King Stefan, sisters, baseball

Simon was recently in the school production of Sleeping Beauty. He made a dashing King Stefan. Costume, as all our costumes, was made by my Momma.
It's the time of year that we spend most evenings at the baseball field. I LOVE it! Our boys are very talented and watching them play is pure joy for me! As you can see the fans are enjoying themselves.
We have decided that homeschool seems like the best option for Grace. She is excited about it. Anyone have a Rosetta Stone English program they'd like to sell? It's not coming as quickly as I'd like this time.
Sunday evening I will be speaking at a late Mothers Day event at a local church, Grace Christian. The FREE event is 4-6pm. I'd love it if you locals could make it!

for fun

Radical

Radical by David Platt from Taylor Robinson on Vimeo.

Happy birthday Grace!

Grace got to have her first birthday celebration. She requested that our family and a couple other families that we hang out with go to lunch at Golden Corral for her big day. I guess when you've been hungry most of your life a buffet feels like heaven. She is very sweet and watching her navigate the unfamiliar territory of opening presents was a blessing. Ryan and I gave her money. She is attending an ESL night class and they have been learning about shopping and spending money, so we thought it fitting that we give her money and let her spend it! So us girls headed to Target after lunch. What does a teenager a few months new to this country buy with 100.00? First she says she will give 10.00 to church, the "bible say to." Then she bought soap, a headband, two sets of hair barrettes, an artificial flower, and some pens. No Clothes! Can you believe it? I would have spent 100 dollars and some odd cents on clothes and had to bum from my Mom at the check out. She is too modest for most any clothes in any store. It is an odd position to be in with her. She is teaching me so much about my own insecurities and heart problems. She tells us often of the things Jesus does not like (seems like everything) and I so long to sit down and teach her about Grace and about freedom. The irony is though that she is revealing much about grace and freedom to me. Daughters are much more difficult for me than sons, with daughters there is no hiding. With daughters you have to work out the ugly or pass it on. I have chosen to work it out. Click the following link to play video:
http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d5459304e4459784f546c384d7a51344f5449314d7a553d0d0a&sb=1

Surrender

This past Sunday we attended our old church . It was as always amazing. It is an inter-denominational Christian church. To the back right of me there was a Franciscan Monk, to the front right of me was a lady who appeared to have been forgiven much, to the left of Ryan and I, our kids (minus the youngest two). We all sang and shouted together "I know my God saved the day and I know his word never fails and I know my God made a way for meeee....Salvation is here...CAUSE YOU ARE ALIVE AND YOU LIVE IN ME... It was so beautiful. Being there and worshiping with song. It reminded of Acts chapter two where it says the early church had "everything in common". The Everything being the Only thing that matters.
We had some visitors who are filming a documentary on Human Trafficking. They are not from IJM as far as I know, but IJM is an organization we donate to and lift in pray. From the ijm.org website:

"Today, millions of lives around the world are in the grip of injustice.
More children, women and men are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade: Millions toil in bondage, their work and even their bodies the property of an owner.

Trafficking in humans generates profits in excess of 12 billion dollars a year for those who, by force and deception, sell human lives into slavery and sexual bondage. Nearly 2 million children are exploited in the commercial sex industry. The AIDS pandemic continues to rage, and the oppression of trafficking victims in the global sex trade contributes to the disease’s spread.

In many countries around the world, pedophiles find that they can sexually violate children with impunity. And though police should be protectors, in many nations, their presence is a source of insecurity for the poor. Suspects can be held interminably before trials, imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

The land rights of women are violated on a massive scale worldwide, but with particular ferocity in Africa, leaving widows and other women in vulnerable positions unable to care for themselves or their children. Around the world, women suffer the double indignity of rape and seeing their perpetrators face no consequences for crimes of sexual violence.

Often lacking access to their own justice systems and unable to protect themselves or their families from those more powerful, it is overwhelmingly the poor who bear the burden of these abuses."

I've been consumed with thoughts of the least of these. I want to help those who've been trafficked. I want to love and not hate the perpetrators. I want to be a foster Mom. I volunteered with a refugee ministry. I want to adopt a baby with Down Syndrome...I feel like I can't do it all. BUT who am I to limit GOD? He is limitless. He is boundless in love and like we shouted Sunday "He lives in me!" I don't know what the future holds for my family, but I know who holds the future. Please pray for me as I try to spread the fire inside me.

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word Who is our Brother and Savior, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore. Amen.
-Franciscan benediction.

Fun in NOLA

We are home safe and sound. Had a blast. We were all wishing for another Spring Break this morning @ 6:30!

God knew

The kids are on Spring Break this week. We headed down to Mississippi to visit family and we are now in New Orleans taking in the sights. Since we've been on break we have enjoyed both Beniam's birthday AND the Easter Holiday.

Beniam turned 7! Hard to believe. He was 3 (soon to be 4) when we brought him home from Ethiopia. He had a hard three years. Orphaned and living on the street. But God knew. God knew that he'd be with us soon. He even knew he'd celebrate his 7th birthday party at Gattitown in Mississippi.

Those eyes. They gripped me when I saw his referral pictures. I knew he was mine.

Easter morning at my brothers house with ten kids. That's a lot of chocolate bunnies.

My handsome sons dressed for church. Our church is casual so this was cause for a picture.
Will post pics soon from NOLA!