been really BUSY at our house lately), but this news had to be posted. The Friday before Mother's Day I found out that we had moved to the #3 spot on the adoption waiting list. I was thrilled to get this news on Mother's Day weekend.

Alesha, we are one step closer to seeing your precious face in a referral picture and EVERY little step counts. We love you and are praying for you daily. We can't wait to meet you.

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, Martin and Luke

Simply AMAZING!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Grand Prix Race

This morning we attended the Annual Awana Grand Prix Race. The race is the highlight of the year for all the Awana kids. Martin has worked hard on his cars every year, but has never received a trophy. This year he went for speed verses design in hopes of at least placing in the top three spots. He was SOOO thrilled to place FIRST in the speed category. It was fun to watch all the kids get excited for each others cars. It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.

Martin with is trophy and car.

The trophy.

Receiving his trophy....this is one HAPPY boy!

Race results.

HAND MADE GIFT

Martin decided that he wanted to make his grandma Lulu a scarf for her birthday this year. He had to go back and fix a couple of mistakes, but stayed with it and this is how it turned out in the end. He was so happy to give her a gift that he knitted all by himself and grandma was thrilled!

Happy Birthday Dad

Today, March 11th marks my dad's birthday. He would have been 61 years old today. This day is always difficult for me even after almost 16 years. He passed away September 21, 1993, just 4 days after my birthday. I think this year has hit especially hard as my uncle passed away just over a week ago. His funeral was last week. He reminded me so much of my dad in looks and mannerisms. He will be missed.

I have a lot of emotions that come to the surface when this day arrives -

* I am thankful that my dad accepted Jesus as his savior before passing away. It took right up until days before his death, but God is faithful to answer many years of prayers by many for his salvation. His salvation is a testimony that it is NEVER too late.
*Sad I didn't have more time with him after his salvation.
*I am thankful that I will see my dad again in heaven someday.
*Sad that he wasn't here to walk me down the isle when I got married.
*Sad that he wasn't able to experience being a grandpa. I know he would have been awesome. He loved kids and they brought the kid out in him.
*Sad Martin, Luke, and Alesha were not able to meet their Grandpa Jim.
*Happy for all the family memories. Vacations, camping, baseball, softball, water rafting, trips to Montana, barbecues, gardening, yard work, etc. We worked as a family on a lot of things growing up and have a lot of stories and memories to cherish.
*Thankful for my mom. She is such a strong and Godly women. She is an example to me in so many ways. She has show what it means to "love in sickness and in health, until death do us part" She stood by my dad and cared for him until his very last breathe. I love you mom!

As you can see there is joy and sadness all mixed into one day. There are many more things that are running through my head, but I would be here all day. In closing all I can say is that

I love you dad, and I miss you very much! Happy Birthday.

Love always,
Pumpkin