Happy 15th Birthday.....

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

It is so hard to believe that P has just turned 15! The greatest joy for us as parents is to see his relationship with the Lord flourish and to watch him growing in humility and wisdom. As we all went around the table sharing what we love about P, the common theme was his humility and consistency in asking forgiveness. He also does a great job playing with his younger siblings and 'entering their world'. He is a diligent worker both in his studies, household chores, and in working for others. Recently we worked as a family at my hubby's 'Global Service Day' with many of his co-workers cleaning up a YMCA close to his office. Several of M's co-workers later commented on P's diligence as he energetically slung mulch for many hours. I am thoroughly enjoying these teenage years. Sure, there are moments, but overall, I stand in awe of what the Lord is doing in spite of us!!
Happy Birthday, P---we love you!!!!!


Miss Mercy was so excited to give P the gift she had purchased with her own money~
Each of the kids gets to choose their favorite meal for their birthday dinner...P chose "chicken pockets" a recipe shared with me by a dear friend when she brought over a meal the week P was born!! It is comical to hear the 3 boys who share may birthdays plot out their choices. L was set on having whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes for dinner but his big brothers convinced him that he really wanted meatloaf and mashed potatoes...it took some convincing but L eventually caved in to his big brothers~ I'm grateful they enjoy my cooking :)

PS: I have no idea why the font is all messed up on this post...I tried numerous times to fix it to no avail ...

The view through my rear view mirror...

Today was one of those crazy non-stop full days. Lots to do, places to be, deadlines to meet. As I was driving to pick the 2 big boys up from a study group at Mama K's, I glanced at the view in my rear view mirror and my heart was so full. 7 little people filled the seats...their loud voices filled the car. There were 4 African children...Mercy, Odesco, Jenkins, and Felicia...it is hard to remember life without them. They are all such 'belongers' now...they were meant to be a part of our families. From the foundations of the earth, even through the horrors of war and hunger,God had planned that they would be joined to our families. He went to great lengths to bring them across the world to us...it truly is a miracle...how kind of the Lord that we 'get' to do this. What a privilege...it has not been easy, but it has been worth it!

I am so grateful when the Lord gives me these moments (this time through my rear view mirror). I need fresh vision every now and then...
Thanking the Lord for His kindness to me,
MamaB~

A Big Day in the B house!!

Yesterday, May 3rd, was a big day in our house...we officially have 2 teenagers under the roof now!! C celebrated his 13th birthday ...it is so hard to believe 13 years have sped by since our 9#14oz baby entered the world!! As you can see from the pictures below, C has experienced a major growth spurt...sometimes from a distance( on the baseball field) I don't even recognize him! He is growing in many ways and we are so grateful for the privilege to parent our 2nd born :) Mercy surprised him by doing his chores yesterday and begged me to take her to the Dollar store so she could purchase gifts(candy!) for each of her brothers celebrating this month. I savor these sweet family moments/ "snapshots of grace!"
C has grown in many ways over this past year but most significant are the changes we are seeing in his spiritual walk. We look forward to watching the Lord at work in our son's life in the days ahead!! We love you,C~

C received his humongous toolbox from Daddy with 3 tools to start his collection. Each birthday he will receive a new tool to add to the set so that when he is ready to be on his own, (sniff, sniff) he will be well equipped in the tool department!

Our 17+ year old refrigerator has died...M and I headed out last night to shop for a new one :) We are still looking... We asked C to measure the height of our old one since we were scoping the internet before we left to shop. C ran in the other room to get his very own handy tape measure to help us out :)

Thanks for stopping by~
P.S. It was also a big day for other reasons...Today, P finished his final module of Biology, C took his last General Science test and also completed his Pre-Algebra Math program...Wednesday is our final Homeschooler's Day Out for the year~our school year is definitely winding down!!

Hello Double Digits!

I can't believe G is now a 10 year old!! (Yes this post is very late...her birthday was 4/13!) We celebrated this milestone a bit early with a surprise trip to the mall to get her ears pierced :) Her friend, K who is turning 10 in May, was surprised by her mom as well. We individually told the girls we were running an errand at the mall..then we' just happened' to bump into them, and 'happened' to stroll right past the Piercing Pagoda where we (moms) had already scoped out the prices/choices of earrings etc. Once we told the girls our plan, they were not sure we were serious. They were too cute trying to decide who would go first, which earrings to pick, and whether or not it would hurt. They were both quite brave and so pleased with the results!
On her birthday morning I took G out for breakfast with her Bob Evan's free meal coupon...how my heart did sing when she asked if Mercy could join us for 'girl time'! It is rare that I get to take out each child individually for a special treat so I was so pleased that she would want to share this 'mom time' with her sister... we had a fun time being together :)
In the evening, we were blessed with a visit from Mimi and Pop-Pop Doyle and Mom and Dad B. What a gift to have both sets of grandparents here to celebrate and spend time in our noisy house!

G is growing up so fast. She is diligent in her studies and a big help around the house. She is often my brain and keeps me on track with details I tend to mix up or forget! She has also been a huge help in the kitchen recently and I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to teach her in the ways of the Lord. I look forward to watching the Lord at work in her heart in the years to come. I'm so grateful the Lord brought 2 girls into our home to balance all the testosterone:) I am blessed indeed!!

We love you, G!!

Before... sweet friends getting the jitters out as we signed paperwork and paid for the piercing and earrings~

After...RELIEF and lots of smiles!! They both chose dainty flowers made of sparkling blue stones...so pretty :)

We ended the celebration with a visit to Auntie Anne's Pretzels!

The Birthday Girl flanked by her special grandparents:)

G asked Mimi to surprise her this year ... as usual we were not disappointed with her colorful creation!! It tasted as good as it looked...and of course, Grandmom B brought her famous pumpkin bread and tub of brownies...the challenge is keeping hands off the goodies until dinner/dessert!

The kids were anxious for dessert time!

Our new birthday plate...I found a pink one and a blue one at the Christmas Tree Shop...a new fun tradition~

The whole clan(minus me )...sorry, Mimi...this was the only picture where everyone was facing the camera!!

The Annual B family Birthday Extravaganza has officially begun...4 more birthdays to celebrate in the next 3 weeks-fun, fun, fun!!

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 :)