New Beginnings

      WOW!!! I feel like it is the first day of the rest of my life ... I am feeling very peaceful and reassured, so many changes and all laced with the sweet  promise of fulfillment. 
      I am feeling so very excited for this year and all the unknown ways God will be working! I feel it like a cool breeze blowing across my face on a warm afternoon, softly caressing my skin with a reassurance of up and coming changes ... of up and coming blessings.
      Thank You Lord Jesus for answering my prayers, thank You for new beginnings. *sigh*

Officially

      Well 10 years ago today it became official and we were told that our arms would never be empty again ... our hearts would EVER be moving and dipping and our lives would be forever blessed! Today is one of my very favorite holidays, today is our Adoption Day Anniversary!
      Eleven years ago we met and fell completely in love with our boys! We pursued Gods plan for our family and thankfully things have never been the same sense.
      They were never in my womb but have always been in my heart. I thank the Lord for His amazing ability to turn evil into good, broken into whole and lose into abundant joy!

Happily Ever After?

      I read a post this morning on marriage that said, "Happily ever after is not a fairy tale, it is a choice!" I really loved this, I loved it so much because that is exactly what I have learned in this life. It always comes back to that again and again. A choice!
       Love is a choice, forgiveness is a choice, contentment is a choice, kindness is a choice, faithfulness is a choice! A happy marriage is most definitely a choice and our salvation truly is our choice, and absolutely the most important of all choices! My prayer for Chris and I is that we will continue on choosing as we have and always CHOOSE to love the other first. That my children, my family and friends will choose wisely and reap the tremendous rewards therein.

Be Still

      Went with my honey, on a water damage job this morning. While he did sciency calculations and monitoring with all his high tech equipment and charts I walked down to the home owners dock and soaked it all in. 

      Dozens of birds flying around singing while they munched on the early morning bugs, deer meandering down to the water to drink and frolic, several Mama ducks taking their ducklings on adventures on beautiful Lake Pend Oreille. The verse "Be still and know that I am God." kept rolling around and around in my mind. Wow ... I was struck by God's magnificent creation, what a wonderfully peaceful morning.

       I am very thank to Chris for suggesting I tag along with him instead of catching up on the house work. :)

      

Overwhelmed

      I am feeling quite overwhelmed today ... I can not seem to shut my mind off ... and here are just a few of my thoughts:
      I have received some difficult news just lately; my father-in-law was just diagnosed with cancer, it looks like it will be a very positive outcome, and for that I am so very grateful. Also my Papa Carl called me today with another dose of reality, he will be going in for a bone marrow biopsy next week to confirm the Dr.'s diagnoses of Leukemia. The Dr. thinks it is slow growing and very treatable and again I thank God for the positive.
      So as I lifted these two men that I love up in prayer throughout the day something scoured to me ... some of these very precious to me relationships I have have come from the most unexpected places.
   Choosing a spouse is one thing, but you can not choose what family they come from ... I knew I loved Chris and I knew his family would be mine as well and that I would grow to love them all very much. But what an unexpected, unforeseen blessing they are to me, my family, my father, mother and siblings.          
       My Grandfather (who invested in me far more time, energy and love than most) married into my family when I was 7, what an unexpected, unforeseen blessing he has been in my life! What a tremendous example of a loving, cherishing husband he has been, what an inspiration he was for me in choosing wisely the man of my dreams!
       Some of the closest friendships I have have come unexpectedly, through my daycare or a friend of a friend, totally unforeseen.
       I have for always, like most little girls dreamed of becoming a mother and when I fell completely in love with my husband my dream grew ... I didn't just want to be a mother, I wanted to me the mother of his children, to share with him in the making of a family. What an AMAZING, UNEXPECTED, UNFORESEEN BLESSING our children are! Never could I have imagined this relationship that I have been SO very blessed with!  
        I thank the Lord today for His wisdom and His unexpected, unforeseen, overwhelming gifts! 

Farmers

      Well ... I was NEVER accused of being the smartest person in any given room, and this is possibly an example of why:

      Chris' brother and four little wonderful, amazing short people have been staying with us for the last 10 + months....  
      Our 22 year old god son also moved in around the same time ....
      We helped my brother and his family of 7 pack up and relocate to Wyoming ....
      My friend and two of her children were also just recently in dyer need of a place to stay, short term (3 weeks) ....
      I continue to run a daycare/preschool in my home and home school our boys of course ....
      We are SLOWLY getting our "ducks in a row" concerning our up and coming adoption (hopefully of several) :) 
      Sooooooo wouldn't you think that maybe, just maybe, THIS would NOT be the best time to decide to become a farmer on top of it all ??!!??!!
      Naw ....lets just do it!

         The boys picking out their chicks.

 Chris making a suitable short term location for our new additions.

    Getting everyone settled.

 They are soooooooo cute!

      One day old here.

      Those are some pretty cute farmers!

      Kaelon and Mazy.

      Malcom and Sadie.

      It would seam that Kaelon's warm hands are a perfect place for napping.

      Mazy is eating, Lunch is the black one behind her, Dinner is the other black one, Sadie is the little yellow one drinking, Fried is the orange one with her dead up, and Baked is the one sleeping head down.

       Such pretty markings....
   
        And ... a learning tool for my pre-schoolers .... right? RIGHT??!!??

Wow!

      O.K. so bragging moment for this Mama! 

      I have been up sense 5:30a.m. cleaning my house and getting ready for a WAY busy/fun weekend. Helping Malcom with his math, watching the daycare of course, cooking meals, cleaning up meals, heir cuts, laundry, ext. Right after my last little one left for the day (about 5:40p.m.) Malcom comes over takes my hand and states, "It's time for you to rest your feet Mama, you have been working too many hours without a brake." He takes me to my chair as I am calculating how much more I still have to accomplish and sits me down, informing me that he is going to give me a foot massage. As he lines up the lotions he got for me for Christmas, so I can chose which one I want, Kaelon comes over with my Kindle and the remote and says, "Do whatever is most relaxing o.k. my hard working Mama!" Wow ... just wow, I sure love my boys and they sure know how to love their Mama!