He's My Brother!

A funny thing happened the other day. The weather was beautiful over the weekend and our cul-de-sac was abuzz with activity. Several of our neighbors were outside riding bikes and shooting hoops at our basketball net. At one point, M and I heard Mercy interrogating someone in the backyard. A very bold boy whom we had never seen before, was riding his bike in our backyard and Mercy rightly wanted to know what he was doing there. Before my hubby could make his way to the back door, I heard the boy ask L," Well, what's he doing back here then?" The boy was referring to Odesco who was storing his bicycle back in our shed. L confidently answered,"He's my brother!" The look on this kid's face was priceless. You could see the wheels turning and he just could not make sense of our family. By this time M had made his way outside and graciously but firmly told the boy he needed to ride his bike in the court...not in our yard. We soon learned this boy was a friend of a neighbor and when he saw Odesco come into the backyard he assumed it was a 'free for all' not realizing that this is indeed Odesco's home.
This just made me realize how accustomed I have become to being a mom of 2 African children who bear no resemblance to me. In certain settings I do expect questioning looks but it is a bit unusual to happen in our own backyard!! L thought this boy's response was a hoot. L and Odesco are such good buddies-they actually choose to share a bunk and when we separated them due to sickness, they were not happy campers. They both emphatically reported they couldn't sleep well when they were apart. They have their moments, but over all they are good buddies!

They are definitely a study in contrasts :)

Silly boys!!

There you have it: Another day in the life of our conspicuous family :) Thanks for stopping by!

The Roots are Growing Deeper!

The roots in the heart of our blossoming sunflower are growing deeper and I did not want to miss an opportunity to give glory to God for the mighty work He is doing. It reminds me of the struggle a butterfly must go through when it breaks free of its chrysalis... it is painful to watch such toil, yet through the struggle God brings new life that would not come about any other way. Twice this week, there were 'issues' that typically would send Mercy into what I would call 'meltdown mode'. The storm clouds were brewing but Mercy responded to the whispers of the Holy Spirit in her heart, humbled herself, and asked forgiveness. A situation that typically would have taken all day (really!!) to resolve was over in about an hour. Absolutely amazing!

Then today, Mercy was confronted with her 'dark heart' (her words) once more and we were able to talk about how God's light can chase away all the darkness in her heart. I reassured her that darkness resides in my heart also and this is why I am so desperate for a Savior. We spoke of the profound truths outlined in Romans 7..."I do what I don't want to do, and I don't do what I do want to do"....

She told me she is "just like Justin" from the cd series Down Gilead Lane. When I asked her to explain, she admitted that just like Justin she gets stuck in 'dark pits'. This reminded me of the quote I have been meditating upon that we read many times this week in a Corrie Ten Boom biography. So, I shared, "Mercy, that sounds like what Betsie said to Corrie in the book we just read...

"Remember, there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper"

Her face was full of expression as she connected the dots that God had orchestrated to reveal such deep truths to her. Then she shared,"It's like my favorite song(by Natalie Grant)

There's no such thing as perfect people

There's no such thing as a perfect life

So come as you are, broken and scarred

Lift up your heart and be amazed

And be changed, by a perfect God

Mercy has loved this song since last summer and to see her processing all of these truths and putting it all together is so very encouraging. All of these pieces falling into place point to a gracious God who longs to shower His mercy upon our Mercy...these were not unrelated random happenings ...no, God is at work and He is masterfully weaving all of this together so that a broken heart can be healed by Him alone.

Isaiah 43:18-20

¹⁸ "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

My heart is so grateful for these 'streams in the wasteland' and it is good for me to recall them now before I am tempted to lose sight of the new thing He is doing.

P.S.~ The pictures above are from our sunflowers last summer... the previous summer Mercy was so distressed when her beloved sunflower was ripped right out of the ground during a violent summer thunderstorm...this provided a very vivid picture for her of what happens when roots do not grow deep and drink up the nutrients of the soil ...it also provided a great word picture for us to encourage her to grow her roots deeply into the soil of her new life in our family. We started the sunflowers pictured above from seed and I was so thankful the Lord blessed our efforts with many tall, strong sunflowers that all weathered the summer's many thunderstorms. She knew it was because 'their roots grew deep'. What a joy it is to see her own roots digging into the soil here.

Never a Dull Moment!

L has been lamenting for the past 2 days that his front tooth was really annoying him as it wiggled and jiggled. I encouraged him to yank it himself or to wait contently( ie: no complaining) for it to fall out on its own...he wasn't thrilled with either option. Well, today it was taken care of...by his brother-during a wrestling match on the family room floor. I truly wonder if our Liberian children do indeed have a future in dentistry...Mercy helped G lose 1 tooth in a swimming collision one summer day, Odesco assisted with the loss of another with a pretend boxing match gone awry, and then today he took care of L's problem....for our kiddos who are slow to lose their baby teeth, this method seems pretty effective!

Wiggler no more...thanks, Odesco!!

Odesco with the 'prize'...L's tooth in a ziploc bag.....nope, never a dull moment around here :)

Bye,Bye, Braces...

Another major event in the family was P's "De-banding Day" to remove his braces. I can't believe how grown up he looks with no metal in his mouth!! Enjoy the pictures of our 'little boy' who is looking more and more like a man every day....

I couldn't stand the suspense waiting in the other room. I just had to come back to snap a picture of my first glimpse of his beautifully straight teeth!

This picture cracks me up...looks like P isn't quite sure how to smile now that his teeth are unveiled! The orthodontist we go to makes de-banding day quite a celebration...P was given a gift certificate for a free portrait at JC Penney and even the 'Sundae' that he is holding...it is filled with an assortment of candy he has been banned from for the past 2+ years!! I know, sort of ironic for an orthodontist to give, but P sure appreciated it!

P with Dr.K...just look at those pearly whites!!

Thanks for stopping by....

Another Reason To Celebrate....

Well, it is official...we are finally 100% finished with all adoption related legal paperwork(except for yearly post placement reports which continue until they are 18)!!! This week, my hubby reported to the official State building, signed some papers, handed over Mercy and Odesco's permanent resident cards, and walked out with official certificates of citizenship. He called me mid day and suggested we celebrate. I am always up for a party and a reason NOT to cook :) We surprised the kids and took them to CiCis for dinner...we thought it was very appropriate to take our food-loving Liberians to an all you can eat buffet! They were thrilled!

Checking out the certificates...

It's official...they are now eligible to vote( in 10+ years!!!) ...but Mercy is bummed that she can never run for President. She is consoled to know she CAN be the First Lady. I could just imagine her in the White House...she'd certainly spice things up a bit :)!

Daddy and his youngest boy~

Just before taking this picture when I looked at her full plate, Mercy boldly declared," Mom, I'm cutting back"...

We definitely gets our money's worth here :)

Grateful for yet another opportunity to celebrate God's goodness in making Mercy and Odesco a part of our family.

Lessons in the storm...

The other morning during the first storm (last Saturday), Mercy climbed into bed with me and was gazing out the window in wonder as the snow fell. She remarked about the fact she had learned that every snowflake is unique and then asked,"Mommy, what if God runs out of ideas?" What a great question ... I was able to remind her of the truths we have been memorizing from the Gospel Primer:

"My God is immense beyond imagination, He measured the entire universe with merely the span of His hand... He is unimaginably awesome in all His perfections...."

We talked about how it is impossible to wrap our finite brains around these truths. While He is sustaining the universe, keeping the planets spinning in their orbits, He is also fashioning a bazillion unique snowflakes during this storm. And even more amazingly, He is intimately involved in the details of our lives simultaneously...even knowing when a single hair falls from our heads. Truly amazing!!

The kiddos during the first big storm over the weekend~

Yes, this is our firstborn, skiing in the backyard the night of the first storm...and yes, he is NOT wearing a coat...where is his mother??

This was the view from our back window today during a lull in the "Blizzard of 2010"!

A glimpse out our front door... that's a ton of snowflakes...each uniquely fashioned by our amazing God!!!

Tomorrow it's time for the big "Dig Out"!!

Unit Celebration

Last Friday we had our Tapestry of Grace unit Celebration. We are studying the 20th Century and have learned so much over these past 3+ months. We decided it would be fun to have a "SoupKitchen" theme for lunch since we ended the Unit studying the Great Depression. The older kids were not thrilled with the idea of dressing up but the younger crew had a blast perusing our many resources, choosing a person to dress up as, and raiding their closets and dress up bins for costumes. I barely helped them at all...they also copied the signs from pictures they had seen in the books we studied. Of course we had to remind the kids that our 'soup kitchen' was MUCH more lavish than the ones during the Depression. Somehow I don't think brownies, Panera leftovers, and yummy Banana pudding were a part of the typical soup kitchen menu!!

Guess who?! Here's a clue: she was otherwise known as "Curly Top" and "Dimples"

Hmmm... I wonder who Odesco is supposed to be???

This is the picture he found of the "King of Jazz", Louis Armstrong...he even posed like him without prompting...too funny!

Isn't his trumpet 'ingenious'?? Odesco and G resourcefully used a paper towel roll, kitchen funnel, and paper to make the keys...

Mercy chose to represent Marian Anderson, an African-American, who became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid twentieth century.I'll be honest, until Mercy took a special interest in her, I'd never heard of Marian Anderson...I still have much to learn...now if my braincells can retain the new information, that would be great!!


Who is this scary gangster? L really would have looked like Al Capone if he had a more serious expression...don't you think?!

Jenkins LOVES baseball, so none of us were surprised when he showed up like this :)

"Flapper Felicia"...could she be any cuter???

Some of the gang enjoying their soup :)

An 'authentic' sign of the times...

I'm so grateful I have the privilege of teaching our kiddos and learning so much alongside of such special friends!