Valentines Day

Ten years.. Ten years ago, I celebrated my last valentine's day with my love.

Sometimes God just blows your socks off..

 Valentine's Day a delivery man shows up with these beautiful chocolate covered strawberries, no name attached.  They were such a special God hug. It is the kind of thing that makes you feel truly loved by God.

Later that same day, I got a call from the local pool. Someone had send in money and was paying for a family membership for us! I had just been praying about finding a way to fund a pool membership this year! Another wonderful little God hug.

The week BEFORE Valentine's Day a good friend  of mine had blessed me with 40 lbs of chicken, some spinach and 2 doz beautiful pink roses.

This kind of thing totally blesses us beyond measure. Two things are so clear here. 1. God loves us and cares about the things that make us feel loved and special. 2. We have no idea who blessed us with these two special gifts. But it is very obvious that someone was obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit and allowed themselves to be used to carry out God's message to us.

Several weeks later, I had a birthday.  This season of healing and regrouping has been so amazing. God is doing good things. I don't always understand the how and the why... but God is always good.

Several days before my birthday, a sweet friend brought us all the above pictured meat. My children eat an incredible amount of food. So this is an incredibly much appreciated gift. We canned 23 quarts of chicken breasts. We made the ribs for a birthday lunch. We popped the rest of the food into the freezer for later! This friend also brought us subs, soft pretzels and a ton of cheese! My kids love food and this was such a wonderful gift!

My birthday was a wonderful day. I had Nesiah stay in respite for a couple days prior as I really needed to do some thrift shop runs to get summer clothes for the kiddoes. We made it to a number of thrift shops and discovered a GoodWill where you buy clothes by the lb. I bought 30 lbs of clothing! My day did not go quite like I had planned but we had a lot of success in finding nice summer clothing for all 6 kids!

The morning of my birthday, the kiddoes presented my gifts.  Lee had made a bird feeder, the other 3 kiddoes bought me a necklace, bracelet and an umbrella. My in laws brought us a yummy dinner and spend the evening with us.

I feel incredibly blessed to savor these gifts, these blessings from my Father, the God of the Universe. The God who cares about the smallest details of my life.

I keep finding random photos of the kids legos on my camera. So I shall leave you with this random set up of the vet clinic that the girl's set up.

Nesiah Update

This one here.. she is heavy on my heart....
She has been making some amazing progress in life. So many exciting things are happening for her.

Bubbie and Sunshine on the boat (aka chair) looking for sharks, while listening to music with Nesiah.

She pulled herself up on the sink, so that she could slosh in the water, it's one of many new skills she has mastered. 

Fayth loves her well..

Nesiah has been having many seizures. After much discussion via email her neurologist and I agreed to switch up meds. We changed her meds today.. She (and I ) could use some prayers. I think it's hormonal and her gyn is agreeing..


The other day, in the midst of so many worries, I heard this song. I am claiming it for our current journey.

Redemption

All of life is a journey... we never know why God gives or takes away. It can be hard to understand the big picture.

Last night I for the first time ever, started rereading my blogs from 2007-2006. The last 2 years of our journey through cancer.

I was talking to the kids about all this. So this is where beauty comes from the ashes... redemption.. so many things that only God could see. God can totally use the bad things in our lives for His good.

My older kids were 1-2 yrs old at this time. Nesiah was born over this time. They were living in bad situations.. I was walking the cancer journey as a young bride.

We all lost so much in 2006/2007. They lost first mommies and daddies, birth siblings, they lost everything they owned, their toys, their beds, their homes, their cousins, aunts/uncles, relatives, their lifestyles.  They moved through several homes. I lost my husband, my soulmate but I was surrounded by people who loved me and supported me.


In 2008 God brought us all together, 4 preschoolers from 2 different families, who needed a family. 1 very young, niave, heartbroken widow, who just wanted to make a difference in the world, because she saw that life was so very short and fragile.

God knew that I needed a purpose in life. These kids brought me purpose, a goal, something to focus on outside of my own heartbreak. They brought joy and fun and a whole lot of love into my life. These kids need someone who would fight for them, someone who keep them safe and tell them about Jesus.


Today I look around me... The woman, that blogged on caringbridge has surely changed...These heartbroken little kiddoes, who never had enough to eat, never knew if they were going to be safe, never knew about Jesus have surely changed.

I look around my living room.. a  couple big kids snuggled under blankets reading books, one kiddoe playing drums, another one reading the blog on the computer, 2 more taking naps and me with my warm peppermint tea.There are toys scattered everywhere, my house is never clean, the amount of food  I cook in a day is astounding... My life is consumed with teaching, directing, training, and educating these little people.  I am the sole provider, decision maker, and teacher. But I would not trade this life for any other.


God knew this, even then. He knew we would survive and thrive. He knew just which kids were supposed to be mine. He knew that on the day of Mesh's funeral, 2 of my kids would be removed from their bio home. Two stories, totally different worlds, two heartbreaking moments... Their story was all over the news. I never knew it until a year later when I was called to take 2 young children into my home.

ONLY GOD COULD WRITE A STORY LIKE THIS!

Ten years from now, these kids will all be adults, except Bubbie. I will once again be a in a totally different stage of life. I am excited to see what God will do in the next chapter. Because ten years ago, parenting 6 kids, including one with special needs, homeschooling and running a small farm were NOT even close to being on my radar. Not even close.