New blog rising

I'm working on a new blog to be unveiled shortly. I'm torn on how to handle this one. i dont want to delete it, maybe someone will be uber generous and slurp it for me. I'm planning on taking our family a little more private. All the updates, all the pictures,just less on the names and locations part. To be here soon....

Recipe time!

I've been lurking this adoption blog for a while now and loved this post and had to share. I love lots of her posts, but this one is so very useful for those of us with growing families! Enjoy! I'm headed for the white Chicken chili first!

Photo op day

Friday was a day of lounging and loving and cuddling. These times dont always happen so when they do...take a picture!!


Balin was "scared"watching a movie so he snuggled up next to Ayden.Ayden reciprocated the snuggle and Mama was happy. Joyfully blissfully happy to see her boys actually loving on each other voluntarily.Spontaneously. It lasted about ten minutes.
Sometimes life is so good you just gotta let your belly hang out.

As pleasing as it was to see the boys snuggling. Seeing the girls contentedly lie in the floor together was equally grand. It lasted about seven minutes.

My fighter

We found out this week that indeed, Balin will need another surgery for another hernia/hydrocele.Yup,this is the same exact procedure he had done last year. I have no idea yet when the surgery will take place. We meet with a surgeon on Tuesday next week. Lucas will be in Laredo. Our hope is that we can schedule the surgery in March, maybe around Spring break so we can not worry about Ayden and school and if Lucas is out of town then I can get more help. If the Dr thinks we need to take care of it sooner than we will continue trusting that god will take care of the details. We are so grateful to have insurance, even if it is more expensive than it was before and even if the deductible is higher at least we know that we wont have bills that will be completely in crazy ville. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and almost feel guilty that my biggest fears right now are for the comfort of my family, and the annoyance of a surgery when in reality Balin is very healthy. We have access to health care, clean water,safe homes. He will have an outpatient surgery. go home with good medication where he will be held and cushioned and set up with movied and blankets and love and peace.I'm burdened with the images of orphans in Haiti tonight. Children who have no parents and must face this disaster with no one to to worry about them or hold them or tell them its okay. No one to rock them to sleep. No one to make them a blanket nest and rub their forehead until they fall asleep How many children will die alone and afraid? How many more children will survive this only to be alone in the aftermath? Who will fight for the orphans?

A Parental list of Rules to live by

Courtesy John Piper

Let there be much spontaneous celebration verbally of every hopeful sign of life and goodness in our children.
Let us forgive them often and be longsuffering.
Let us serve them and not use them.
Let us lavish them with joyful participation in their interests.
Let us model for them the joy of knowing and submitting to the Lord Jesus.
Let us apologize often when we fall short of our own Father’s requirements.
Let us pray for them without ceasing.
Let us saturate them with the word of God from the moment they are in the womb (the uterus is not sound proof).
Let us involve them in happy ministry experiences and show them it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Let them see us sing to the King.
Let us teach them relentlessly the meaning of the gospel in the hope that God will open their eyes and make them alive. It happens through the gospel (1 Peter 1:22-25).

Again

We finally,officially, got the news from Balins doctor that yes indeed he needs to have ANOTHER hernia/hydrocele surgery. This time he is not a new walker that I could keep still, he is a thriving jumping running two year old who wrestles and gets into trouble CONSTANTLY. This time my husband works even longer hours and possible will be south Texas. This timemy soft and cuddly cloth diapers no longer fit. Arg. i'mnot worried about his health. I trust that he will be in good hands. I worry that this again wont finish the job. I'm wearied by the thought of trying to keep my 30month old STILL for TWO weeks. On a good not though his ear ubes have fallen out on their own and so we dont have to remove them by another surgery.

Superdude

 

One of the faces Picassa people finder found often in my photo albums. I had a feeling he was part of our family.

New Years Hats

 

We started the tradiion last year to make silly hats for new years. Last year we made them out of construction paper and Balin fell asleep before we could finish. This year we used my new Cri#c#t machine machine that my parents blessed me with. I think they turned out pretty cute. Mine says "happy anniversary." We even made one for lucy, but dont have pictures of it. The pictures are what you can expect when taking photos of your chilren at ten at night! The boys were troppers though.We lit sparklers and watched G-Force (which they LOVED.. Balin has been yelling "G-Force!!" ever since).We ate chinese food for dinner and chocolate fondue for dessert and rang in 2010 by watching the ball drop. May this year bring joy and challenges alike that will help us grow together and closer to our Lord!