Snow Fall

Today was our first snowfall...it still makes me giddy. I love that Matt sets his alarm early so he can start shoveling and have the driveway cleared for us to head to work. I even love that I get to be out in the snow at my new job. I love that Lydia was bouncing off the walls so ready to go play as soon as I walked in the door.

We bundled up while Garrett was sleeping and headed outside for just a little bit. She made snow angels, I pulled and pushed her down our fantastic snow sledding hill enough times to wear her out and burn a few calories for me. We let Layla out to run and play in it with us and she chased us down the hill on our bright purple sled.

We came in and made hot chocolate, her first hot chocolate, she counted the marshmallows even asking me to help her with math as she added a few more to her cup.

Something about this morning made this holiday season seem real. It's been weird being in a new house for Christmas, my decorations don't feel the same and we can't put lights on our roof because Matt would never survive it. It's been different and weird but today it felt real. I slowed down to play with my kid and watch the snow fall out our window with my little guy from his favorite seat in the house.

I want to focus on all that has been good in our lives this year and this house is one of those things, different isn't bad it's no cause for a funk but I let it put me there a little bit, different means change and change is good and we are all family under this roof and that's all that matters.

A little Garrett Update::15 months

Our little guy is 15 months!! (He will be 16 months on December 3rd) time just flies with two babies, I've said it before, time is not as lazy and forgiving as it was with only one but you tend to cherish the short moments that you have in the quiet with your 2nd one just a little more because you don't know when that next moment will come.

We are getting to a point where we can just sit and observe the two of our kiddos play and explore with each other, we can watch their relationship from the outside and it is so fun to watch this special bond between them grow. Yes we are getting into the grunts and cries from Garrett when sister does something he doesn't like and we are hearing the yells of "Mom Garrett did this or that" but man it's fun and at times pretty entertaining to watch as a parent.

Our man is now a full blown walker/runner/toddler. He loves just walking and seeing how fast he can go before he falls down. We have these mini window seats in some of our windows and he loves to climb up on them and look out the window. He also loves to play on the ottoman, climbing is fun apparently and a tad scary for mommy.

He is still a great eater, the only things he hasn't liked are tomatoes, eggs, ground beef or hamburger and cheerios. Everything else is pretty much a go.

He is not talking he has a couple sporadic words like Layla, mama and something that sounds like Hello. Our doctor and us really are not worried about it yet because he thinks he is having a conversation with you and he will answer you back in what he probably thinks it's a perfectly acceptable answer he just hasn't formed the words yet. We are working on it and just like with everything else when it comes to him, it will be in his time and we will look back saying "be careful what you wish for".

Sleeping is better but we still get the occasional 2-3 days in a row where he will wake up at about 4/4:30 and we have to find his paci and help him back to sleep. He will also sleep at my parents house now which means they can spend the night there again. Not nearly as much as when Lydia was little but we've had a couple successful sleepovers.

His curls are still intact, he had his first hair cut at the end of October and we were sure not to touch the curls!

15 month stats:
32 1/2 inches - 90th percentile (he hit a growth spurt)
24.8 lbs. - 50th percentile

We are just loving this little man more and more everyday, he has a smile that will melt the hardest of hearts and a blossoming personality to match.

Church

We were in Haiti on a Sunday so we had the privilege of attending church while we there. This church like most Haitian buildings/homes had no windows, the windows are cut out with decorative iron bars over them but no glass. So as I sit in the back of this church I am aware of how I am the most comfortable temperature wise I have been the entire trip as the breeze blows off the ocean and into the church where I sit on the end of the pew making googly eyes at the adorable toddler in front me. I was so calm and relaxed, just at peace during this service.

We were told it would be about 2 hours long and that it would be done in Creole. I would be lying if I didn't say I was dreading it. What I experienced blew me away. It became one of my top 3 moments of the trip. I vividly remember standing swaying to the worship song they were singing, I knew it in English but just hummed along, tears streaming down my face. Not because of how poor these people were or because I felt sorry for them but because I felt the Lord in that place, it was a Holy feeling. Hearing songs you know and sing in English being done in another language does something to you, it shows you how small the world we live in everyday really is. That our God is bigger and spans so many languages, cultures, and countries. They don't care who can sing and who can't, it's not about being good at singing it's about praising Jesus and doing it BIG. They all wear their best clothes and again the siblings take care of each other and the moms rock babies to sleep on their laps and about half way through just like any church at home, the kids get anxious.

We were welcomed by the pastor that was filling in, he spoke English and invited a member of our group up to pray over the whole congregation as he translated, what a powerful experience. They had each of us introduce ourselves by name so they could welcome us, we held their babies and their toddlers hands. 

It is a moment I want to replay in my head over and over again, what a surprise to find that one of the moments I was dreading because selfishly I was afraid I would be bored or uncomfortable, became one of the defining moments on this trip. 

English Class

We had the opportunity to teach two English classes while we were in Haiti. We taught them at Respire but it wasn't just the students of Respire it was the older population of the community, spanning from late teens to probably 30 or so. I had no idea what to expect when I heard we would be teaching the beginner class.

One of the school buildings where we taught our class

I am not a teacher, I never even wanted to be a teacher at any point in my life when I would dream about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I don't have the patience or the creativity for it. BUT this was something we just jumped into with both feet.

 We worked on body parts that first class and then on colors and time the second class. It was so fun to watch them get so excited over pronouncing something correctly or watching it finally click. I have never seen grown people cram themselves into the front row of a classroom so anxious to learn. They wanted to be at the front of the class. They wanted to learn and they wanted to practice with us.

Towards the end of that first class a young woman came up and said she had a song to share with everyone. She wrote it on the board, in English. I then read through it for the class to hear it in English and make sure they knew all the words. The song was called "Lay it Down" the young women who then sang the song in the front of the class blew my mind. They were so beautiful, so confident, so full of joy...we explained it later as experiencing a bit of heaven. A place where color of skin doesn't matter, your material possessions don't matter, where you live doesn't matter, if you have an education or the struggles you may be experiencing NONE of it mattered. It was the blending of voices and hands reached to the sky in worship together.

Our team hugged or shook every hand in that classroom that night. We spoke words of encouragement and God's truth to those beautiful women, that they were beautiful and so talented, that they blessed us with their music that night. We thanked them for letting us be part of their classroom. I don't know who was more excited that night, our team or the people in our class. We all left that night with smiles plastered on our face with a sense of renewed purpose and meaning for our trip. To them English means a chance at a job or a new life. To be a part of that means more than I think I knew at that time. To them it's a ticket to something more.

Our English Class

I never want to forget that night, that feeling, those voices and smiling faces. 

Feeding Program

I would say one of the most eye opening experiences of the whole trip was the feeding program we helped with on Saturday evening. It was the first real experience we had with the kids in the community as we had just arrived the day before and during the day Saturday we attended a soccer game where mostly they all just stared at the white people and we didn't get to interact much.

We watched as close to 100 kids filed into the gates of Respire school and onto the soccer field to wait for a meal. This was our first time being exposed to how badly these kids just want affection, how much they just want us to hold their hand, pick them up, or sit on the ground while they pile into our laps. We played for a while, then shared the story of Joseph through a skit with translators. They clapped and sang all while their little tummy's rumbled from hunger. They were never impolite or pushy, they just simply waited for meal time. Then they waited in line for their hands to be sanitized. We started with the smallest and ended with the oldest. We carried plates of the rice mixture to sit with the babies of the group and help them eat. They cleared their plates. I watched in awe as they shoveled in every last bite, it didn't matter if it touched the ground first. I can't get Lydia to finish her dinner and here these kids wiped their plates clean.

The siblings took care of each other, the oldest often times helping their younger siblings to eat then packing their dinner away to take with them, not taking one bite for themselves. The selflessness of this act hit my heart so hard. I pictured Lydia walking up that mountain carrying Garrett or holding his hand. Most them walked from close by but there were a few they said that come from outside of the city to eat on Saturdays.

We never let the kids see us cry but on the way down the mountain a team member and I let it all sink in, let the reality of the situation hit us. It was hard to witness but so good to know they receive this meal every week. It's so good to know they are hearing the gospel and eating among believers who are helping them put on their shoes to walk back down the mountain and who are helping them eat so they can sleep without hungry tummy's.

It was my first experience witnessing true hunger and it's a day I won't forget, I pray I don't forget the look on their faces, the clean plates, the hands that grabbed mine...those are what will keep me in action and keep me accountable to keep traveling to meet them where they are, to raise funds and to keep telling their story! Hopefully, spurring others to do the same.

Haiti

I arrived back in the states late Friday night and have been enjoying my husband and kids over the last couple days. I returned to work this morning and through it all have been trying to process all that took place over my 8 days in Haiti.

It was eye opening, heart wrenching, inspiring, hopeful, discouraging and overwhelming. It threw me to my knees and on my face to a God who loves these people and knows the corrupt government they live in, the extreme poverty and lonely children. He knows them and loves them, he never promised there wouldn't be poor among us he asks us to love them and to visit them to share who he is with them. That's what we did, did we ever love on some kids and we had moments of worship and sharing the gospel with them.

8 days is such a short time to feel like you made a difference but it's long enough to witness the need and it's long enough to fall in love.

I was trying to decide how to best lay this out for all of you who prayed us through this trip. This week I am going to focus on my top 3 moments on this trip, to the moments that made a bee line to my heart and wrecked it for this country and it's people.

Stay tuned...it's a task to process it all in the midst of life and excess, with holidays coming and trying to decide what to do with this new responsibility. 

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12

Do I have Any Prayer Warriors out There??

So I could use a few or a whole heck of a lot of prayer warriors over the next week.  I leave for Haiti on Friday morning at 6:45 am with my sister, we arrive in Miami then meet our team a team that I have never met but spoken with on 5 weeks worth of phone calls and emails. We will travel together from Miami to Haiti. I hear the airport in Haiti is a tad scary especially for a group of 15 white people. We will then travel to Gressier where we stay with the staff and people of Respire Ministry's for the whole week.

If you would find it in your heart to pray for me, my family and my team I would forever be grateful and thankful for you. When I pray I like to make a list, I like to write it down where I know I have spoken the words in my heart and although God hears our unspoken words, the words we don't even know we are searching for it just helps me to process it all and a way for me to be intentional with prayer so here are my prayer requests for this trip:

 - Safety in our travels, flying isn't super scary to me but as a mom it's become more so, when I fly and leave my little ones on the ground below it becomes a bit scarier. I've also heard crazy things about the roads in Haiti, like monster potholes etc.

- Health, for me and my team so we can be the best we can be and the most helpful we can be on this trip to the people of Respire, also for the health of my husband and kids at home, what a downer for Matt to have sick kids or be sick himself as a single parent for a week.

- For the children and staff at Respire, that we will be helpful and provide them with some extra hands to get things done for the week, to bring some smiles/hugs/laughter to the children who might need it, that they will feel the love of our Savior who knows every hair on their head and every dream in their heart.

- For my teams hearts and minds as we try and process all that we see, the sights, the smells, the good the bad ... all of it, we will feel a lot of emotions over the week and those are hard to process during and after the trip.

- For my husband and babies, that they know how much I love them and how much I will miss them, that the kids not give matt too much trouble and that the week goes smooth here.


Thank you for praying for me, my team and my family. The enemy doesn't want me on this trip, he doesn't want a group of 15 heading in the name of Jesus to another country where we will spread HIS love...there are bound to be hiccups and the only way to deal with that is on our knees. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, look for posts and pictures when I return.

My Anthem for Haiti

My prayer for this trip has been that it will launch me into living a BRAVE life a life where I say YES to what he is calling me and my family to. This song is speaking to me at this point as I am counting down to ONE WEEK until I hop on a plane with my sister and go love on some kiddos and ministry leaders in Haiti. That I step out of the boundaries of this country and out of the boundaries of my comfort zone.

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders...."

Enjoy, maybe it will speak to your heart as it does mine.

A little about my trip to Haiti

So I thought it would be a good time to share a bit about my upcoming trip to Haiti with Visiting Orphans. Our team has started having weekly conference calls to prepare and we only have 2 more before we all meet in Miami to head to Haiti together.

First of all we will be heading to the city/town of Gressier, Haiti. Gressier is about 20 miles west of Port au Prince. We will be working alongside Respire Ministries. With their school year just starting up this October (this will be there 2nd official school year as a ministry) we aren't exactly sure of our jobs or what we will be doing when we get there. I do know we will be helping with their feeding program and I am excited to see how this all works and pans out.

They have a 6 room primary school, a 4 classroom Kindergarten, and a 4 classroom Secondary School. They have a feeding program every Saturday morning and discipleship program every Saturday afternoon. They recently opened the Freedom House for girls in severly abusive and dangerous situations. They have started an English Language Program, Soccer Discipleship program and recently broke ground for a medical clinic.

They have roughly 500 students enrolled in their school, 70-80% of these students are restaveks (children slaves). These restaveks are children usually between the ages of 4-15 who are sometimes sold between families, do all the chores, cleaning, washing, fetching water and unfortunately most often abused and do not go to school. Respire wishes to make relationships with the people of Gressier in order to educate them on the Restavek crisis. Through education, scripture and God's love, they hope to create awareness of equality for these children. Read more about  Restavek Awareness and Education HERE.

It is overwhelming to think of how we will even be able to make a bit of difference in only 1 week with these people but I know God has a plan for us as a team and for those we will meet and live with for a week at Respire.

Thank you in advance for your prayers for our team and for those at Respire who live everyday to serve these children, so they can learn of God's love for them and to serve those in the community who do not realize the importance of these children in their lives.

Thankful Heart

Today I come to you all with a Thankful Heart, singing a totally different tune then last week when my heart felt in shreds and my list felt iniliated.

First of all, Layla the pup is home and seperated from the rest of the family. We are thankful for our new home that has allowed us to set up a doggy condo of sorts for her in our partially finished basement. She has no contact with our other dog and only supervised contact with the kiddos. She is doing well and we pray this allows us the opportunity to have her in our lives and control the situation.

Also, immunizations CHECK prescriptions CHECK. Travel to do list is growing by the minute but it felt good to get those two biggies marked off this week!

Today I was filled with an overwhelming peace about the place we are at in our lives. The fact that I might have given up a pretty great job with higher pay to go to a job that I LOVE and spend part of my day at the pumpkin patch and orchard drinking apple cider slushies while Lydia talks about what colors she is going to paint her pumpkin. Singing along to some of our favorite songs on the way home to make lunch together.

I want to remember that a week ago it felt awful and impossible but God answers prayers he does not forget us and he heals those bruises in his time, sometimes that only takes a week or a couple days sometimes it can take longer but we just need to TRUST that he will, in his way and in his time.

 Some older photos from a few weeks ago but just love these kiddos so much!

If you do Good...Bad things will happen

I had heard from others who have traveled on missions that the Devil chooses to attack when you are moving towards your goal, traveling, trying to get all of your list checked off before you go etc. I learned first hand this week that this is a very real thing. The Devil does not want you to complete good works, he wants to derail you and watch you question everything you are working towards.

Yesterday I had planned to get my drivers license updated with my new address, finally, figured I needed to before I left the country. I was going to be waking Garrett up from his nap to do this before preschool pick up then I was going to go after pick up to my doctors with both kids in tow to get my immunizations because my Dr. told me I could call ahead of time and then just walk in if they had it on hand. 

I was nervous to do all this with kids in tow and messing with nap and lunch times. Little did I know when I got home from work that Layla and Ellie had been in a fight earlier that morning and when my Aunt said Ellie had been really quiet I thought that was strange she is not quiet by nature when she is baby gated away from the family. Sure enough when I checked on her she had quite a bad gash in the fatty part under her neck and then later that afternoon we saw her eyeball was swelling and bulging. 

I put her away, take Garrett to my BMV appointment calling the vet on the way...I'm sorry we can't take her in unless you can bring her right now...uh no I can't do that...que water works. They tell me I need to bring her in the morning. I arrive at the BMV not expecting to need a new picture had to get a new picture with no makeup on, my hair in a gross pony, crying eyes and a baby on my lap. 

Get done early from the BMV stop by my doctor's office. Oh I'm sorry we can't give you your immunization because you have not seen Dr. so and so since 2011.  (I have had a baby and take my kids to see her) so instead I have to make an appt with her for next week....why wasn't I told this when I called the day before or when I asked my dr. over a month ago. 

Go pick up my daughter from preschool, drop the kids off with my aunt so I can properly kick our dog out of our home and take her to the kennel where she now resides while we are making arrangements aka begging for her to find a new home. This being the dog we have had since a puppy, she is 5, lived with our pug all her life. This is the dog who laid in bed with me for 2 days when we lost our baby 2 years ago, she laid on the edge of all of our kids blankets and watched over them when they were newborns. She has had 6 foster brother and sister pups in and out of our house but for some reason cannot get along with Ellie anymore. We had to make a decision after many chances were given, we just can't risk that happening anymore with the children around. 

It's so hard and I feel like such a failure, I feel like I have let her down and that I am abandoning her. I have only stopped crying to put on a face for the kids so they don't know anything is wrong although Lydia knows that mommy is sad. 

The devil is at work in my life but I am trying hard to keep going, to call and make appointments for physicals so I can get my immunizations, working hard to find time in the midst of appointments, meds for the dog now and giving time to the kids to watch my videos and pray for my team. 

To be honest I want to give up I want to throw in the towel and say you win, I shouldn't leave this to go away for a week, I shouldn't leave my kids and my mess of a house and life to go dive head first into serving others when I can't take care of myself. BUT that is what the devil wants me to do that is what he hopes I will do. So I say NO to him and YES to God, yes to what he has called me to. To the people of Haiti where something big awaits me and my team. Where we can provide extra hands and maybe a sense of rest to the staff at Respire. 

This attack is real but so is my God and he is bigger and I will lean on him in this mess of a life and make it to Nov. 1 when I get on that plane with my sister and head to Haiti. 

Please pray for the hearts of others that will no doubt be under attack as I am. 

If we are doing Good things ... Bad things will happen. 

InstaFriday

So I haven't shared any phone pictures in a while and well I have some special moments from the last few weeks that I want to remember and share here because it's InstaFriday :) 

       
       
           
           
       

These sleepy pups found their forever homes

This girl started up dance class again

I got to visit with my group of friends from college, I love the history and the future in this group

Soaked up the last days of summer

We got a new KING bed and Lydia was testing it out...2 thumbs up!

We spent the morning at the new Playscape at the Childrens Museum, love watching them together

 

 

 

My brain

My brain has a lot going on.:

I am constantly in thought about the next step for our family
Why is Garrett chatting away upstairs instead of taking a nap doesn't he know mommy goes back to work in an hour and then nap time chances are done
What to do with all the blank walls in our house without breaking the budget
What color to paint the big storage cubby in the playroom
It's September and 95+ degrees with about 100% humidity
Should we have all the trim in our house painted white
Garrett isn't talking or walking, that's weird for me
Adoption country
Christmas presents, what should I get everyone, how much should I spend
Purdue football is not very good

Yup all that went through my head in the 10 minutes it took me to sit here and stare at a blank screen. My life is a lot different then it was just a month ago. I'm thankful for it :)

Life Lately

Life Lately, has been a sweet transition into a more balanced schedule for me, one with work at a new job that I love and more time as a mom. It's been a time of changes for Lydia with her in preschool and a time of changes for Garrett has he explores the possibility of becoming a toddler (I don't count them as toddlers until they are in fact toddling, he's not walking yet) We also welcomed new foster puppies into our home, two baby pups, brother and sister are with us until they have had their shots and are spayed/neutered. Then they will go to new homes, no doubt very quickly because they are stinkin cute!

Now onto pictures of this life lately.

1st Birthday..It was a Party!!

I had grand plans for this party but I'm so happy I just through it together at the last minute :) With of course the help of my mom and sister, they are my lifesavers and helped so much!!

Our menu:
 - mini pigs in a blanket
 - bufallo and bbq chicken sliders
 - veggie/fruit
 - cotton candy
 - cupcakes
 - popcorn bar
 - peanuts


Thanks to all of our family and friends who came to celebrate, our little guy is loved!!

Another Big Change in 2013

So when I wrote this post back at the beginning of the year I knew we could potentially have a lot of change happening in our lives this year. Change that I was going to greet with open arms as God presented it to us. If he opened a door we were walking through it and we would keep walking until he closed it.

A huge door was opened for us in the last month. If you were to look through my prayer journal you would see a HUGE request on there pretty much anytime I sat down to spill my guts and get out my requests on paper. A prayer that if I could not be a SAHM if it was not in the cards for my family that I could find a job that would allow me more time with them, that I could spend more time with my kids than I am away from them.

My last day at my current 9-5 job is ending today, I start my new job back at the place that I started my working life when I was 15 years old, I worked there through high school and college breaks. I am going to be working at a kennel where I can work a split shift leaving me all afternoon with my kids. My time with them will go from about 1- 2 hours a day with them to about 7.

God amazes me at his timing, his absolute perfect timing. This is happening in time for Lydia's carpool to start at preschool next week, allowing me the chance to pick her up everyday and hear all about what she learned and who her new friends are. It's happening after we moved into a house that is 1/2 a mile from my new "office" and I am located right down the street from my amazing family who watches the kids (as in we are practically neighbors)

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had at this last job, for the confidence I built, for the thick skin I developed, for the friends and contacts I made  but I am so incredibly excited to spend more time being a mom and the rest of my time doing something I adore. Taking care of people's furry family members when they are away.

Be patient in your requests, they are not falling on deaf ears. He listens He cares and He takes care of his children.

You are 1

Garrett,

I cannot believe it has been one year since you arrived,  all 8 lbs. 9 oz of you. It's been a year since we found out that we would be blessed with a son and we would name him Garrett.

You my sweet boy have taught me so much about patience and grace this year. You taught me to take in the small moments no matter how short and ingrain them in my memory take a snapshot for my heart for later because our time was not as slow and lazy as when we brought your sister home. Being the second kid can't always be easy. There are times you would have to sit and wait for me to wipe a butt or get your sister juice or milk for the billionth time in an hour and you were a trooper. You still looked at us, the girls in your life like we hung the moon. I appreciate that grace you gave me everyday while I was learning this parenting multiple children thing.

I always pictured myself with a blue eyed, blonde, curly haired boy. I had no reason to think I would get that, I don't have the blondest hair and your daddies isn't real blonde or curly either. But guess what?? God gave me exactly that, a blonde curly haired blue eyed baby boy that has the sweetest smile and lights up my life.

You eat eat and eat some more, you can down a whole kids burrito from Moe's like a champ! You are in 12 month clothes but moving on up to 18 soon, wear 4 diapers and love bath time, talking into anything like it's a telephone, pushing your highchair, cars or anything with wheels around the house.

You are 23 lbs. 31 inches. (50 % and 75 % respectively)

I am so looking forward to more moments of peeking in the playroom and spying on you and your sister playing together. She can still make you laugh like nobody else. I'm looking forward to those days of you toddling around the house as you learn to walk. I'm looking forward to everything else you have to teach me because I'm pretty sure I learn more from you than you do from me.

I love you with my whole heart forever!!

Love,
Mommy

Incredible Family

This family is the featured family on Give 1 Save 1 this week. Their video moved me to tears, they are such a beautiful example of love. Take the time to watch and donate if you feel led to. Lets help them get these beautiful girls into their forever home!!  Garretts's 1st Bday did happen, it was awesome and adorable, post coming this week about it but for now lets bless the socks off this family!!

Mama is a Hot Mess

First of all, we just went to orientation last night for Lydia's preschool. I was overwhelmed to say the least, just a lot that I didn't think about. Things I'm glad the school is thinking about. Things like carpool line, security measures, and packing an extra pair of clothes in a zip loc bag to keep in their school bag. Glad they know what they are doing. Like I said before I can't do this alone, I'm leaning on those God puts in my path.

Second, my baby boy is turning 1 on Saturday. ONE YEAR OLD.... How the heck does this happen so fast? Why does this happen so fast? I'm not as sad and weepy as I was with Lydia when she turned a year (pretty sure I cried every day for a month) because I know how much fun is ahead but I think a  part of every mama grieves the loss of that first year, the newness and sweetness of a newborn. Just knowing that you can never go back to that time again, the first time but man all the good that happens along the way. I'm holding on to that and soaking it all in. He is such a blessing to this family.

Oy, this mama's emotions are all over the place. Please disregard me if you see me in public. I'm not always such a hot mess I promise.

Visiting Orphans::GO.BE.LOVE

I happen to be traveling with Visiting Orphans to Haiti this fall with my sister. We are beyond excited, nervous, anxious and ready to see what God has planned for us and those we will travel with and serve on this trip. I wanted to share today a little bit about why we chose to travel with Visiting Orphans. 

Their Values: 

Centered on Christ

Focused on Relationship

Dedicated to Transformation

Committed to Advocacy

Their Mission:

Committed to seeing lives transformed by empowering and equipping Christ-followers to GO to the nations, BE focused on relationship and LOVE like Christ by caring for children and communities world-wide.

I have also watched other bloggers travel with Visiting Orphans, I have watched their lives be transformed, their desire to love others and to step out of their comfort zone to do something that might seem radical to them and do it in the name of Jesus. It doesn't get much better and exciting than that folks! 

They care about us as the team members traveling, they want us to be prepared and ready for what we will experience and they want to bring us closer as Christians to God before we embark on these trips. 

Today they launched their new video.  I am sharing it here in hopes that you might be motivated to step out of your comfort zone or to support those you know that are stepping out and traveling soon. 

28

Last Friday I turned 28. I don't feel like that's old. A lot of my friends are turning 29 and are fretting the big 30. They don't want it to come but I feel good about where I am at. I actually feel like a baby in my line of work and in the world of mom's with 2 children.

I feel accomplished, I feel pretty comfortable with my life. I would love to have another kid or 2 (maybe, if you asked me Saturday I would have said no and please take these two with you) but I love being a mom. I love being a young mom.

My birthday was a pretty scattered deal because a lot of those major players involved in birthday dinners and/or parties were out of town but we treated 28 pretty well. I got pizza with my kids at our favorite pizza restaurant with my amazing mother and siblings. Then we hit up a small bar, my favorite little south side bar with my sister and her boyfriend and my best friend from high school and her husband. It felt good, nothing over the top, a lot like our life or like we are trying to live our life. Simple and surrounded by those that we love.

So here is to another fantastic year, a year that right now is turning out to be every bit of the change we saw coming and were waiting to embrace with open arms. Another post to come soon on our next big change.

Thank you God for another year, a year that welcomed my son and made me a mom of 2, a year that saw us move into our forever home, a year that my husband and I celebrated 5 years of marriage together, and a year that is teaching me a lot more about grace and patience.

28 Let's Do This!!

Me and my girl at dinner, she was so into sitting next to mommy the birthday girl. Maybe because I had a small cake in my bag for her to dig into after dinner. Girl has a sweet tooth! 

My and my man wrapping up the night. Love him so much!