Happy Birthday Zeke!!!

God brought you into our lives and family in such a miraculous way.  There has never been any doubt, that God gave you to us as a gift.  I had a dream the night before we were asked to take you and I was told we would be blessed if we took you into our home.  That has been such a true statement and promise from God.  You Zeke, are a blessing.

Today, I am filled with gratitude that God trusted us to raise you and call you our son.  It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.  Looking back through all of our photos of you, just warms my heart and brings a smile to my face.  We love you so much.  You were so sweet and tiny the day I met you. 

We picked you up straight from the hospital.  I cut the name band off your leg when we got home.  You had a lot of health issues but were always so even tempered and sweet.  Everyone just adored you!   William shared his toys with you from the start.  A stuffed hamster he was fond of and his favorite Chevron car.  Now that is love!

You were just to cute for words. A perfect baby in every way.  You took everything, going on in our busy family, in stride and went with the flow of life, just taking it all in.

As you grew you always had a huge smile on your face.  Your eyes just twinkled.  You loved to be held and played with but was always content to just play on your own as well. 

You were such a fun and relaxed little guy.  Daddy just ate you up!

As you grew your health became more and more stable.  God did many miracles in your health.  All the glory to God!

Stephen loved you so much too.

When you turned three you got autism.  Your whole life changed and some things became so much harder.  The smiles were harder to get out of you but you stayed so sweet.  Here you are helping Elizabeth get her oxygen hooked back up.  Such a kind little soul.

Elizabeth's and your adoption took place at the same time.  Your foster care case was a very long, hard case and the joy that we felt on adoption day was so wonderful!

You have always loved animals so much.  Your first pet was your bunny Jacob.

You have always loved being outdoors. 

 When you were younger you and your sister rode your ponies regularly.  Here's your second pony Smoky.

We gave you RooBaby and you became inseparable.  We even have to take her with us when we go on vacation to Jekyll Island.  

You take RooBaby everywhere you can and at home she is almost always in your arms.

You try your hardest at all you do.  Even though school work is difficult for you, you always do your very best.  You love to go on field trips.  Here we went to the Cowboy Museum.

Even though you don't smile much, you do have a sense of humor.  Tickling your sister in the middle of getting your picture taken.

You are such a great big brother to the newest additions to the family.  You are very patient, loving and kind to them all.

Zeke wanted a cake with Jay from legos on it.  My sister did a very good job, as she always does, making it special for him.  Just what he wanted.  Thank you Aunt "S" and Uncle "B" for making him feel special.

William was making bunny ears on me in order to get him to really smile in this photo.

William made him this birthday video.  Great job William.  Zeke loved it!

It has been such an honor to watch you grow from that little newborn, to the strong and healthy young man you are today.  Thank you God for the last 14 years we have been blessed to have Zeke in our lives!

Exodus 23:25  And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

Love Always, Dad, mom, Stephen, Antonio, William, Carolyn, Elizabeth, Billy, Timothy, Kinsley and Baby "A"

Thanksgiving!

As the calendar changes over every year from October to November, there is a shift in our home.  A changing of gears, with all the feelings and emotions of this wonderful time of year.  A time of year for bringing out all of our warmer clothing, enjoying cooler weather, watching the leaves change colors and focusing on being thankful for all that God has done for us.

Taking the time to jump in puddles! Big jump up!

Big splash down.

Wonderful wet fun!

Life slows down for us in the fall.  Most of the yearly doctors appointments have been met.  By the time fall gets here, we are in a good routine for home schooling.  I don't have as much yard and garden work to do.  We have time to do extra projects and the children can play outside longer in the cooler weather. 

Water and dirt makes this stuff?  Who knew!

We have time for home school trips, fall cleaning, and lots of' "one on one" time for the children and myself.  I have time to reflect.  I look around me and see all that God has done for us and I am humbled.  We live a very busy life.  A life where every moment of every day is full.  A life where sometimes I don't know how I am going to get it all done.  A life where many days go by, where we never have a break and at times, things can be very stressful and hard...but thru it all...every moment of every day is good.  We live such a rich and full life raising all of these children.  I see miracles unfold every single day.  To witness children learn and grow.  To see them overcome fears and struggles.  The hugs and snuggles, tears and joy!  It is such an honor to be blessed by God with each and every child we have.  God choose Tim and I, to be the ones to write the pages, in the days, of the story of their lives.  He choose us to help them heal, shape who they will be and even thought it is not always easy, it is truly amazing to be a part of it all.  All the Glory to God!

Fun with leaves!

Such simple happiness!

Sweet boy!

God is so awesome.  He knows what He called us to do and knows it is not always easy.  He gives us what we need every day, to accomplish what needs to be done and he provides for our family abundantly in miraculous ways.  In the last month he has blessed us with a new oven, (our old one had died and we were cooking for our large family out of our toaster oven), hay for the winter for our goats, ballet for Carolyn, our lift in our bus broke and has been fixed, just to name a few.  Big needs met in miraculous ways, that happen in a way, that we know it was from God and only God.  Needs that no one knew about and have been met over and over again, year after year, in huge ways.  Every time with Gods finger print on it, in a way that can not be denied.  Blessed...though we don't deserve it, thought we make mistakes, though we are not perfect.  God, the creator of the universe, cares enough about the details of our lives, to reach down from heaven and bless us.  Amazing, humbling...So this is a time of year that we ponder and do some deep thinking, that we stop to take the time to say, "Thank you God!" "To you be all glory and honor and praise!" Not only for salvation but for all of the gifts and blessings in and on our lives.  I am forever grateful.

May the Lord God, in heaven above, be with you this November.  May He show you His powerful hand in a big way, drawing you closer to Him, anointing you for His calling and purpose.

Colossians 3:15-17  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Blessings,
susan

National Adoption Awareness Month 2015

It seems they have a day or month to honor, remember or bring awareness to everything now days. There are so many, that I often don't even know about them all.  There is one, that I do know about and I always try to write about and that is National Adoption Awareness Month. (November) To read my past posts on it, you can read them here (My 2013 in depth post with resources) and  here (My 2014 post).

I write about it because it is dear to my heart and because so many people don't know about the huge number of children that need families or the many ways one can help these children.  So many children will never know the love of family and that is so sad and unnecessary in the world we live in today.  Many of them overseas live in orphanages and once they reach a certain age, the door closes to them forever, to ever be adopted.  The age is usually around age 14, sometimes much younger.  Its even harder for children with special needs to find a family. 

There is one fact from the Bible about this topic and that is, that we are all supposed to take care of the orphans. (Psalms 68: 5-6) (James 1:27) That does not mean that we are all called to adopt an orphan but we are all called to care for them on a personal level.  The truth is, that no matter what you are called to do to care for one, it will make a huge difference for that child.  Please take the time to sit and pray about what your roll is supposed to be in caring for the orphans of this world.  Prayer changes things in big ways.  You might be called to pray for an orphan, by having God lead you to an orphans photo on line, printing their picture out and putting it on your fridge.  Every time you see that child's picture, stop and say a prayer for their forever family to find them.  You might be called to donate towards the adoption of a child or to help fund someone elses adoption.  You might be called to minister to a family that you know locally, that has already adopted, by mentoring one of their children, babysitting, buying school supplies, bringing a meal once in a while or simply asking if they have a need.  All of these suggestions are being Christs hands and feet to an orphan, help in big ways and will mean the world to a child.

If you think about it, we were all orphans before God adopted us and made us new creatures in Christ Jesus.  It made all the world of difference for us and changed our lives forever, by the sacrifice that was made for us.  Yes, sacrifice.  Adoption and serving God is a sacrifice.  Giving our whole life back to Jesus because He gave His whole life for us.

If you read through the Bible, God did not call people to do logical things.  Most of them felt under qualified and hesitant.  Many questioned if this was really what He wanted them to do. Many were not treated well or made fun of, for doing what God called them to do.  Many of the things He called them to do were hard and changed their lives forever but they were in Gods will and were blessed for it.  Moses felt under qualified to lead the children of Israel to the promised land.  He could have lived a life of luxury in Egypt but he gave up his life for God and in the Bible, he is called a friend of God.  I want to be Gods friend.  I want to always be in His will and be doing His work because I love Him and am grateful that He provided a way for me to be saved.  He usually calls us to do things that we know we can't do, because then we know we did not do them in and of ourselves but through His hand and power.  All the glory to God!

If you are interested in praying for a child that needs a family, here are a few websites.

Children needing homes in America.  Search for children by state under the Meet The Children tab (AdoptUSKids).

Children with special needs needing homes in other countries.  You can also donate to their adoptions on this site, so someone might be able to adopt them because some of the expense has been paid already. Search under Waiting Children tab. (Reece;s Rainbow)

International children needing homes.  I am not affiliated with them in any way or have ever used them to adopt but they do have a photo listing if you make a password. 

If you are interested in helping those that are in process of adopting and are fund raising, here are a few families I know of, that are in the process of it all.

The Musser Family at The Blessing of Verity blog.  A precious family used by God to bless so many. 

Thomas and Kats adoption fundraising for Timothy here at Everlasting Momentum.   Serving the Lord thru adoption.

Linny Saunders at the blog called A Place Called Simplicity. Adoption of JonWesley. You can contact her here.

If you are interested in reading about families, that follow Gods leading by adopting, you can go to any of these blogs and pray for their precious families.  There are many more on the internet.

The Road Down Home

No Greater Joy Mom

Theres No Place Like Home 

May the Lord God in Heaven make His plans for your life clear to you.  May He lead and guide you to serve Him in all you do.  May He pour out His abundant blessings upon you as you live and grow in Him.

Joshua 24:15  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

 

Blessings,

susan