Rose Tea Time

Life is busy these days!  I haven't blogged in a month and life just keeps moving by, faster and faster, like they always say.  Miss E and I finally were able to have a tea party again last week, and although the weather was rather hot we enjoyed our iced sun tea in our pretty rose tea cups, along with some banana bread.

I have included a quote our pastor used in a sermon recently, I really appreciated it and desire this to be true of me.  Mercy triumphs over judgement.  James 2:13

When we are given our rewards, I would prefer to be found to have erred on the side of grace rather than judgment;

to have loved too much rather than too little;

to have forgiven the underserving rather than refused forgiveness to one who deserved it;

to have fed a parasite rather than to have neglected one who was truly hungry;

to have been taken advantage of rather than to have taken advantage;

to have believed too much in my brothers rather than too little;

having been wrong on the side of too much trust than too much cynicism;

to have believed the best and been wrong, than to have believed the worst and been right.

~Anonymous

I am joining Sandi for No Place Like Home

Just Say Yes

I am all torn up inside.  For at least a year I haven't looked at the waiting children photo listings from our state, because I knew we weren't going to adopt now and it would just make me sad.  But this week, I looked, and I was heartbroken to find that Mimi, the girl we almost adopted, and T and J, two sisters that we almost adopted, are all back on the photolisting, still waiting!  What?  I had thought that they were chosen to be in other families, so that's why we weren't able to adopt them, and so I figured they were all adjusting to their new homes by now.  But there they were.  I don't know why they weren't adopted, something must not have worked out.  Besides those three girls, there were at least 10 other girls on the photolisting that were there back when we were waiting to adopt Miss E. 

Some have been waiting over four years for a family.

I can't imagine how it would feel to be a kid waiting for years for someone to adopt you.  You would feel so abandoned and unstable. 

Do you feel like God might be asking you to adopt one of these waiting kids?

If He is, we would encourage you to just say YES!

Adoption isn't easy at all, it's not easier than pregnancy, it's not something to go into on a whim, and it will challenge you and grow your faith in ways you can't imagine.  But it is definitely worth it!

These kids need a home.

Happy Mother's Day

~Me and my children~

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!  Being a mom is a wonderful gift from God.  I am so thankful for each one of the six blessings he has given us, and they treated me very well today. (:

This week SJ, our fourth child, found a robin's nest up in a tree.  He had to climb quite a ways up to see it, so he took my camera up there and every half a day he would go up and take another picture as the little baby robins slowly hatched.  It's been really fun to see his pictures and watch the progression!

Cracks in the shell...

Pushing his way out...

Mama Robin was always quite concerned when SJ was taking pictures...

All out, and the second egg (on top) is starting to crack...

We're hungry!!!

Baby birds aren't very cute.

 And this is SJ, he's a very unique child and brings us lots of joy. (:

Our oldest is graduating from high school this week.  I am trying not to think about it because it makes me sad, but we are also very proud of him and the man he has become.  Life goes by too fast.

Moments

Oh my goodness, life has been busy lately.  We have a Senior this year, and letting a child go is new territory for us.  I'm not sure if I really like it!  On the one hand, we are proud of him and the man he's becoming, but on the other hand I still think of him as that little six year old shooting his cap gun and riding his stick horse around the yard.  Like everyone says, it goes too fast.  

We have one in track, so we've combined a couple of the far away track meets with field trips to new places.  Seeing the real Apollo 13 command module was fun!

Now we are in the best month of the year, May.  The grass is green and the sky is blue, and the temperature is just right.  The moments fly by, so enjoy them!

Unchanging

 

This world is constantly changing, isn't it?  Countries change their borders and their names, kingdoms, rulers, and dynasties rise and fall.  Cities, houses, farms and businesses are built and then not many years later they are torn down and new ones are built in their place.

 

Our old stone house is showing some wear.  She was built in 1882, and has survived much longer than most of the other houses built during that time in our area.  Back in the 1990s someone remodeled the interior, but then no one lived in it for awhile and now look at it.  Things change.

 

 

There are lots of old fences around our place, and what once held pigs in is now a nice backdrop for my red tulips.  Everything is always changing in life.  We may think we are all settled in one place, and then circumstances change and we have to move.  Life events cause those we love most to change as well.  I know my husband is not the same man he was when were first dating 20 years ago, and I know for sure I'm not the same girl. 

 

The older I get the more I realize that comfort and security can never come from our circumstances-  not from the people in our family, and not from a house or money.

 

The only One who can give us comfort and security is God, because

HE NEVER CHANGES!

 

I the LORD do not change.

Malachi 3:6

 

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

 

Lord, you have been our dwelling place

throughout all generations.

Before the mountains were born

or you brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting

you are God.

Psalm 90:2

 

I am so glad that God doesn't change- it is so comforting to know that the same God who helped us back then, is the same God who will help us in the uncertain future.  He is good!

 

I am joining Home and Garden Thursday

Field Trip Time

One of the advantages of home schooling is being able to take lots of field trips.  Getting to see history or science in person is much better than studying it in a book!  So now that the weather is warmer we decided to head out and see what we could see. 

 

Our first stop was this old mill.  They are currently restoring it, so we didn't go inside, but it was fun to imagine how life might have been 140 years ago when this mill was built.

 

 

Here is an early photo of the mill, I'm sure it's good fishing there below the dam!

 

After our windy picnic lunch we stopped at the oldest courthouse still in use in our state.  The boys liked the cannon out front, as well as seeing the old jail in the back of the courthouse.

 

 

The jail was full of signatures of inmates scratched on the walls and bars, along with marks keeping track of their time.  I do not enjoy touring old jails, but the kids thought it was interesting.

 

 

Then we toured this old ranch.  The original owners spared no expense in the building of their stone house, barn, and outbuildings.  We enjoyed seeing the old house and figured if we lived there we would lose people, there were so many different rooms and nooks and crannies!

 

Now we're ready for another adventure!

A new tea set

It sounds so funny now, but deciding to adopt through the foster care system four years ago was one of the scariest things I've ever done.  I was scared of the big needs our child might have, scared of "the state", and scared of what it might mean for our family.  But it was so obvious over that summer of 2012 that God wanted us to adopt through foster care, so, in August we said "yes, Lord," and sent in our application.  Even though it seemed so scary, adopting through foster care has been the biggest blessing in our lives since then, because God gave us our little Miss E.

 

 

She doesn't look too scary, does she?  (:

God knows what he's doing, and if he is asking you to do something out of your comfort zone, don't hesitate to say "yes"!  He is always good, all the time, no matter if what he asks you to do ends up being extremely hard or easier than you thought.

 

Now for our tea time!  A couple weeks ago Miss E's foster mother, (who is amazing), stopped by to give Miss E a birthday gift- a beautiful blue tea set!  We decided to try it out in our secret garden, since the daffodils and grape hyacinths were blooming so beautifully.

 

 

We had a lovely time, the weather was beautiful, not as windy as it has been!

 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD,

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

 

I hope spring is popping up wherever you live as well!

 

I am joining No Place Like Home