Ellie Stands Alone!

Today Eliana Joy stood alone....I said with enthusiasm "ta da!" We did it over and over again. It was so fun to watch her be thrilled with herself. It won't be long now and she will be walking. It is sorta sad really...her independence begins. Soon she won't need me to get around anymore. Well, if I don't stop thinking about this I'll just end up depressed. See, I like being in charge. I like making all the decisions for my kids. I like dressing them, telling them when to go to bed, scheduling their days, organizing their lives. As they move into independence the battles begin. That's because I must give up total control. As a mom with children ranging from 1 to 20 years old, I have been through this struggle before. It is right. It is a good struggle to go through. It is just as God ordained it, but it is not fun. Being a person who struggles in a huge way with disaproval, letting my children grow up, discover who they are, wear their hair how they want, date the people they choose, listen to their own music and any number of other things is the hardest work I've ever had to do, but I am so thankful to be able to do it. My relationship with my Lord has grown so much through it. He has always been in control, but I've had to surrender to it and recognize His control. I have had to turn to Him again and again as the author and perfecter of my children's faith. I have learned to turn a worry into a prayer over and over again. I am learning to enter into the rest that my Abba offers me at a moment's notice. Stopping, remembering Who is in charge, and finding rest for my soul. With rest comes peace...and don't we all long for that? God Bless you and may you find His rest this week.

Blogger Map

So, okay, now I'm curious....I put this map at the bottom of my blog just for fun...well, now that I see that folks from foreign lands are looking at my blog its just not fun...it is driving me crazy to know who you folks from all over the world are....so please say hello just once and tell me about yourself...that would be so fun for me! Also for Sharon Ringo....thanks for saying hi, I tried to get a message back to you, but couldn't...I'm so glad that Emma is doing well. By the way, who is the girl you work with who's folks go to our church??? I've been trying to figure that one out for a week :)

More Fun With Ellie

More Summer

Well, summer is officially here in Florida. It is HOT! In Florida you either stay inside to stay cool or you go swimming. So we are doing some of both. Ellie is doing well. She has decided to cut 3 new teeth at once. She is still very high maintenance and vocal about whatever she is not happy about, but she is our girl and is very much a part of all we do. A friend got her the little outfit that says "All American Girl" and I loved it so I took some pictures of her in it. Then I decided to try a trip to the beach. Oh my....it is a lot of work to get a whole bunch of kids to the beach and I have what feels like a whole bunch of kids! The church youth group was going so we met them there. It was Ellie's first time of course and surprisingly she loved it. No tears at all as long as I didn't try to leave her with anyone other than our gang. We stayed all of about 3 hours and would still be there trying to pack up if the youth folks hadn't had pity on us and helped with our stuff. I would like to get it down to a system like my friend, Abby, but I don't know if that is possible...I'm not very organized. But, hey, we made it and I got those photos to prove that we took her :) Sometimes being a mom feels like having a check list and as long as we do the things on the list then we are a good mom. Oh my...I want my parenting to be so much more than that. No matter that much of parenting is doing the same training over and over and over until one day they say "yes ma'am" to a complete stranger....or that we have to tell them thousands of times to put their dishes in the dishwasher or to put the dvds back in their case when they are done...yes the truth is that the majority of parenting is training...but it must be more than that. It must be the commitment to share life with the people God blesses you with and to enjoy their presence in your life. It must be an adventure to watch and see who God is going to turn these little people into. It needs to be a privilege that I value so highly that I lay aside my lazy tendencies and do all to the glory of God. James Dobson was right when he said, "parenting isn't for cowards". Somehow though God took a coward like me and made me a mom and is teaching me to value my job...not just for Christian women's rights....but for my children...to value to time He gives me with them...to pour myself out for them and to watch in stunned amazement as they rise up and call me blessed. I don't know how God does that, but He does. He honors our commitments even when we have lost the passion for them. He makes us our very best and brings honor to Himself through our measly efforts. He is amazing! Awesome! There is none like Him and I can't begin to do this or any other job without Him. I am a blessed woman and privileged to be a mom. God Bless! Much love and don't forget to enjoy your kids this summer!

More fun

Just a little update....Ellie finally likes me now! She has started being so happy to see me in the mornings and seems really happy to have me as her momma. She loves her daddy now too. I really think it took her about 2 months to forget her foster family, which on the one hand is really sad, but I am so grateful that she is really falling in love with us. Summer is my favorite time of the year, why, you ask? Because we have no school and Sarah is home! We are all having fun hanging out together although that will soon be changing as both of the older kids are getting jobs...life will again change. I don't believe I ever posted about David's dear dad's passing. He went home to Heaven on the day before mother's day during Catherine and Davie's once a year ballet recital. The service for him was wonderful and we are glad that he is rejoicing in Heaven, but we certainly miss him here. Eliana is doing really well developmentally and socially. She allows others to hold her now although she is still not in the church nursery, but that will happen soon enough. Well, here are some fun photos...thanks for checking in. God Bless!!!

Summer 07

Daddys, babies and ballet

New Photos...babies and ballet recitals

Just for fun...Then and Now

This is a page that we are sending to Davie's orphanage as an update on her. A sweet friend designed it for me. Isn't it adorable...the page, I mean...of course Davie Anne is just too cute...check out our Ellie, too...am I blessed or what? (Those bios aren't bad either ;o)

Busy Days

It has been far too long since I have expressed my thoughts here. So many new things all the time are happening with our family. On May 9th Sarah came home for the summer. Yipee! Sarah offers me a teammate in the running of our home. She is not only my daughter but a wonderful friend and help when she is home. I am blessed to have her home. She and Eliana have thoroughly bonded to eachother. It is always fun to watch the kids play together. Ellie has mastered the army crawl and is now enjoying standing and walking a little holding onto our fingers. She continues to grow and change. She is still very opinionated and lets her feelings be known without hesitation. Oh the rewards of a smile and a laugh! She makes us work for them, but rewards us and its fun! She enjoys her daddy now and desires to go to him regularly. I am going to post some pictures soon and try to keep more current with my updates so that someday I can print them for Eliana and Davie as keepsakes of their childhood. I hope you are all well. God Bless!