Lessons on grace....

Big Bro' C, snoozing in between his little buddies !
Mercy with her new "springtime hairdo"-decided we needed some springy colors this week!
Our silly girl enjoying a special treat Mimi brought from Dunkin Donuts last week...




And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times,
you may abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Well, I have referenced this verse before and I must admit I am carrying it around in my back pocket as much as possible. My wayward heart so easily strays into anger, unbelief, discouragement etc. I can so relate with Paul when he describes in Roman 7 ...I don't do what I want to do and what I don't want to do , I do!..... I want to be a cheerfully content, purposeful Mommy and yet, so often I am impatient, grumpy or discouraged by the mountain of work that always needs to be done just to keep a home running somewhat smoothly and the endless 'opportunities' which present themselves throughout the course of a day. Though I know in my head that God's grace is sufficient and abounding, I don't live moment by moment in the wonder of that rich truth. It is humbling and yet freeing to admit this...I am so aware of my desperate need for Him to make my heart embrace this and walk in the fruit of it.
From Spurgeon's Grace Abounding in a Believer's Life I am reminded that God will give ALL manner of grace...it might be sanctifying grace, healing grace,directing grace, delivering grace...the list goes on and on because "There is grace not only in fullness but in all variety treasured up in Christ Jesus. As our needs are many, so the forms in which grace blesses us are many."
This translates in my mind to: grace to deal with sibling squabbles, grace to deal with messy pants, grace to deal with homeschool hindrances, grace to deal with clutter, grace to repent after a "mommy meltdown', grace to deal with laundry, meals , and messes~and on and on. His grace will meet me wherever I am for whatever I am facing~ So, today I am freshly aware of my need to grab ahold of...position myself at the receiving end of His pipeline of abundant grace! I am purposeful to begin most mornings crying out for this but something happens in my heart in the midst of the clamor and activity of our busy home....I often forget that encouraging word that I read in the morning, I often forget how God specifically spoke to my heart just hours earlier, I often forget that His grace is sufficient.. I often forget that 'interruptions' are not interruptions at all but opportunities designed and allowed by Him-the Master planner, to help me grow in patience and trust and to ultimately teach me that His grace is indeed sufficient in ALL things, at ALL times so that I may abound in EVERY good work! Lord, help me remember!!!

We have been inside since the snow fell on Sunday afternoon . Our backyard now looks like a slushy swamp . The littles had a great time outside romping in the storm on Sunday while I was away with the big boys for a meeting at a friend's house . The past 2 days we have not left the house but our 4 youngest have kept busy with 'cleaning' sprees (actually, they were a huge help even in the midst of the squabbles over whose turn it was to spritz the windex or territory wars over who has what section of the kitchen floor to clean... reminded me of the days when my twin brothers resorted to an imaginary line down the middle of the boat they were supposed to be cleaning/waxing!!) Mercy has been fighting some illness since yesterday afternoon when she spiked a fever of 102 degrees...no other symptoms but lethargy and just generally feeling yucky. She is definately not her normal spicy self...except for the short window of time when the Tylenol really seems to be taking effect...then she spends her time trying to convince me that she is'feeling well'.

Today while G and L played with Legos in the basement and Mercy napped, Odesco and I cuddled and read on the chair near the warm wood burning stove. He really is a snuggly little fellow and often in the mornings he will choose to look at books on our bed rather than go downstairs with the rest of the gang...when I need to go run errands while Daddy is home, he is quick now to offer hugs and kisses before I leave and he is often the first one at the door shouting,"Mommy home-yeah!!" We talked about his homecoming and what it was like...he told me that in Liberia he prayed about coming to America...I told him we prayed and prayed too and how grateful we are that God has made him our son. A sweet mommy moment!

Some other fun happenings...

* Fickle Pickle girlies: Yesterday during our cleaning spree Mercy and G were having a bit of a difficult time sharing cleaning implements and territory (okay- this is putting it mildly!). So much so that G declared she was sleeping up on the top bunk-hmph!! (they still like to share the bottom bunk)! Well, fast forward a few hours...we decided that Mercy and G should not sleep together since Mercy was sick. SO we fixed up a nice bed on the floor for Mercy (in case there was a tummy problem in the middle of the night!) and G was to sleep in the bottom bunk as usual. We explained to Mercy that the same would have happened if G was the one sick...these 2 carried on with tears and such drama...how could they possible fall asleep if they weren't together?! It was actually sweet sentiment and all day today they have been trying to convince me that Mercy is not sick. We'll see how the drama unfolds tonight :)!!
* Yesterday, I discovered a rival to the coveted 'chicky bone'....mango pits! I saw mangoes were on sale this week and stocked up on them...Mercy and Odesco were in their glory with yet another taste of Liberia...I soon discovered that I would need to keep track of who last received the prized 'seed' as they call it...they devour all the fleshy fruit around it and consider this quite the treat:) I'm thrilled that they are eating more fruits and veggies as we are slowly diminishing their meat intake. They both also like avocado and love bananas too :) I can't keep enough fruit in the house these days...a nice problem to have~

* yesterday the kids watched a Bible songs video ...they especially loved the song,"if you're happy and you know it...' but they have an interesting verse ...,"If you're happy and you know it sting your hand!" then they proceed to very energetically shake their hands so that their fingers 'snap' or 'sting'...

* During one of our early morning snuggle sessions, Odesco noticed a framed picture of Daddy from many years ago on my nightstand(probably 18 yrs ago)...he laughed as he realized ,"Daddy no sabu (bald) head!"
Addendum: At dinner tonight we were discussing possible gift ideas for Daddy's upcoming birthday...Odesco was excited to give his suggestions: a chain(necklace), ring and HAIR!! This boy was totally serious...he just cracks me up :) And if you know my hubby, a ring and a chain are just not his thing...and I rather like his sabu head just the way it is!! Hope Odesco won't be too disappointed!!

Well that's all for now...
Thanks for checking in. Slowly I feel like we are settling into a new normal for our household of 8...in just a few days I will be writing Mercy and Odesco's 3 month post-placement report to send to AOH....it is hard to believe that just 3 months ago we didn't know these 2 . What a work God has done in really such a brief time. We still have our challenging moments and days but overall I think we are all 'settling in'!!

I am so grateful for all manners of His all sufficient grace,
Mama B~