You Might Have Been Married 9 Years if...

You Might Have Been Married 9 Years if...

-You realize you are still wearing some of the same clothes you owned when you got married, and you are proud because they still fit!

-You wish you'd been married 10 years so you could justify taking a trip.

- You still feel like a newlywed but your towels are threadbare and your kitchen gadgets are starting to break.

-It's been a long time since anyone called you by your maiden name.

-You need a master's degree to coordinate the logistics of an actual date night.

-People have stopped commenting on how young you are when they see your entourage.

-You are still living in your "starter" house.

-You can't remember the last time you had an uninterrupted conversation.

-You are on your 3rd wedding ring. (American Eagle ring anyone?)

- You drive a mini van, and your just thankful its not a full size van at this point.

-You use the phrase, "Remember when..." a lot.

-You've quit jobs, diets, and making plans, but you haven't quit on each other.

-You figure out you from pictures through the years you've had every possible haircut there is.

- You still actually like to spend time together.

-You can still laugh together even if its at each other.

-You run into people who knew you when you were engaged and they say, "You have how many kids?"

-You realize you've lived more of your married life in Missouri than Illinois, but you still prefer Orange to Gold.

-All your pictures of the two of you are from one of you holding out the camera and clicking.

- You are still brave enough to take you kids camping, but only for 1 night at a time.

-You still like to kiss and your kids aren't big enough to say, "Gross!" yet.

-You have your very own family traditions.

-You're running out of creative "free" anniversary gifts.

-You can't remember the last movie you saw in the theater, but you are sure it wasn't a romantic one.

-You haven't given up on getting each other a Christmas ornament yet.

-You occasionally fantasize about the empty nest years.

- Your favorite conversations are when your driving down the road and all your kids have fallen asleep.

- You still love to do the same things together, you just don't get to do them as often.

-You have to fight your daughters for a date night.

-You have survived the transition to one kid, two kids, three kids, and you are brave enough to take on four.

-You are done "having" babies and have started adopting them.

-You love the weekends so you can spend time together when its not dark.

-You've been to Africa together...

...and other people caught you holding hands.

Here's to 10 years, four kids, and whatever else the Lord has planned. (because we've lived enough life together at this point to know we have no idea what that is) I love you!

A Meaningful Mother's Day

Mother's day is this Sunday! Do you know what you are getting for your mother/grandmother/great-grandmother? Well as of today we do and we thought you might need a great idea. So we are going to share. 

One of our family's goals has been to give more meaningful gifts that have eternal value. For mother's day we always try and make something because we know the mamas love that. 

This year my kids are helping make a cupcake themed card, because as you know we love cupcakes around here. This card was essentially free minus the printing cost which were very minimal. The kids are coloring it and filling in the questions about whatever special family member the card is for. 

We are also including a small card that says the following:

Happy Mother’s Day!

A gift has been given in your honor to the Babies Without Milk Program in West Africa. This program primarily provides milk to grandmothers (like you!) who are raising their orphan grandbabies after their daughters have died in childbirth. They provide the essential formula needed for a baby’s survival while sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

The Babies Without Milk Program is a program that we were able to be introduced to on our recent trip to Africa. We had actually heard about it for awhile but this was our first direct interaction with the director. It really caught my heart!

Since all of the "mothers" we are honoring are also grandmothers I thought this would be a wonderful way to honor them since most of the ladies who are involved with the program are grandmothers who are trying to save their grandbabies.

What a wonderful way to share the love of Jesus with the least of these (orphans) and the hurting family members who are mourning the loss of the baby's mother. Can you think of a better gift for a grandma than helping her save her grandson or granddaughter's life?

To be honest I was shocked at how many women still loose their life in childbirth around the world. Its not something we think about here in our western world. This program currently helps feed over 180 babies on a weekly basis!

For many of these babies they would literally die if not for the intervention of Babies Without Milk. Without a mother to feed them breast milk their only option is formula. The high cost of formula can literally be a death sentence for these sweet babies who are loved and cherished by our God.

If you'd like to join us in donating to the Babies Without Milk Program in honor of your special lady this mother's day simply click on the link below to donate. 

Donate to Babies Without Milk (In the drop box select Projects then West Africa Orphans.)

If you contact me I'd be happy to send you a PDF copy of our cupcake card for FREE for your kids to color and a small card stating that you donated to Babies Without Milk in their honor.

Happy Mother's day. Make it a meaningful one.

Stained

We are back.

And there are lots of questions swimming around about our trip.

How was it? When is David coming home? How are you doing?

The short answer is it was amazing.

It was amazingly good and joyous and it was amazingly hard. And amazingly we still have few answers about when David will come home. We are praying by the end of July but that is really more a desire than a time estimate. But feel free to join us in praying for that!

I hate that there isn't a better answer but there simply isn't.

And a part of me hates that I can't just beam with joy and say it was amazing because it was. But, to be truthful it was also hard. As we came face to face with the challenges of adoption in a country with little infrastructure and a unstable government it was a solemn reminder that this is a perilous road we walk. One where heartbreak is a real danger. And as we balance this tight wire I'm simply left to wonder.

David is our son. And we choose to trust God to bring him home. Even when others have faced the heartbreak of a failed adoption. Even when we see the concern in the eyes of those who know the challenges we face. Not because we are brave but because what other option do we really have? When God tells you a child is yours do you really have a choice other than to obey? And pray? And hope?

And I feel like I have even fewer easy answers to the question of how I'm doing.

For now I can blame the jet lag on my solemn demeanor...but its simply an easy scape goat. There is so much to ponder and process. I am full of joy to be with my three children here again. I'm relishing their snuggles and making fun memories as we reunite after being apart. But, my heart has expanded and it no longer is simply at home here.

I've got one foot in the black dirt of the midwest and one foot still covered in the rusty red dirt of West Africa and my heart kind of feels like its splitting down the middle. For some I'm sure they are glad to wash away that infamous African dirt. They are glad to be home. But you'll notice I said we are back. I couldn't say we were home because that term is so confusing to me right now. And it makes me long for Heaven when all the people and places I love won't be so spread out.

You see that red dirt that stains all it comes in contact with has definitely stained my heart. And I feel like I'm looking at my life through the rust colored lenses of West Africa.

As I hug my babies here I long for the child I can no longer hold. And I hurt for the many others who have no mamas to long for their embrace.

As I use my speedy internet to type this blog post or put a piece of cheddar cheese on my sandwich I consider the cost that our missionaries who serve there pay to bring Jesus to those who do not know.

As I pass church after church after church I'm overwhelmed at the presence of the church here and I ponder the pure spiritual poverty I see in West Africa. People without hope, without a Bible in their language, without a Christian in their village, without the presence of Christ in their lives period. And I'm overwhelmed by the huge need not just for food or clothing but for Jesus in a place where Satan has ruled for such a long time.

And in a moment of pure weakness I squeak out a confession to the Lord. I wish he'd called me to fall in love with an easier place. A place where the cultural issues weren't so complex and the spiritual warfare so dark. A place that doesn't chew up and spit out missionaries with the hardness of simply existing. A place with an established adoption program where others have forged the path. A place with less risk. Or at least a place with cool safari animals.

But, what do you when your heart is already stained other than to obey? And pray? And hope.