One More Thing On My Christmas List This Year....Joy in The Relocation!

It looks like 2009 is going to end with more than the usual excitement of a new baby. Yesterday our family committed to moving to Colorado Springs as part of Robert accepting a new position at the state unversity.

I'm not exactly sure what it means to move our tribe 1000 miles in the dead of winter but we are about to find out. How many boxes will the lives of 13 people fill? How many details to sort and how many tears to shed? Today I will start gearing up with phone calls and the slow beginning's of the moving process.

So....does any one want to buy our house? A phrase which brings us full circle to 10 years ago when Missy asked me that question at a 'Pass the Baby" party to celebrate our very first adopted son - Jesse. Who happens to turn 10 today! Happy Birthday Jesse!

Owatonna Martial Arts Open....

The 7 oldest kids and I spent the day about an hour South of the cities competing in our first Martial Arts Tournament. It was a wonderful day for all of us and though the trophies and medals are tangible rewards, the best things are intangible and only a few would have even noticed them.

Our kids who are know for oppositional behaviors under stress were not - all day long they smiled. The one who panics and has anxiety attacks - didn't. Instead they sat and encouraged other kids while waiting patiently for their turn. One who usually is hyper tender-hearted was able to not cry and not once did I need to threaten anyone with anything. Wow. In my world this has been an A+ day. I feel like today was a test for them and they passed with flying colors!

Another positive for us was the friendly and Christ centered focus of the event. The competition was real but there was none of the nasty attitude that we saw at the last tournament. We didn't know about the public faith side of the day until Master Torabpour closed out his opening comments in prayer. Through out the day Master Torabpour was happy, engaged, watchful and in his element keeping all 6 rings moving forward and everyone focused on what was important. I feel richer for having spent this day under his encouragement.

The team with a case full of trophies and medals. I was coach today, good thing too, John's uniform had a bad run-in with a crayon this week so he needed to wear mine to compete in. Scary that mine fits him! Jesse chilling with his new friend. I was amazed that he chose to wear his helmet most of the afternoon. Maybe it helped cut down the noise and therefore the external auditory stimulation. Hummm.....think I could get him to wear it for school?

Leah throwing a round kick (in the blue helmet.) There were no others in her belt/age category so she competed against more advanced belts and held her own well.

Josh - four hours into the morning. Notice the clear eyes and happy disposition. It was great to see.

Lydia and Noel touching bats before thrashing it out for first and second place in sword sparring. Both fought well.

Photos of Life This Week....

Jerry inspecting the harvest pumpkins and Jesse supervising. (This is as far as we get into Halloween and we tie the carving into the settler story of two girls scaring off an Indian raid with lit jack-o-lanterns.)
Lily, Lydia and daddy scooping out the pumpkins.

Lydia and Lily demonstrating how to share an apple.

Jerry just wanted to play in the pumpkin guts. Wow was that fun!

Dr. J with the gang. On Tuesday she did their 10 physicals in one fell swoop and we will be done with our part of the home study update on Friday. Then we wait for the Adam Walsh and our home study can be approved.

The Lines Have Fallen in Pleasant Places....

The lines have fallen in pleasant places.
No longer is my life or my children threatened
by desperate men.
I do not watch for developing danger as the little ones play in the yard.
Ever vigilant, one ear to the street.

At night the neighbors fights are not the background for my prayers,
and there is no baseball bat near my pillow.
No shots fired....in years?
No guns even seen in as long.

The police are our friends and special protectors, as are the men of the press.
The politicians know us and respect our opinions.

The lines have fallen in pleasant places.
We are known and loved in the church -
no longer a freak show we are accepted and approved.
And when we speak others listen.

I know where to buy bread and meat,
and have systems organized to manage every aspect
of the our life and school.

The weight of our home is gone,
nothing is caving in or about to fall down.
From worn out to beautiful it has been transformed.

The lines of our life have fallen in pleasant places
are we growing soft and weak?
Are we losing our saltiness because the battle is not in our face?
Have we become more focused on comfort than suffering and hidden our light under the ease?
Is it time to embrace a shift in the lines that define our life?
Is it time?

Orphan Sunday Events....

Orphan Sunday is November 8th and our church is hosting a live link to the National Event at the Downtown Bethlehem Baptist site from 4-6pm. I can't wait and hope the whole crew is healthy enough to go! If you are in areas besides the Twin Cities, follow the link above to find a church close to you that is hosting the event and if there is none why not sponsor it yourself?

November is National Adoption Month......

I love November, our first adoption was in November and each time it rolls around we look for ways to advocate for and be involved with the local adoption movement. So far we are representing the MICAH FUND by staffing a ministry table at church, attending the Metro Women's Center Annual Fundraiser, attending the Gift of Adoption Gala as a sponsored family and trying to figure out ways to get to the MOFAS annual meeting on the same night as MWC event. Adoption is important - spread the word.

Each One Adopted - What Would it Take?

Jason Kovacs over at the Abba Fund blog wrote an amazingly simple mathematical equation over at the blog last week. Basically he took the number of orphans in the world, the number of professing Christians and figured out how many of those Christians would need to adopt to give every orphaned child a family.

How many do you think? 80%, 50%, 30% nope, how about 6%?! The argument here isn't that only Christians should adopt, but that it really is a number within reach. Add in all of the potential adoptive parents in the world and it looks even easier. I don't think that there is any need for children to grow up without families. No reason at all.

Quote of the Weekend From Our House....

Grade school child to Dad: "What is Infant Formula?"
Dad to child: "That's what you use to make babies."

Now we know where they all come from!

Prayer Request For My Mom....

My mom (Susan) is in her second month of breast cancer related chemo out in Seattle. It's been a really hard week for her with a fever induced infection that landed her in the hospital at the start and now extreme pain from gall stones that has sent her back for surgery. I am thankful that my sister is there to keep us up to date and help as she is able.

Dried Fruit to Share....

Today at the bread store I scored a 25 pound box of diced dried fruit medley. Even a family our size will need help consuming this treasure. Would anyone local like a large ziploc of it to toss in oatmeal, add to breads, mix into stuffing, snack on or ? Here us the description from the Traina site.


"Baker’s Fruit Medley
A colorful blend of California grown sun dried ¼˝ diced pears, peaches, nectarines and apricots blended with golden and dark raisins and dried cranberries. Versatile Baker’s Fruit Medley is an ideal ingredient in bakery applications and for use in grain dishes. Add Fruit Medley to finishing sauces, granolas, chutneys and trail mix to create a signature item quickly. "

Don't be shy about speaking up - we love to share this type of treasure!