He will surely do it...

Our days have been busy gradually transitioning into school mode while still taking advantage of the last opportunities for pool days and summertime events. Today the big boys are floating down the Delaware River in tubes with a group of moms and kids from church. I am grateful for my friends who are willing to be 'mom ' to 2 more boys for the day so that P and C can enjoy this activity. I'm not yet daring enough to try that with all 6 ...no bathrooms and the need for self control for4 hours... I don't think we can manage that one yet :)!!

As I have been preparing for our school year over these past weeks,I will admit there have been many moments of feeling daunted at the upcoming challenges of dealing with behaviors and relational/sibling 'issues' while schooling all 6 kiddos and still maintaining the home, meals, laundry etc. One morning while I was out on my walk I was praying about this and the Lord in His kindness brought a verse to my remembrance:

"He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it"

As I plodded along, I meditated on this promise. He called me to the privilege of mothering these 6 children, He has called us to homeschooling, He has called me to faithfully be a keeper in our home...so, if He has called me, He will surely enable me through the power of his boundless grace to do all He has for me to do. When I came home I looked up the verse and found the beginning of it even more encouraging...

I Thessalonians 5:23
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless as the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it"
If He is able to completely sanctify my often unbelieving, impatient and sin- filled heart, how much more is He able to help me do what He has created me to do in the first place? This has infused my heart with hope.
In God's perfect timing, I was also able to get my hands on the brand new book by Carolyn Mahaney and her 3 daughters entitled, "Shopping For Time~ How to Do it All and Not Be Overwhelmed" ...here's the link to whet your appetite.
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Resources/Publishing/ShoppingForTime.aspx This book is a must have for any woman no matter what season of life you find yourself in. It truly ministered to my heart as I sat poolside and finished it in one sitting (while I supervised 9 kiddos as they enjoyed summer fun :)
This book along with resources from Titus2.com (see links below) have really helped to adjust my Mommy heart. I always have enough time to do what HE has called me to do...often I 'feel overwhelmed' because I am taking on a project or trying to keep standards I am not supposed to.With this in mind, I shelved my annual 'Christmas ornament' making project that I usually tackle in August. How freeing to put aside something that I was not supposed to be doing -at least this summer. At other times I 'feel overwhelmed' simply because I lack the faith for the task He has called me to (such as homeschooling 6 children :) In these instances, I need to believe that He will indeed give me everything I need to accomplish what He has called me to. I have been prayerfully compiling my MOTH schedule ( Stands for Managers of Their Homes) and new chorepacks for all 6 kiddos to assist in keeping some semblance of order to our soon to be very full school days. http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1150
http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1100
So, although I am still tempted to be anxious about the upcoming school year I believe God has used some valuable resources to help get my heart and home ready. I am clinging to His promise that He who calls me will be ever faithful!!
Now onto some household happenings:

*Mercy and Odesco are talking so much lately about Liberia. The other day they were singing/chanting,
"Judas died today we will bury him tomorrow!" This is a reference to "Judas Day" which is a true Liberian holiday celebrated around Easter. Mercy spoke of how her family would stuff a pair of pants and shirt and make a fake Judas... then they would carry it around her village singing this song... some people would beat Judas with a stick or throw rocks at it while he 'sat' in a chair! Here is something I read a while ago on another blog of a mom who was in Liberia during the Easter holiday when this is 'celebrated'.
Today is Good Friday, but here it is "Beat the Judas" day. There are stuffed people laying all over the sides of roads or up on poles, and people beat and beat and beat them with sticks in "celebration" of Judas betraying Jesus. It's a very unusual focus of the Easter season, but considering what Liberians have been through it is not surprising.
Wow, just another reminder of where our children have come from! Seems so sad and warped to make this the focus of the holiday which celebrates the GOOD NEWS that Christ died and rose again. To Mercy and Odesco, this is a fun memory...of course they don't see the irony in it that we do. I am grateful for yet another glimpse into the lives of our little Liberians before they came to us.
*This morning Mercy told me that when she lived in Liberia, she had a big puffy thing on her thumb( maybe a blister or a boil?) She would take a stick and 'bust it' and then rub it with a 'medicine' leaf. Homeopathic medicine, perhaps in its more primitive form?

Also some funny Liberian sayings heard frequently in our household recently:
*" I'm bigger by you! " or "God is bigger by us all!" Meaning I am bigger than you...God is bigger than all of us.
*"I scary!!"...this is said instead of ,"I'm scared." It just sounds so odd when they are truly frightened about something and they declare loudly,"I scary!!!"
* One night at dinner Mercy was being silly and began eating her rice one grain at a time ...Odesco quickly followed her lead. When I inquired as to what in the world they were doing she went on to explain that she was showing me how to 'meesh". Evidently at AOH this was a way they would tease one another because soon after mealtime it was naptime/bedtime. If they dawdled or 'meeshed', the other kids would get upset thinking they(the 'meesher' ?!)would be able to stay awake longer since it takes a long time to consume a bowl of rice one grain at a time. Just for the record, this is the slowest I have ever seen either Mercy or Odesco eat as usually we are working with them on slowing down the pace. They can still pack in the volume during mealtime!!!
* When Mercy gets in the mood to clean, she can do a mighty fine job!! The other day she got down on her belly after pulling the drawer out from under our stove and cleaned the entire area finding all sorts of missing items in the process... a few hair beads, a marble and some petrified food. She told me that at AOH the nannies would get a big bucket of water and put it in the middle of the floor. The children would each get a rag for washing and a towel for drying which they would place over their shoulder. They would get down on all 4's and scrub the floor with the rag, then stand up and use the towel to dry their area using their foot ( like they were skating). All 4 littles were very excited about this and asked when I would set them loose on the kitchen floor... maybe some day I'll get desperate enough but I have visions of that bucket filled with water doing more damage than good!! I might just have to have one helper at a time for now :)!!
* Mercy and G are really becoming sweet friends (when they aren't in conflict!!) Each night before bed, they snuggle together on the bottom bunk and G reads stories to Mercy...sometimes I hear them just talking -often about Mercy's life in Liberia. Mercy often gets put out when G asks to sleep alone on the top bunk...typically G never makes it up top though as they both fall asleep in the middle of one of the stories G was reading. It is funny to peek in on them soundly sleeping on the bottom bunk with books in between them, on top of them, and underneath them!
* When Mercy has had a day marked by obedience she is so proud to tell Daddy that there are no 'is-shues' (aka: issues) to deal with!
*Tonight Daddy was late in getting home...I said, "He probably got tied up at work and will be home soon." Odesco who is not accustomed to our figurative language had a very worried look on his face and made motions with his hands modelling Daddy's hands being literally tied up...I explained to him in a hurry what I really meant...we all got a little chuckle out of that and our little boy was most relieved!!
Thanks for checking in...
Grateful that He will surely show Himself faithful!!
MamaB

The K kiddos joined us for a day...look what they all found in our yard...All of these cucumbers grew in our compost pile--NOT in our garden. The sign was a futile but resourceful entrepreneurial attempt by the kiddos to sell them at the corner of our street! We actually gave them all away to church friends the following morning.I think even those with bulging cucumber surplus of their own took some because who can resist a cucumber toting kid?? Especially when the cucumber basket is expertly balanced on said child's head?!

Busy Boys doing some productive work for mommy...if I can ignore the streaks :)

Sweet Sisters in a still moment~

Mercy with one of her favorite people...'Miss Brittany' one of our beloved babysitters
Pool Day...after days of rain, the kids were glad to get out of the house but it took awhile before they warmed up enough to get in the water.

Mercy teaching her siblings the ins and outs of deep cleaning!

One afternoon I went upstairs to see what G was doing...she was sitting on her bed listening to the Anne of Green Gables cd and wiping off the boots she is wearing above...a few minutes earlier she asked if I'd braid her hair...hmmm can you guess who she is? Pretty good Anne look alike, don't you think?! I'd say the 'scope of her imagination 'is pretty active!!

Recently we've had the joy of watching some of the K kiddos. What special friends they are to our kids. Mercy especially has such a tender spot in her heart for sweet Felicia...she's quite the doting nurturer.

Odesco and Jenkins....they love dressing up and whacking each other with light sabres and swords!!
Friday nite' we had a houseful of kids and fun!! The girls wrote a song and dedicated it to Acres of Hope...these are the words:
"An orphanage in need is calling you to help.
It only takes 25 cents to help.
Somewhere in the world they are calling for help in the orphanage. Can you apply for the job?"
Too sweet -it was great to see these 4 working together and putting on a 'performance' ...there were lots of giggles but I must admit that the first time I heard it I misted up . Here's my little girl who only 8 months ago was in an orphanage and today she's singing songs about the children there needing help !

The littles learned that one of their new Friday chores would be to clean out under the chairs and couch in the family room...Mercy and Odesco on their own figured out how to effectively get the job done- even if it was only Monday!!

Here they are with their 'hot off the presses' chorepacks(see link above)....let's hope their enthusiasm continues :)!!

Recounting God's faithfulness!!

It is so easy for me to get caught up in the moment without taking the time to recognize the many evidences of God at work in the lives of our children. For this reason, I wanted to share some highlights from the other day as my Mommy heart was encouraged! Since attempting to type this up, there have already been numerous challenging 'opportunities' to trust that yes, the events of that day REALLY did happen ~ God really is at work in our midst :)!!... That's why it is beneficial for me to stop and recount...if I don't , my heart is so tempted to unbelief and discouragement and it brings Him glory to recognize all the good He is doing even if it is seemingly insignificant-His transforming work in hearts big and little is a true miracle. So, here goes:
One day last week, I had to take L for an x-ray of his adenoids as they appear to be the culprit behind the 'sleeping noises' that Odesco often complains about! L was quite fearful and convinced this was going to be a painful experience despite my reminders that he had many x-rays when he fell and broke his arm 2 years ago..."this is different!", he kept saying. We had to wait longer than anticipated but L entertained me with his chatter as he perused his well loved Lego catalog! Then, they called us back to another waiting area where we sat for an additional 15 minutes...I must say though that our boy was so very brave and self- controlled during the waiting and during the painless :) picture taking . He was very excited when the x-ray technician showed him the image of his head on the computer screen and especially impressed when she pointed to the screen to help us see the image of his adult teeth just waiting for the right time to emerge... L kept talking about his "hibernating teeth" throughout the day...funny boy! As we were literally exiting the foyer of the x-ray building my cell phone rang and it was P inquiring to see how much longer it would be...perfect timing as we were headed to the van and on our way home! Since P turned 12, he has begun to babysit for his siblings for short daytime spurts with very specific instructions and he informed me that overall, things were going well. I was grateful as the waiting room was jam packed and we sat for a long time...would have been a challenge to have all 6 of us in there! So, victories #1 and 2...L overcame his fear and the other kiddos were doing well obeying at home!
After a rushed lunch, we packed our load of swimming gear and were headed out to a friend's house for the afternoon. As everyone was already in the van, I did a quick look around ...I was too busy previously preparing to leave and didn't notice the mess until everyone was out of the house. The littles obviously had a bit of creative fun in my absence but the cut up pieces of string, blankets strewn about, and piles of crayons and markers were quite an eyesore! So, I went out to the van, instructed the big boys to bring in the trash cans and instructed Mercy, Odesco and G to come inside and clean up their mess before we left. Amazingly everyone cooperated and did just what they were told with NO complaining! This was cause for celebration as this is NOT the typical outcome!! Mercy later told me that as she was bringing an outfit back to her room where it belonged (she attempted to leave it on the stairs but I redirected her) that she asked herself, "What would Jesus do?" Victory #3 ...all the kiddos worked together without complaining and our Mercy is beginning to 'connect the dots' .(By the way, her Sunday school teacher had felt compelled to give Mercy a pin with this saying on Sunday so it definitely made an impact :)! After a fun time at the pool, we headed home and L and I had to go out for another appointment with the podiatrist to evaluate a bothersome wart on his big toe that was not responding to over the counter medication. L was very excited about this appointment because this toe has really been annoying him so off we went for a 5 pm doctor's visit. Before leaving for the appointment, I asked the girls to prepare the salad for dinner...they have done it with me numerous times and know how to do this safely - they were excited to be helping Mommy with dinner :)
L and I drove around the corner to the doctor' s office where we waited and waited. When L grew bored of the limited toys and puzzles in the kiddy area ,we worked on a fun Critical Thinking book we brought to pass the time...C called to see when we were coming home and I broke the news that we were still in the waiting room! He told me there were no issues but that they all had a surprise for me. I could hear giddy squeals in the background as Mercy, G, and Odesco were very busily at work~
Finally we were called back to the exam room and met by the podiatrist..."He was a very nice man", according to L! He 'trimmed' the bothersome area and there was quite a bit of bleeding which tends to make L think things are worse than they really are. This time I have to say though that it did look quite painful :( L sweetly gripped my hand as he whimpered,"It hurts, it really hurts" but there were no tears, no meltdowns and as I was able to, I tried to divert his attention away from his bleeding foot to the 'the very nice man'/doctor by having L talk about all sorts of things. He was quite a brave boy and made the doctor's job easy . It took several minutes for the bleeding to slow down...I was so proud of our little man as he hobbled out of the office:) Victory # 4!!
As soon as we pulled into the driveway, (after a quick run into the CVS for more medication for L's foot and a special treat for his bravery), the other kids exploded out of the front door and insisted that L and I close our eyes as we stepped inside. They eagerly led us by the hand into the kitchen before they let us open our eyes to see the big surprise : A fully set table complete with glass plates for all the kiddos (a big deal to the little ones!) , a tossed salad, a 'fruit platter' with grapes and nuts scattered on top for a 'fancy touch', apple sauce (they actually emptied several of the individual natural apple sauce containers into a big bowl!), a bowl of defrosted pineapple tidbits and finally carrots with dressing / 'dip'... the plan for the the main course was leftovers and they certainly completed the meal with their resourceful and creative side dishes! They were all talking (well, hollering !) at the same time and were so proud of what they had accomplished working together. Victory #5!!
Even the bloody trail throughout the kitchen and foyer from L's 'leaking foot' and the accidental sticky fluorescent pink spill of his prized strawberry milk could not steal away the joy as we celebrated the teamwork of our kiddos and the bravery of their brother. Later after everyone worked together to clean up L's bloody trail and quickly located bandages to cover his wound, L declared, "They sure are being nice to me..." Ahh, the joys of seeing our children loving one another and working together are priceless!
So there you have it...many evidences of God at work in our midst- nothing earth shattering, I know, but it boggles my mind to ponder that while He is sustaining the universe, He cares enough to make Himself known in the hum drum details of life! Great is His faithfulness!! Thanks for celebrating with us~ Love,
Mama B

The Big Surprise!!!

Not a great picture....hard to adjust the brightness without affecting the picture quality.You have to look really closely to see Mercy and Odesco- their beautiful dark complexions often blend into the background of pictures (in case you're wondering, Big brother P was too busy enjoying his allotted computer time so he is not in this picture!) L is looking a bit forlorn...he was actually just not quite ready for me to snap the picture.

West meets West...

Our West African children finally had the opportunity to meet their West coast relatives: My brother, sister in law, and 2 of their children. They were in town for a reunion with my sister-in -law's family. We had a great time at the hotel pool where they were staying...my other brother and his 2 teenage girls also joined us. Then we went back to our house for dinner and more cousins, Aunts and Uncles joined the celebration..sort of a mini reunion-but the 'patriarch and matriarch' of our motley crew were a little far away to join us for dinner as were 3 other brother/sisters and families....later in the evening, our big boys headed home with one of their cousins and 2 of the little girls stayed with us for the night.Our little boys were a bit 'put out' that their big brothers got to go to their cousin's , the girls were having a slumber party, and they had to sleep in their own beds! So, early Saturday morning they had a special date with Daddy- that seemed to take the edge off :) !! This same brother and family got 'bumped' on their trip back West (they wanted to!!) so they will be coming back East for Christmas with their 4 free tickets...Yippee- more cousin memories soon to come :)!! I'm so grateful for the blending of our 2 families and for the many memories we have been privileged to make together over the years since Mimi and Pop-Pop have been married (16+)!

Our gang with Aunt Irene and cousins Timmy and Alyssa swimming at the hotel pool~

Chicken Fights !!!

Back at our house for dinner... a pizza picnic on a Friday nite' with cousins...what more could they ask for?! :)

Believe it or not, this isn't the whole gang...we are still missing 12 cousins!! In the past we have actually rented church or fire halls to accommodate our motley crew for holiday gatherings!!

~Just hanging out with Daddy-O~

Odesco and Luke enjoy the view (and the fight) from Uncle John and Daddy's shoulders. On Saturday, we headed back to the pool... and had it all to ourselves.It was here that Daddy allowed all 3 littles take off their life jackets and guess what?! They are all able to swim without assistance :)!! By the end of the afternoon, they were all jumping into the deep end as Daddy watched over them.But they all know , life jackets prevail unless we say so!!

Mercy and cousin Timmy

Cute cousins back at our house after the refreshing swim :)!!

Being grafted together....

A few weeks ago, Odesco came to me with a splinter in the sole of his foot. He was very anxious for me to remove it so I told him to come with me upstairs. Before I knew what was happening, L, G, Mercy and C were following closely behind. G quickly found a book to read in hopes of distracting Odesco during the 'procedure', L went to find a prize to give to Odesco to help him feel better after the anticipated splinter removal(he chose a harmonica!), and Mercy and C were there for moral support.
So, I closed the door to my bathroom as I sterilized a needle in alcohol and tried to hide it from my little man with the tender foot...I was not too successful as he caught a glimpse of it and was immediately anxious about being 'juked'. At this point G began to loudly read "Busy Town" to him , trying to divert Odesco's eyes and attention from his foot. I very gently prodded the sore spot with tweezers and he very loudly yelled...L very persistently tried to get Odesco to blow on his prize -(the harmonica), and Mercy began to very loudly sob! This was not ordinary cry...it was deep and guttural. We took a little break, I instructed G to begin reading and Odesco to roll onto his belly so he could not watch me....still no success at getting that little sliver of annoying wood from his foot....he was once again crying loudly and Mercy was following suit. L was still doing his best to get Odesco to 'blow the harmonica' and C was gently patting Odesco in attempts to calm him down. I told Odesco we would work on it a little later but he wanted that splinter out NOW! So, I gave it one last try fully realizing that this splinter was not going to budge under these circumstances and guess what I did? I faked it...I pretended I got a piece of it out, put some antibiotic ointment and a bandaid on and waited for the chaos to dissipate. (I knew that in time, that little splinter would work its' way out all by itself! ) Moments later Odesco declared triumphantly that , "It feels better already!!" In the meantime, Mercy was still heaving so I hugged her and asked her why she was so upset. I was thinking perhaps this triggered a memory of her Liberian Ma doing the same for her but she simply said it made her so sad to see Odesco in such pain. It was an opportunity to encourage her and recognize an evidence of God's grace in her life...He is giving her a tender heart! This was a gift as so often I am redirecting, correcting and instructing our little girl- it was a blessing to be able to shower her with genuine encouragement for her tender and compassionate heart and to tell her that I look forward to seeing how God will use that in the days ahead . This transformation really has been happening over the months since her homecoming. Initially, both children laughed when others got injured and showed no signs of even caring. Now, both kiddos will say, "Are you okay?" if they observe someone in pain... in fact, they will often be the first ones to run to the freezer to get an icepack for their injured sibling or friend! What a difference 8 months makes :)!
By God's grace, I was able to see His hand in this ridiculous situation:total hysteria over a splinter and lots of noise as others tried to distract, console , and cajole ("Blow the harmonica, Odesco" as if that's what he really wanted to do while he is crying his heart out!!) .
I will sadly admit that with my 'to-do' mentality, I would have typically viewed the 'intrusion' of all the other kiddos as a hindrance to my efforts but by God's grace I was able to see that He was doing something in the hearts of our children. They were bearing the burden of their little brother and showing compassion, kindness and empathy and by His grace, I was able to rejoice in this. Our children truly are being grafted together !!

Below are some of the pictures of them making memories together :)
Grateful for yet more evidence of Him at work in our lives!!
MamaB


This is the result of one distracted Mom and 2 very quiet little boys trying to find a single car in their previously organized closet!! Needless to say, they had a lesson in clean-up and organization a bit later in the day :)

I was in clean out mode and found a bunch of old birthday and party supplies. These 3 went to town ...planned a pretend birthday party, found 'gifts' to wrap and even hid Easter eggs while I was busy decluttering and organizing.

She still hasn't lost her touch!! This remains Mercy's favorite, most efficient way of carrying stuff!

A sweet sibling moment...Mercy and Odesco with Big brother C-the current man of the house while Daddy and P are away

Every year before we start school up, we have a scavenger hunt with goofy clues to find school supplies and fun educational games etc. This year though I was a bit sneaky: I wrapped up the younger kiddos actual curriculum since I wanted them to be really eager to start...it worked and we began a bit of school last Monday...not doing it daily yet but just easing into it :) The big boys are just along for the ride...they have already begun using most of their new curriculum although there were a few goodies for them as well (Story Of the World cd's and a computer game similar to Oregon Trail that focuses on Africa)

The only girl I know who gets excited about a tomato!!

Our first harvest from the garden.....Mercy was so excited about this green pepper. She excitedly asked if we were having it with peanut butter for dessert!?! She was not as excited once she tasted it...,"EEEEwwww, this tastes bittah(bitter)!"

Are these 2 adorable or what??

He delivers the needy...

Psalm 72:12-14

For He delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.

He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence He redeems their life and precious is their blood in His sight.

Many people are surprised to learn that both Mercy and Odesco have living parents in Liberia. It is awkward to discuss as I often feel like I am defending our decision to adopt them. Both of our childrens' biological families were fully informed regarding the permanency of adoption and made the decision to relinquish them to Acres of Hope with the desire that they would one day have a hope and a future being raised in a loving family where their basic needs would be met and where they would be offered opportunities never available to them in Africa. In Liberia , as is the case for many 3rd world nations, there is no 'safety net' for children at risk. There are no food stamps, subsidized medical clinics, unemployment benefits,or federally funded programs to help them care for the most basic needs of their children.Liberia is in the infant stages of rebuilding after 15 years of civil war -during which unspeakable atrocities took place. My heart aches as I think about all Mercy and Odesco's families have endured over the years . I was reading my bible yesterday and came upon these verses in Psalm 72 that I have never remembered reading before. These words seem to perfectly describe the Father's heart in bringing our children to us and giving us the awesome privilege of partnering with their Liberian families to raise them . Some might question my sharing this information in a public forum but if you have ever been around Mercy or Odesco,you know that they speak often of their lives in Liberia. Mercy especially makes reference to her biological mom on a regular basis and we encourage her to share openly so, I am not disclosing anything they don't candidly talk about already. Recently, with G's help,Mercy drew a picture of her hut in Liberia(see picture below). Just today while at a friend's house swimming, Mercy stood in a baby pool and pretended she was washing the clothes as she had seen her mom , other ladies in her village, and the nannies at AOH do so often. After vigorously scrubbing each article of clothing on a swimming kick board (aka: washboard), she set them all out to dry on the patio. A few weeks ago, Mercy spotted a louvered door in our basement and excitedly informed me "Mommy--that's what we used to wash our clothes in Liberia!!" (she thought it looked like a wash board!) The other day she was outside pulling the bark off a very green branch and determined to make a 'walking stick' out of it like she had done in Liberia for her grandmother who couldn't walk well. While adopting older children certainly has its challenges, I am so grateful for these glimpses into Mercy's life before she was our daughter. Odesco does not share too much about his biological family. Instead his memories seem to center around his time at AOH because he is younger and lived there for a year before he came home to us.
To get a true glimpse of what life was like for Mercy and Odesco before they came to AOH, please check out these 2 blog postings...one is on Melodie's blog...she is the young woman who blessed us by escorting Mercy , Odesco and Jenkins into JFK for us. She works for AOH and has such insight into the plight of Liberia. The 2ND link is on Donna Barber's blog. Donna is a mom of 10! (5 adopted children - 3 from Liberia) She is transitioning out of her role at AOH but was such a huge help to me throughout our adoption process and even after the children came home. You will see the village ladies doing their wash in one of the pictures and a mother carrying her baby in a lappa while toting a huge load on her head! Her pictures of the bush I believe were taken in the village Odesco is from!
Please keep my hubby and oldest son P in your prayers this week. They left this morning for our church youth camp (along many others ) and I am praying that the Lord meets both of them in a very personal and significant way...they will return on Saturday afternoon. So, if you think of it, pray also that I avail myself of every drop of God's grace as I am flying solo for a few days. We have fun days planned visiting friends with pools :) but the nights can be the most challenging especially for Miss Mercy .Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings!
Love, MamaB


http://www.xanga.com/Africaz_Melodie
scroll down to her post titled" Adoption =life"


http://outnumberedby12.blogspot.com/2007/08/bush.html

~Here Mercy is instructing G on the finer points of clothes washing the Liberian way!- Felicia is looking on as well~

This is the picture Mercy drew with a little help from G of her hut in Liberia...the roof is made of bamboo and the crosses along the right side are memorials to family members who had died.

Catching up!!! Our church camping trip...

So much time has passed since I last posted, it will take a few days to get this blog caught up :0 We have been enjoying our summer ...lots of pool days, a little bit of school and some much needed time to reorganize and plan for the upcoming school year. A few weeks ago we went camping with a group of families from church. We haven't been since 2 years ago and we had a great time in spite of 10 hours of cold rain on Monday. A few families had to leave because their tents didn't withstand the storm...another family made an exciting visit to the laundromat to dry their sleeping bags and clothes that got drenched. The rest of us just tried to pass the time...we walked around visiting other campsites for a while..then stayed for an extended visit at our friends' pop-up. What a blessing it was to sit inside, get warm and stay dry. Mrs. Honzie even prepared lunch for us :) Our visit with them literally saved the day ...thanks so much Honzies for sharing your warm space and friendship with us as we literally overtook you! After a couple of hours in the pop-up we heard that there was a Mc'D's close by with an indoor playground...so we packed up and headed there to wait out the storm. We laughed as we were soon joined by 2 other desperate families :)
Upon our return to the rain soaked campground we heard a group was headed out to dinner for pizza. It felt so good to be in the van with the heat on and to sit in a warm restaurant for a while before heading back to our tent for the night. It finally stopped raining just before bedtime and the next day was beautiful and sunny. Some of the excitement on the trip had to do with the sighting of 2 bearcubs and later a yearling. 2 years ago many of us witnessed a mama Bear with her 2 hungry cubs devouring trash at the dumpster. On that same trip several campers also came in close contact with a rattle snake...so there's always a little great outdoor excitement to talk about. During that camping trip , a group of us also watched as a very hungry raccoon boldly ate our s'more fixings while we sat just a few feet away around the campfire! This year, the morning after the storm, one surprised family was awakened by the sound of something slurping up the puddle just outside their tent....a few moments later a bear made eye contact through the screen window with the 'man of the tent'. Thankfully, the critter made a quick exit after that!! Wonder what adventures await our group next year?!
Thanks for checking in...I'll be catching the blog up over the next few days !
Mama B~


L-The Great Protector~ He dutifully packed up his bag with his arsenal of weapons to defend us against bears and rattle snakes~ Doesn't he look fierce?!

Odesco kept busy while we were setting up camp...here he made a 'fishing rod' out of a stick, some twine and a tent peg forgotten by the previous campers.

Our little spot in the woods...perfect location ...the swings and playground were directly behind our site' so we were able to keep tabs on the littles.

Somehow, we all fit in the tent :)

~Our little slugger!~
The kids had just enough time to hit the ball a few times before the rain started falling~

"Look Mommy, I'm a deer!!"
Odesco humors us with his creativity~

Our 4 littles looking so fashionable in their rain ponchos

~L giving some love to special friend, "Dee-Dee" while we dried off in the pop-up~

G and "Dee-Dee"

Pretending to have 'naptime' in the pop-up warm,cozy bed! Anything to pass the time!

L had such a fun time reading 'charts' ('maps' sounds too commonplace!) with Mr. Honzie. L later demonstrated his new found geographical knowledge to me and proudly announced that he would be my 'navinator'(aka: navigator) from now on in the car!

The Moms getting warm and catching their breath while the little ones play on the equipment.

Male bonding at the Mc'D's. Here they are staying dry, of course but also checking out the stock market and oh, the weather forecast too!

What do you do on a rainy day camping? Try to stay dry and warm!!
At least we were all in it together ~

A bit wet.... but still smiling!!

Drying out the morning after the rain and enjoying breakfast yummies... part of the fun of camping with friends is having guests for mealtime:) Hannah seemed to enjoy my cooking and ate our breakfast while she waited for hers to be prepared :)

The day after the rain.....AHHH...the warm sun at last !!!

DON'T MESS WITH MY MAN!!! Yep, that's my honey in the red shirt :) While the youth were playing volleyball, the Dads decided to play a game of football as the wives looked on and hoped no one got injured ...thankfully they all walked away in one piece!

JOY RIDE!!!
Mercy's expression says it all...here she is with her little friend, Hannah. Several of the kids we were camping with pulled this wagon up the hill and then gave wild downhill rides to their friends. They creatively named the rides after attractions at Six Flags and gave each thrill seeker the ride of their lives! It was amazing how long this activity amused these kids...it went on for quite a while and made just a bit of noise!! (Happy sounds though...hmm I wonder if that's the reason the camp site' next to us vacated only hours after setting up?!)

Our last evening we joined our friends the Y family for dinner. Brittany , seated between G and Mercy is one of our faithful babysitters and she and her brothers are loved by the little ones :)

Our last night around the 'community campfire'. Both Mercy and Odesco fell asleep on the laps of our friends after "filling up their guts "on s'mores , pistachio nuts (something new for them!) and yummy watermelon~

You can't tell but the kiddos are wearing those glow bracelets and necklaces-courtesy of Mrs. B who generously shared them with everyone. It was fun seeing our kiddos glow through the trees!

The little guys got in on the glow necklace/bracelet action too !

Thankfully, we returned home early enough on Wednesday to air out all of our damp, musty stuff and began the laundry. By Friday morning, ( 8 jam packed loads later!), we were finally caught up from camping and could begin conquering the 'regular' mountain of laundry :) The fun memories definately made all the effort worthwhile!