A Great Gift

Today is Ryan's birthday. What a gift he is to me and to the kids! Outside of my relationship with God, there is nothing more precious to me than this man. When God gave me Ryan, He didn't give me what I asked for - He gave me beyond what I could have imagined. Happy Birthday, Rhine! Every day with you is a great gift to me!

Diligent

I haven't written much about our adoption lately. Honestly, since we receive little to no information, there isn't much to report. Also, since life goes on while we are waiting, I haven't been as focused on it all. After we got back from vacation, and school was done for summer, I realized that I haven't been praying as much about it, and I haven't worked on some of my adoption projects (like the scrapbook). I've just been kind of in neutral gear. It's never far from my mind, but I'm not as emotionally engaged in it all right now.

So, last week I was seeking the Lord's encouragement, and as always, I found He had much to say, and that it spoke straight to my heart.

I asked the Holy Spirit last week to speak to me about our adoption, and I felt the Lord tell me, "Commit your way to the Lord", which to me, is encouragement to pray. I was reading scripture and in Psalm 13:3 I read the phrase, "Give light to my eyes..." I felt that I should pray and ask God to continue to bring light to my eyes concerning our adoption, since we can't SEE anything happening. He then led me to Proverbs, a book I seldom read, and in chapter 13, verse 4, I read: "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." Needless to say, I felt convicted to keep praying.

If that wasn't enough, I went to flip my perpetual calendar, and here was the quote for the day: "A delayed answer to a persistent prayer teaches us all that God's timing is perfect and we must be faithful to continue in prayer and not grow weary in waiting." Okay, Lord, message received!

According to Webster's, DILIGENT means "characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic application and effort; painstaking." So, this is the type of prayer I am pursuing, in hopes that the "desires of the diligent will be fully satisfied." Please make it so, Lord!

My New Favorite Sport

Okay, I had heard about rock, paper, scissor (RPS) tournaments, but this was my first time actually viewing it. I must say, the announcers make it all worth it. I laughed out loud! So, here for your viewing pleasure is the final match of the 2007 RPS Tournament. Enjoy!

31 Things About Me

My friend Susan sent me this survey in an email, and I decided to post it here. It was actually 50 things, but for the sake of space and boring people to death, I cut it down to 31. I'm sure you needed more pointless information about me.

1. Do you like bleu cheese? If the word cheese is involved, count me in!

2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No, like it's your business!

3. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic's? I haven't been there, but rumor has it one is coming to my side of town. Cha-ching!

4. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Only if I was smoking heroin beforehand, I MEAN, not usually.

5. What do you think of hot dogs? They are best eaten at a baseball game.

6. Can you do push ups? When I read this, I thought it was refering to popsicles, so that tells you about how many push ups I can do.

7. Do you have A.D.D.? I'm sorry, I wasn't listening...

8. Middle name? Irene

9. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I hate my middle name. It was my grandma's middle name, though. At least I didn't get her first name: Mildred.

10. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Coke, coke, and coke.

11. Current worry right now? Do I drink too much coke?

12. Current hate right now? Guilt over drinking too much coke.

13. Favorite place to be? On vacation anywhere with Ryan and the kids, and I'm drinking a coke.

14. How did you bring in the New Year? With a group of friends at our house have a hilarious night of playing games.

15. Like to go camping? ABSOLUTELY

16. Do you own slippers? Yes, and I think everyone should and that they should replace shoes as socially acceptable footwear.

17. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No. I have a great story that involves me, an overweight invalid woman, and satin sheets, so if you're ever bored I can share it with you.

18. Would you be a pirate? Is that option available? I'm not so much for long boat trips.

19. What songs do you sing in the shower? Worship songs, and man, do I sound good!

20. Last thing that made you laugh? Madison asked for a piece of gum, and within 2 minutes she had accidentally swallowed it because she forgot it was gum and not food.

21. Best bed sheets as a kid? ? Charlie Brown and Peanuts

22. Who is your loudest friend? Let me point out that when my friend Susan sent this to me, her answer here was "Dawn". I'm assuming she meant a different Dawn.

23. What is your favorite book? To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hiding Place

24. What is your favorite candy? Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

25. Favorite Sports Team? Chicago Cubs - I'll say no more to avoid any curses on how well they are doing

26. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Surfing the internet to find a place for Ryan and I to go for a couple of days while his parents keep our kids.

27. Worst habit? Late night snacking

28. Do you play an instrument? "Are you kidding, I've played bassinet for years!" That's for all of you Spongebob fans!

29. How long does it take you to get to work? I instantaneously arrive there when I open my eyes in the morning.

30. Plans for the weekend? Helping out my dad, going to play games with some friends, church, and lunch with my father-in-law

31. If you could eat anything in the world right this second? A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, thanks alot Number 24!

Random Thoughts Vol. 12

Hi everyone! I have a plethora of random thoughts in my head, so here we go!

One of my favorite parts of our vacation was that in the car I would read aloud to Ryan from a book called The Final Quest by Rick Joyner. Since it wasn't very long, we were able to complete the whole book. It's about a prophetic dream that Rick Joyner had over a period of time, and it's a truly fascinating book. I was glad to have read it, and glad that Ryan and I were able to experience it together. I recommend it to anyone who likes things of prophetic interest. It was amazing!

Last Saturday, since we missed it due to vacation, I watched the season finale of Lost online. I watched it not only once, but twice. I could hardly wait to watch it, so I watched it in the afternoon alone, and again that night with Ryan. My personal opinion - I LOVED IT. It was a very satisfying end to the season, and set up for next year. I will greatly miss the show, but Heroes will be back in the fall, so that will make things better. Since I don't want to be a spoiler, I will cryptically say to those of you who watch Lost, I DID NOT until I saw for myself, know who was in that coffin. Yeehaw!!!

On Sunday, my nephew, Josh, graduated from high school. For those who know my family, Josh is my brother John's son. So, I made my second trip back to Jimtown High since I graduated from there myself 18 years ago. We were all so proud of Josh, and glad to share this day with him. Here's our family with Josh after the ceremony. (Mom Deak, Josh, John, John's girlfriend Michelle, Amy, Mark, Ryan, and Brenda in back; Chris and I are in front).

Madison's spring piano recital was last night. She's doing a great job, and it's fun to see her perform. It amazes me that she doesn't get nervous. Beforehand, she was just so excited to go. Here's a picture of her playing a piece with another student, and her teacher.

Finally, today I had my dad over for coffee since he's birthday was last week while we were gone. My sister Chris came as well, and when she did, she brought me this huge bouquet of peonies from their farm. They have huge peony bushes at their house, and they are so gorgeous. I love the color of the ones she brought me, and they have such a sweet and wonderful smell. I have such great sisters!

Back From Vacation

Well, we made it back from vacation. We had a wonderful time! We got back last Friday afternoon, but I'm just now making time to post some pictures. On Memorial Day, we headed to Cincinatti, ans spent the evening hanging out at the hotel. Since the weather was rainy the next day, we went to The Creation Museum just over the border in Kentucky. It was a fascinating place, and we all really enjoyed it. The kids liked it even more than I expected. Everything there was really well done, and we all learned a lot. They have beautiful gardens outside, and I was able to purchase some curriculum to use for home school next year.

The next day the weather was perfect and we headed to King's Island. It had been 14 years since I had been to this amusement park, and I'm sure the last time I never even entered the kid's area. Michael was so excited to see the one third replica of the Eiffel Tower, and he couldn't stop talking about it. The kid's area is has Nickolodean characters, and we were all excited about the various Spongebob characters. It was fun to see the older kids, especially Michael, try riding the bigger roller coasters and rides. The park wasn't very busy, so it was just a great day.

We drove that night to Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, Indiana. This was a great state park because there was so much to do. We visited a pioneer settlement, took a boat tour of a cave, hiked down to another cave, and visited a memorial to Gus Grissom. It was nice to be in this environment after the day at the amusement park. The weather was beautiful, and we had just a wonderful time as a family. I'm so grateful for opportunities for the 5 of us to be away together and enjoy each other. God has been so good to us!

The kids in front of the Scooby Doo ride at King's Island.

The kids ready to go on the boat ride into the cave.

Hanging out in the hotel.

In the gardens at the Creation Museum.

More Creation Museum.

Creation Museum

our family in front of the King's Island sign with the tower in the background.

Random Thoughts Vol. 11

Hi again! Time for more random thoughts, and what will probably be my last post before leaving for vacation on Monday. Please try to survive without me. I know I will be trying to survive without internet access for a week. It's good for me!

Well, one of my two favorite contestants won American Idol. Congrats to David Cook! I truly feel he was the best over the entire competition. I missed most of the finale, but caught the stuff I missed on Youtube. All I can say is, why have George Michael sing a song that Carrie Underwood conquered on Idol Gives Back night? He had no hope of singing it as well as her, especially with the "cold" he mentioned that he had. Also, I laughed out loud when David Hernandez whispered "naked". Too funny! Oh, and one more thing, I'm glad Amanda Overmeyer won't be on the tour this summer. All those group sings might kill her!

Yesterday was our last day of school. We are all so excited! Our trip to Lincoln Park Zoo was fabulous, and I highly recommend it, especially if you're a big zoo person. The weather was great (a little cool for Madison, of course), and Michael loved getting a chance to be in downtown Chicago. It was a great way to finish off the school year. The picture above is of the kids in front of a cool building with a rainforest area.

The reason I missed the American Idol finale was because we were at the AWANA awards night. Our kids did a great job. They all completed their books, which is exciting. At the awards, Michael recited John 3:16 in front of everyone, and Madison received an award for good sportsmanship, since she's always smiling. Ryan and I were, of course, very proud. Way to go, kids!

Finally, I wanted to post one more picture. It is the wild flowers that I wrote about in my post "Potential". I thought you would like to see them. I call it "Beauty Realized". Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and week, and I'll fill you in on our vacation when we get back!

Random Thoughts Vol. 10

Welcome to random thoughts, where the post lives up to its title. I'm having trouble realizing that the end of May is approaching, probably because it's been so cold here. I'm ready for warmer weather, but not the summer humidity. I can be as fickle as the weather, I suppose.

Behold the picture - a Cricut machine, which is what I received as a gift for Mother's Day. It's fabulous! I'm excited for the next time I have lots of pages to scrapbook so that I can use this little beauty. A nice bonus is that one of my friends also has the Cricut, and she has several different fonts that I can borrow and use with it. To that all I can say is, "Shazam!"

My American Idol thoughts are that I'm way more likely to buy a David Cook album in the future than a Little David album, so I guess it doesn't matter who wins. I think Cook has consistently been the best, and deserves to be declared the winner, but I think he'll do just fine without the title. I'll miss American Idol when it's over, mostly because I'll miss the fun videos done by EW.com.

Lost isn't on this week. The 2-hour finale is on next week. What in the world? How are the Oceanic 6 all going to end up rescued together since they are all separated? Is Claire dead? How can the island be moved? Is Ben one of the best characters ever, and is that actor one of the best as well? If the freighter blows up and takes Desmond and Jin out, I will not be happy, because Desmond is one of my favorite characters.

Tomorrow is our last day of school. We plan on spending our last day at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. We are all excited to go, and very excited to be finished with this school year. We've never been there, so I'll let you know my thoughts when I get back.

Potential

Barren field, fallow and dry
Thistle bush, weeds, and dead, brittle branches
Scanning across, it all looks the same
Till my eyes land on that one isolated spot
Where life is emerging, ready to burst
A cluster of wild flowers-to-be
Anticipating their moment to arrive
I see it and one word fills my mind
POTENTIAL
I see the possibility
The hope
The inevitable
Beauty is coming
And because it is in the middle of this wasteland
It will stand out even more
In this place where only God could have placed it
In this dry, brittle place
There will be life
There will be beauty
And because of what will be,
For now, there is hope

Taste Of Summer - Part Two

I took a picture of this hanging basket in the backyard because inevitably, deer will come and eat whatever flowers are in it.

My dad gave me this hosta a couple of years ago when he dug up some hostas at his house. It was being suffocated by the bush in the front yard, so I moved it to the flower garden in back. I love that we dug up this plant, chopped it into three parts, and put one third of it in a plastic bag, then drove it 25 minutes to our house, stuck it in the ground, and yet it lives! It also makes me think of Dad, and how we plant seeds in people's lives and we never really know what will grow, and we're sometimes surprised by the strength and beauty.

I took this picture because our kids have been playing with this empty paint rollers for weeks. Why do we ever buy toys?

Big Lots had these sidewalk paints on clearance for 50 cents a piece awhile back. Today we got them out with some old paint sponges and enjoyed painting the sidewalk and driveway.

I bought my hanging baskets for the porch at the Farmer's Market in Elkhart. They were 2 for $30 - about $20 cheaper than if I had bought something similar at Lowe's. You've gotta love flowers from the Amish (or were they Mennonite?). I thought I better take a picture since nearly every year a bird builds a nest in one of the baskets and the flowers end of dying because I can't water it enough with the bird in there.

Taste Of Summer - Part One

We finally had a decent day here in the "Michiana" area. The timing was perfect since I went and bought flowers to plant in our yard, and that is always a more fun time when the sun is out and it is warm. I'm always excited to get the flowers and see all the fresh life and beauty. I also am grateful to God for creating perennial flowers. It's fun to have these wonderful plants come up year after year. One of my favorites is the bleeding heart. They bloom early and get you ready for summer. They don't last very long, but they are hardy plants. The ones in this picture came up after I had dug up the plants and moved them to a different spot.

Usually I buy geraniums for my whiskey barrel, but this year I saw these great gerbera daisies and I loved the colors.

I bought this "hen and chicks" plant. Supposedly, it will produce a lot of offshoots. I just thought it looked cool!

One day a few years ago, I was at my sister Chris' house, and she had a plant she wanted to give me. So she went into a random shed on their farm and came out with this cast iron pot. She transplanted the flower into and sent it home with me. This pot always reminds me of that day, and how cool it was to have a random shed to pull a unique pot out of, and how sweet it was that my sister did it for me.

I also opted for zinnias around our lamp post, instead of my standard petunias.

Keep Praying

We got a little bit of news last week from Guatemala. It's hard sometimes to update people because there are so many different things and details, but I'll try to just sum up everything. We're encouraged that Guatemala is working on getting a new process in place. We're also encouraged that they appear to be developing more children's services in their country on a whole. The time frame for the new process being in place is still far out. Also, the adoption law right now states that only the government can place children, not children's homes. We would like to see that changed so that the children's homes can continue to function, and we have desired all along for our daughter's mother to live at the promise of life house and our daughter to live at Hannah's Hope and be referred to us from that program. So, it's encouraging to see stuff happening, but there is still plenty to keep praying about. Thanks to all of you who continue to remember us while we "be still and know that He is God".

Random Thoughts Vol. 9

Welcome again to random thoughts, a post filled with a string of thoughts that really don't have anything to do with each other, or any sort of significance on a whole. I'm excited that we only have 13 days of school left before summer vacation. Needless to say the kids are excited about that as well. Now that better weather has come to Indiana (at least for today, you know how the weather is here!), it's especially hard to keep doing our school work.

I haven't commented on American Idol for a while. Since David Cook and Jason are my favorites, I've been pretty happy. I wish Carly was the last girl standing instead of Syesha, but that's a personal preference. I think it would be more interesting to have her and Michael Johns still in at this point versus Little David and Syesha, but whatever. I was disappointed in Neil Diamond night, because I love Neil Diamond. But maybe that's the problem: there's only one Neil. But you know, there are 2 kinds of people in this world - those who love Neil Diamond and those who don't. Anyone know what movie that quote is from?

For those of you LOST watchers, I read a theory on EW.com after last week's episode that I think blows my mind. That theory is: Claire is a ghost. Discuss! All I can say, is this show both confounds and entertains me. The only bad thing about summer - no new LOST. Or American Idol. Or Survivor. Or The Office. Maybe ABC will run another season of Will Traveler, like last summer. Did anyone catch that? Or how about they restart the beautiful tradition of the Battle of the Network Stars? I used to LIVE for when that was on - that and Circus of the Stars. Here's a taste of Battle of the Network Stars, 1980. Go Chachi!

Nine Is Fine

My baby girl is nine. I find it hard to believe. Yes, I shed tears over it, but I'm fine. It's neat to get to know her and see who she is becoming. I truly enjoy her and her company, and I'm incredibly proud of her. We had a "Pink Poodle Paris" party, and it was very fun. We went to Hacienda with Grandpa and Grandma Morehouse before coming back home for presents and cake. Madison was thrilled when they sang to her at Hacienda! She beamed! We had a wonderful time celebrating Madison and her big day.

Things That Make Me Laugh

I thought I would share some things that make me laugh in hopes to spread the laughter. The first is a montage from America's Funniest Home Videos. This is one of our favorite shows, and I saw this clip when it aired, but my friend Karen recently emailed the link and I've been enjoying watching it over and over.



Last night Saturday Night Live's Best of Chris Farley was on NBC. I've seen this many times, and it always makes me laugh. I was looking for a video of when he does Bennet Brower on weekend update (you know, the guy who air quotes things like, "eat my own dandruff"), but I couldn't find one. I tried finding other Farley videos, but apparantly everyone posting on YouTube feels the need to make a tribute to Farley with sappy music OR EVEN WORSE post videos of themselves doing Chris' sketches. Anyhow, instead of a funny Farley video, I'll post a funny Will Ferrel video that enables me to laugh every time I hear a cowbell.



Finally, I'm sharing a clip from a Japanese game show that I which would catch on here in America. I love Human Tetris!

Milestones

We've had a couple of exciting milestones be reached recently. MAX is actually talking at his language class as much as he does at home, which is very helpful to his therapist. He's also just becoming more and more independent, and he rides a "big bike" now instead of a tricycle. His milestones are small, but fun nonetheless. MICHAEL decided last weekend to take the training wheels off of his bike, and without much trouble, now rides without them. Pretty exciting since my goal for him was to do it by the end of summer. But the biggest milestone of all has to do with MADISON. Today we found out that after 6 1/2 years of speech and language therapy, she's all done! She won't be needing or receiving speech services next year. We were all so happy, and so grateful. I truly believe that God healed Madison, and enabled her to overcome her delays. I'm so proud of her because she worked soooo hard for soooo long, and always did what she was asked to do and never complained. Great job, Madison! We're all so happy and so proud of you! Praise God!

Our Ground Hog Day

Today is Ground Hog Day at our house, but not in the traditional sense. For us, this means we have trapped the ground hog that has been living under our porch for quite some time now. We borrowed a live trap from my nephew, and Ryan set it up, hoping that before he went to work the ground hog would be in the trap and he could take it out in the country and release it. (CARSONS - we know when you lived here you would take trapped animals to the end of Fulmer Rd, but it's full of town houses now. The ongoing joke between Ryan and I has been that when we caught it, we would take it to your house!)

Alas, it was a beautiful plan, except our friend didn't find himself trapped until about an hour after Ryan left for work. So, since there is NO WAY ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH that I am picking this thing up and putting him in the van and driving him to the country for release, he will spend over 9 hours in the trap. Let me say, he's clawing like crazy trying to get out. He gets an "A" for effort. But, it's pointless. He's just going to wear himself out. I want to tell him to relax, it will all be okay, he's just moving to another home, out in the country, away from our porch (By the way, I have this fear that it will be like a dog, and in a week it will have found its way back home - is anyone schooled in the instincts of the ground hog?)

Leave it to me to find a spiritual lesson in all of this. (I'd call it "Caged Wisdom", but that was already taken by the wonderful tv show "Arrested Development"). I see him fighting his circumstances all day, knowing that his effort will not be enough. And really, his situation isn't as bad as it could have been - we did get a LIVE trap, not a DEATH trap. Plus, he has iceberg lettuce and peanut butter to get him through this time, which is better than the grass I was watching him eat the other day. There are times I have been like a trapped ground hog - clawing and fighting, trying to change a situation that was out of my control. Would I fight so hard if I knew it was going to be different in a little while, I just had to wait this time out? Can I rest knowing that God will, like Ryan will for the ground hog, come and bring release when His timing is ready? I want a faith that is bigger and more mature than a caged animal. I want faith that rests in God's will, and isn't easily shaken by an unexpected change. I don't want to waste energy fighting something beyond my control. I want to embrace where I am, maybe even enjoy the iceberg lettuce, and dream about where I might be when I'm released in that new place God takes me. Thanks, ground hog, for the reminder to rest in God, and don't worry, you'll be in your new home soon.

American Idol - Rewind

So last night I was watching American Idol Rewind. In case you don't know, this is the syndicated reruns of past seasons. Now they are on season 2, and I saw the episode when it was the top 4 - Ruben, Clay, Kimberley, and Josh. This was my favorite season, simply because they were all such good vocalists, and I would have felt good about any of them winning. It's so weird to watch the older episodes. Simon's hair was very bushy,Paula is so refreshingly lucid, and the stage isn't like a giant spaceship. The performances were all good, with the exception of Clay singing the theme song from Grease (is grease really the way we are feelin'?). One odd thing is that each contestant was to sing 2 BeeGee's songs (yes, you read that correctly), and Clay and Josh each chose the same song. I doubt they would allow something like that now. Anyway, it was interesting to rewatch this past favorite. As for the current idol season, I'm disappointed to see Michael Johns go. He was never my favorite, but I really enjoyed his Dolly Parton performance, and just about any other performance of his more than ANYTHING Syesha has done. So, best wishes, Michael Johns.

Random Thoughts Vol. 8

Happy Spring Break to those of you partaking! Madison keeps asking me why we are still doing school if it's Spring Break. I keep trying to explain that we took time off to go to Pokagon a couple weeks ago, and that we will finish school earlier if we don't take a break now. But, like most humans, instant gratification sounds more fun.

I've enjoyed having some not-so-busy weekends lately. In fact, this past weekend, I spent on inordinate amount of time on the mental floss website. They have lots of great trivia to read and quizzes to take. I'll warn you, it's addicting.

Yesterday I bought the book Mistaken Identity (pictured above). It's about the Taylor University (of which I am an alumnus) students who were in the car accident, and the bodies where misidentified. I highly recommend it. I read the entire book in about 4 hours last night. The story is fascinating, just because it's so unbelievable. But more than that, the story is absolutely beautiful, and a wonderful testament of grace. I briefly saw the famiies on Oprah, and it's exciting to see them boldly share their faith. May God richly bless them all!

As far as American Idol goes, I was happy to see Ramiele leave. She never impressed me. If only Syesha could have gone with her. It's strange, I don't really like Kristy Lee, yet I want her to stay more than Syesha. I think I just never enjoy Syesha's song choices. I'm not so much looking forward to the inspirational theme tonight, and I probably won't partake in the Idol Gives Back fest - some stories are too heartbreaking. I heard someone predict Little David singing "The Greatest Love of all", which makes me want to urp, but since that's a Whitney classic, Syesha will probably cover it, which will induce full-on vomiting for me.

So, I saw this video and enjoyed a good laugh while watching it. I think I actually figured out how to post it - we'll see! Anyway, my favorite parts are the shopping cart and the "I've done all I can do!" quote. Enjoy!