Set Apart For Him

A few more pics

2012-01-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

Janae turned 12, Joshua is an official toddler - into everything, we got some puppies (more pics to come) and Javier and I just celebrated or 16th and most meaningful anniversary in Tucson on New Year's Eve.

Picture update

2012-01-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

I know it has been forever since I really blogged. It doesn't seem to fit in as a priority. Life has been hard, but God has been exceedingly merciful. So although I can't find the energy to really post, I will post some random pictures of the past several months. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our Joshua turned 1 in October and he is growing up and walking. We lovingly call him Gordo Lindo. Jordan played flag football, JJ was the "mascot" and Javi an assistant coach and Julia played soccer for the first time. Josiah spent 5 days in Phoenix Children's hospital with something that mimicked menangitis, but after every test and scan you can think of, they didn't figure out what was wrong and he woke up the last day able to walk and move, so they discharged us.

Jordan turned 11. He got some golf clubs and a bag and went golfing with his dad! I think it was his best b-day ever.

We got a couple free bunnies in November.

Join Us for One Day Without Shoes

2011-04-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

Join Us for One Day Withou t Shoes

Free day at Rawhide - Feb. 2011

2011-03-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

Grandma went with all of us to Rawhide. The kids got to climb a rock wall, ride a mechanical bull, pan for gold, pet animals and Josiah, Joanna, and Jacklyn got to ride little burros. The other boys were too short :(. They all had a great time and Jameson loved the goat so much he was hugging him and didn't let go when the goat took off - so he got a little ride clinging with his arms around the goats neck :).

We moved! (Before pictures)

2011-02-28T22:22:00.000-08:00

These first pictures are of the guest house. I think it will be awhile before we do any fixing up here.

These pictures are of the playroom - we also haven't done much here.

We moved back to Chandler and now live just one street away from my parents' house. Also, Javier is 7 minutes from work instead of 40minutes and we are more in the center of ministry that we wanted to be involved in. In this post I will show you before pictures of the house. Later I will show you how it looks now. The location, size, garage, lot size and price were all great - but it had a lot of cosmetic issues, tons of plumbing problems and a trashy yard. It has only been 5 weeks, so it is still a work in progress and I am sure we will be working on projects for at least a couple of years. We rented out our other house to a really nice family - so that was a huge blessing too.

After - or should I say the house "so far"

2011-02-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

This is an older custom home on an acre with no HOA. This is the neighborhood where I grew up. The people that built this house, converted 2 of the 3 car garage into another living area/kitchenette that we use as the play room and can eventually use for bedrooms. Then they added on a 3 car garage with 5 storage rooms, a bathroom/laundry room for the pool and a guest house above that. The guest house has been used by different friends the whole time. Our hope is to keep it filled with friends, missionaries that are back on furlow and to host international students and hopefully even Ephrem, our son in Ethiopia.

So far cosmetically, we had a guy come refinish the cabinets and one of Javier's friends put in the granite. We have a painter friend who did all of the painting, which I think made the biggest difference. My dad put up all the window coverings, new mirrors and light fixtures and Javier and Jordan have taken out at least 30 cactus and tons of dead plants and weeds.

As you can see, we still need some appliances, fix and refinish bathroom cabinets, paint the laundry room, play room and guest house and work on the yard. Oh we have a couple of broken windows and the boys' shower upstairs still leaks - but little by little we will get this old house in shape :) and hopefully it will be used to bless others and God willing it will be filled with children, grandchildren and memories for years to come.

NASCAR at PIR- 2/26/2011

2011-02-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon, one of Javi's vendors with work gave him 3 suite tickets to NASCAR. We didn't really want to go - but the big kids begged us. Julia gave up her spot to Jordan - since it was her turn to go to something special - so I thought that was really sweet. Javi had been gone to NY for 4 days and then his boss was in town which means, he was not around at all, all week. We had several sick and I have been sick and had a migraine Friday. I really couldn't handle taking care of the little ones another day with no help, so Javi urged me to go with the big kids - so that is what we ended up doing. We enjoyed all the free food and drinks, freebie cars, hats and headsets with radios that allowed us to tune into the different cars/drivers and their chiefs. That was awesome and we made some great memories. Thanks Daddy for working so hard and sharing your perks with us.

Joshua - 3 months - fat and happy

2011-02-23T16:57:00.001-08:00

MMM-pepermint hot chocolate fun

2010-12-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

We went to Denny's for Jordan's 10th birthday to get his free Grand Slam and I also bought him peppermint hot chocolate. It was so yummy, we have started making it ourselves and the kids think it is the most special treat ever! I also tried a peppermint mocha at Starbucks and so am making my own with basically the same stuff I use for this hot chocolate recipe (add espresso)- and the best part is that I can make about 20 of these for the price I would pay for 1 Venti Peppermint Mocha - gotta love it.

I know you can buy peppermint syrup, but we just bought a big tub of little candy canes and grind them in a coffee grinder (we used to smash them in a plastic bag and make a big mess - wish we had thought of the coffee grinder earlier). The kids think it is fun, I think it is cheaper and we can use the candy canes for other things.

What makes the kids think this is the bomb, is adding whip cream and sprinkles on top or tiny marshmallows and sprinkles. They feel like they are drinking a specialty drink from a coffee shop - great memories for just pennies.

You can also add this candy cane powder to vanilla ice cream to make peppermint ice cream - mmm.

Joshua - 5 weeks-Mr. Blue Eyes

2010-12-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

(I posted 3 new posts - so check below)

Here is the first glimpse of his bright blue eyes. We are still so, so in love. He is still rarely put down because there are so many people wanting to hold him, but thankfully he does like his swing too.

He nursed great his first week (never took a single bottle) and then struggled after that. The problems started when he was 6 days old. He would not latch or eat for more than 13 hours and was totally content - not crying or gassy. I took him to the doctor and she ran tests for various things, but found nothing. Then he nursed little bits, but since then he had trouble either refusing to latch after 30 minutes each time of trying or just play around and slobber, so I would often pump and then feed him, but I couldn't keep up with that and take care of 9 kids. One day he would nurse well, then the night he would refuse or visa versa. My body was so confused and I was leaking and in pain all the time. He nursed less and less and so now at almost 6 weeks he is on formula. I had a few good cries, but it is ok and he will be fine.

I still sleep with him on my chest every night. I never did this so much with any other baby, but I am just cherishing those sweet bonding moments as much as possible. He has been sleeping through the night now for about a week, but the real test will come when I put him in his own bed :).

Wedding Fairies and Bell Ringers

2010-12-08T19:04:00.001-08:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving, my cousin got married in La Jolla, CA and all of our kids and my sisters kids were in the wedding (12 of them :0). The girls had elegant flower wands and the boys rang bells. They were so excited for this big day because they all love my cousin and were excited to dress up. It was so sweet and they did such a good job paired up walking down the aisle. This was the fanciest party/wedding we had ever been to - so that part was fun for the kids too. I think what they enjoyed most though, was taking a trip with their grandparents, Aunt, Uncle and cousins. We got 3 rooms that all opened to each other - so it was crazy and tiring for us adults, but full of great memories for our 3 families and especially the kids. (Below is a picture of my 91 year old Grandpa w/Alzheimer's - he was able to walk my cousin down the aisle and hold his newest great grandchild)

Joshua - 5 days old

2010-12-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry these are out of order and were actually taken before the last ones I posted. I think you can even see he was skinnier and more newborn/alien- ish :) in these and they were just taken a few days before.

1 week old

2010-11-09T09:33:00.001-08:00

Joshua's Birth Story

2010-11-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Entering the hospital

2:31 AM - Joshua is born

I gave control over to Javier to make decisions since he is the leader and I really needed to surrender that. He decided with the doctor, for her to strip my membranes on Tuesday 10-26(something we have never done). I was at 4 cm. I felt a lot more pressure, to the point that I could hardly walk that afternoon. Wednesday I felt better, but at 4:30 pm the contractions started consistently and were harder and of course Javier's phone was dead :). Once Javier got home, we called my sister to come over to watch the 3 little boys and the 5 big kids went with us to the hospital where we met up with my mom around 7:30 pm. My hope was that I had changed some and at least the doctor would agree to break my water.

I was still at 4 cm., so I walked for an hour with no change except contractions were still hard and close. They monitored me for 20 minutes and saw I was still contracting every 2-3 minutes, but still no change. Meanwhile, a lady they had sent home, came back in an ambulance because she delivered on her driveway! The nurse told me that they were really busy and if I didn't progress, my doctor would probably send me home. I told her, I didn't see how I could go home because this was "it" and when it is time, I go really fast. I joked with her that I didn't want to be the next one to come back in an ambulance. I walked for another hour and she came to find me saying that my doctor agreed to admit me and would be back to break my water at 12:30. I was beyond thankful!

So at 12:20 she broke my water and there was a trace of meconium which meant they wanted to keep monitoring the baby 20 minutes every hour :(. Well, it is close to impossible to lay in bed to be monitored when you are laboring naturally. So almost immediately the contractions became unbearable and they let me off the monitors to labor. After an hour I was only at 5 cm. Throughout most of this, Javier and most of the kids were sleeping :0. They monitored me and then I got in the shower. Javier woke up and helped me by spraying my back with super hot water. That always gets me through the last part of labor when I feel like giving up.

Then the nurse said it was time to get monitored and the pain was so severe I could hardly get in bed. She checked me and I was still at 5 cm!! I told my mom, "I know these are end of labor contractions - how can I only be at 5 cm.?" I would have cried if I had any energy left, but it was 2:20 in the morning. The nurse left to go get a bag of pitocin and a hot pad for me. Well, the next contraction, I felt like pushing. Then the next one came right after and we called for the nurse. I told her the head was coming out. She checked and I was at 8cm and she called for more nurses and the doctor. Right away the next contraction came and I was pushing him out with just the nurses there. I went from 5 cm to Joshua being born in 10 minutes at 2:31 am. The doctor was just down the hall and so she was there soon after to stitch me up.

It was so crazy, I was hanging off on the side of the bed rail because the back labor was so much worse than ever before. I needed someone to hold my foot when I was pushing because I couldn't lay on my back. Javier was helping, but then he started to get woozy so my mom took over and we got no videos of his birth. Also, this is the first baby that Javier didn't cut the cord because he was almost passed out on the couch. (he always gets woozy right after the baby is born - but never before :))

The afterbirth was painful, which I never experienced before and my body shook for at least an hour from the hormone and adrenaline surge. The nurse also told me the reason the baby didn't descend as quickly after breaking my water as we expected and the reason I had unbearable back labor was because the baby was face up instead of face down. This is also why his face was so swollen.

He never cried when he was born and nobody was worried about that except for me. His apgars were 9/9. He really never cried the first 24 hours. All of the kids and my mom enjoyed being there for a birth for the first time, but it was so fast and hectic, the kids really didn't see anything or know what was happening until he was on my chest. But still they had fun camping out, watching movies in my room until 2:30 AM and then being the first to hold him!

The nurses were all amazing and kind, and I stayed in the hospital the full 2 days because this hospital charges the same whether you stay 1 or 2 days and I enjoyed the extra rest and bonding time with Joshua, and we knew we had sick kids at home. My recoveries are always great, but this has to be the best physical recovery yet. We are still so in awe and praising God for working out every detail of Joshua's arrival.

Welcome Joshua Rafael Diaz - 10/28/10

2010-10-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

We had a sweet little boy Thursday morning at 2:31 am. He was 6 lbs 8 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He is just perfect - a little funny looking at first, but getting more and more handsome :) - or we are just more and more blinded by love. We think he is our little whitey and his hair is the lightest of any of our babies. The verdict is still out on his eye color - but Javier is sure they are either blue or green - I am not so sure. More details to come later. I am doing well - just sore today from probably my hardest natural birth yet.

loft beds and more posts

2010-10-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

Scan down to see the few posts below. Also, if you are on Facebook, add me (Joy Halterman Diaz) because I update that a little more than my blog. Hopefully my next post will be about our new baby.

A few months ago my dad made the girls these tall Queen loft beds. They have been so nice because it gives them so much more room to play and we are not constantly finding "treasures" stuffed under the beds :).

Grandma and Grandpa, the 4 Big Kids and Disneyland

2010-10-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Earlier, my mom signed the kids up to volunteer for the free Disneyland tickets, so in September they took them for 2 days to Disneyland and California Adventure. My parents are the best about making great memories with the kids - big and small - I know we are so blessed by their involvement and true love for all their grandkids. I, on the other hand, thought I was going to die early taking care of 4 little kids by myself for 4 days :) in the midst of bed rest and contractions- it made me really appreciate my big helpers. Thankfully, my sister came to my rescue and took Jeremiah and Joanna for a day and night when Jameson got sick.

Tons of pics of Mexico - September 2010

2010-10-24T14:33:00.001-07:00

WARNING - This is what happens if you drink too much Tequila in Mexico

A week in Rocky Point - Javier was just promoted to Senior Manager of AZ for his company right before the trip, so he had to return to work for a few days and then drive back to join us the last few days. Our wonderful friend from Mexico, took a bus to meet us there and help me for the week. Her son joined us the last 2 days also. It was so nice to relax, make memories and have silly times with Daddy. Javier and I even got a date night to go into town for tacos and ice cream while Socorro and her 22 yr old son took care of the kids!

Our dancing girl at the beach party

Our son Ephrem always thinks he is funny telling us he is with us for dinner or parties or whatever, so we thought we would "bring" him to Mexico. He got a kick out of it.

Awwww - look at my 3 little sausages taking a nap together.

Jameson with our friend Socorro

Pregnancy Update

2010-10-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

This last trimester has been hard. I have had pain and issues (mostly due to this being my 7th full pregnancy) which put me on bed rest for a while, not for the baby's safety, but because without it, the pain and pressure were too extreme and I couldn't walk or do much if I didn't lay on my side. I have also been nauseous and vomiting this last trimester - something I have never experienced this late with my other pregnancies. I have also had 2 long nights of contractions ending at 1:30 Am and 4:00 Am :(.

I pretty much gave up on the bed rest a few weeks ago when kids started getting sick. Joanna had terrible hives and stomach pain for a week, then one by one, all the kids started getting sore throats, fevers, lost voice, coughing and congestion. Now Jameson and I have it and Joanna is sick again. The baby is due in 1 week and we are praying that we can bring it home to a healthy family and I am getting nervous about being sick and hacking while trying to deliver - especially since I need to be at full strength to deliver naturally.

Just yesterday morning, I was sitting discouraged in my closet and I thought of Julia's Bible verse, "In me, you shall have peace" and then I immediately thought of the song that says, "Come undone, surrender is stronger" - Until then, I kept trying to figure out the whole birth in my head. I want control. I want to induce so I can be done with the pain, but pitocin w/out an epidural is brutal, so then I was thinking to have the doc strip my membranes, but now that plan is off because I am sick. I get obsessed thinking about it because Jameson was born about 20 minutes after my water broke, so I wonder how I would make it to the hospital and have the kids taken care of if my water broke at home. So you can see how I can spiral into being obsessed with trying to take control. I need to just come before my Father, knowing His plans are far better and higher than mine and surrender this to Him daily. I need to rest in Him and abide in Him and His word and I will have peace.

On a lighter note, I have been 2 cm dilated for almost 3 weeks and the head is super low. I have gained 24 pounds so far. We (mostly Janae) have been cooking some 12 dozen meatballs and dozens of muffins ahead for when the baby comes (I must confess, I have already eaten most of the muffins :0). We are really nesting and getting things off our "to-do" list, which always feels good.

Baby Bump at 32/33 weeks (this is for you Rachel)

2010-09-22T10:19:00.001-07:00

Sneak Peek

2010-09-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

I have been so bad at blogging, but here is a sneak peek of what we did the week of Labor Day. Of course I have many more pictures of our trip that I want to post, but here are a few of the highlights.

My handsome boy and chicken love

2010-08-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

I think he is going to be a golfer like his daddy.

Joanna still loves her chicken "Slushy"

Incredible!

2010-08-14T17:19:00.001-07:00

Today we got to see our baby in a 3D and 4D ultrasound. Wow - it was so amazing to watch it move and open its mouth and try to suck its thumb. Once it even scrunched its eyebrows and scowled. We were so thankful for this opportunity. A fellow adoptive mom asked if we would be interested in being a part of a "sanctity of life" calendar. It shows baby before and after birth, and is used for fundraisers for pro-life organizations like Crisis Pregnancy Centers etc. We of course were excited to have our baby be a part of this since we are so passionate about children, born and unborn alike and we probably never would have gotten one of these ultrasounds if we had to pay. Did you see the little foot up by the head in the first picture? And the sweetie ready to pop its thumb in its mouth in the second picture? It has hair and big lips - like our babies always have. What a treat! Thank you so much Harmony!

Pregnancy update

2010-08-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

That little sweetie doesn't know that soon he won't be the baby anymore. I have about 12 1/2 weeks left. I am not sure whether to celebrate or cry :). Pregnancy is hard on me, especially trimesters 1 and 3, so I am always anxious for it to be over. I also LOVE giving birth - so if it was up to me, I would just skip to the end. In my opinion, there is NOTHING better - birth and snuggling/smelling my newborns. On the other hand, I have 3 toddlers or should I say "tornadoes"! I will have 4 kids that are 3 and under. I am guessing I will still have 4 in diapers - even though Jeremiah and Josiah do great potty training as long as they are nak*d. So YES - I am scared. I am already exhausted - so it will be overwhelming. My sanity and peace comes in knowing that my joy does not come from my circumstances. I must preach the truth daily to myself that my joy is in Christ alone and that the diapers, messes and tiredness are circumstances that will pass. My joy is in loving Christ and the GREAT mercy and grace he has shown me. I am a sinner that deserves nothing short of God's wrath, yet He has never ending love and grace to give me that I do not deserve. These children are jewels in my crown, gifts, blessings, not burdens and I will rejoice in the children He has chosen to bless me with - oh yes - and I will rejoice in caffeine too :) J/K

Julia's surgery

2010-08-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Julia had surgery to get her tonsils and adenoids out. My mom stayed with all the other kids all day and then traded shifts with me after dinner and stayed the night with her. She was released this morning. She has been a trooper.

Here is the update I sent a friend last night:

It went well. She had a much harder time than I thought with the pain when she first woke up and at that time I was by myself with her and my tears were running, not being able to do anything – thinking I have to stop crying so she will stop crying. Then once they gave her a narcotic – things were great the rest of the time and actually she was hilarious – we all got some good laughs from her dopey, repetitive questions. Now Grandma took over and Janae went to visit and they were having so much fun together that I let Janae stay the night too so they could have a slumber party. They were getting all the ice cream and treats they wanted and movies and board games. Julia kept asking where Janae was when she was loopy – so it was sweet and I think just was so comforted to be with her. It is good for Janae too, who needs breaks just to be a kid and have fun because she is all too serious much of the time and has so many responsibilities.
Thanks for the prayers – I kept thinking “God is perfectly good even if she doesn’t wake up – but please Lord, let her wake up!"

We are thankful for our Jules and are really hoping this surgery will help her breathing and sleeping - so that she will be able to feel rested and refreshed after a night's sleep for the first time in probably 8 years.

Our son, his birthday and the future plans - part 3

2010-08-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

This is the latest picture we have of Ephrem. He is wearing the soccer clothes we sent him.

Here he is on the top right and Tamara's son, who just graduated this last weekend (Emnatu), is in the pink shirt and tie.

Here we are at church with Tamara and her family in our Kolfe shirts that Tamara designed. They say "Forgotten no more (map of Africa w/heart on Ethiopia) The boys of Kolfe Orphanage Addis Ababa, Ethiopia" On the back is James 1:27.

Since Ephrem wanted a "J" name, we chose Jonathan or Joseph and let him choose (because our kids were arguing which one he should have). He chose Jonathan. He immediately changed his name to Ephrem Jonathan Diaz - I think because he had such a longing to belong and have a place in a family - an identity. I suggested he also keep his dad's name - Kibru, since that is an important part of him too. He just loves to hear the details of our life and our family. He always says to imagine that he is here eating with us or at the parties with us or swimming with us.

He is homesick for a home and family he barely knows. I keep telling him that here, the kids work A LOT cleaning and taking care of little ones etc and there is A LOT of noise and crying and very little soccer on tv and that mom and dad get mad sometimes and have a lot of rules (so he doesn't think it is a dreamland here). Of course he says he doesn't care - he just wants to be with his family some day. For the first time in 5 months, we skyped this last weekend with full video and sound on Javier's laptop. This meant that we could show him around. He watched some of the kids swimming, he could see Janae and her Grandpa working on her garden, he could see the table we eat meals at and the bedrooms etc. He loved it and we had a lot of good laughs. We also heard his voice for the first time - which was really fun.

July 21, was the date that we decided with him for his birthdate. We recently celebrated via skype, messages on facebook, and a video of the kids singing happy birthday to him. We also made him a cake. He pretended to eat it on skype and said it was sweet - LOL. It has been fun to see how the kids were so excited to make his cake and birthday card etc. Ministering and loving people cross culturally will always be natural for them. They know nothing different and I am thankful for that as I remember what kind of adults we aim to raise.

My friend, Tamara (also a Kolfe mama), and I hope to visit our boys soon. We still have no date, but we are waiting for some details to work out (I actually want to visit my boys' birth cities and I need to track down some important adoption paperwork to complete our readoption here in the states -errr).

Many people ask if we will bring him here. We do not know what the Lord will do. He is too old to be adopted. Maybe he could come on a student, work or visitor's visa in the future - none of which are easy to obtain. We don't know what the future holds, but we know that we are here to love and cheer him on whether we live near or far from him.

Ephrem - part 2

2010-08-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

My sister took this picture when she visited the boys in April
This picture is of Ephrem showing us the shirt that we sent him in his first care package

Ephrem immediately was excited to hear that he had a boat load of siblings. He went from no family, to having one of the largest families on his campus! Here are parts of his second and third letters. We did send a small photo album with my sister in April that had everyone's photo with a 3x5 card with their name, birthdate and fun facts about them so he could get to know each one better. He has ALWAYS been so attentive, caring and curious about his siblings. He never misses a birthday (either emailing or skyping) and he remembers everything that is happening with them (illnesses, parties, events etc). Jordan and Jacklyn especially seem to love him a lot. They ask when he can come live with us or when they can see him. Jordan tells everyone we have 9 kids - always including Ephrem as the oldest.

"Hi mama, I am very happy because I was haven’t any brother and sister but in this time I get brother and sister. I want to know about my family more. you can do this? What is our family name? I feeling so bad by I live in the campus because there is not mother and father .there is servant but they are not just like family they assuming is so bad about us. Say hi to my brother and sister and also tell them I am very glad by I have brother and sister.

I don’t know when is my birth day date but you can choose to me. We eat in our campus day to day injera and bread but we have once a week macaroni. (no meat, fruit or vegetables except for 3 times a year) I don’t like our campus food because it is not good but we eat because we have no choice. I also like the same as you chocolate and fruit, from fruit I like to eat banana. How is my dad doing what state do you live and also how is the weather?

I pray to (for) you and to (for) my family always to God give you health and peace. All things are doing by God with out God life is nothing. God wants our heart so we must give our heart to him and he doing every thing for us if that is necessarily. God is the master key of every thing so we must believe him. I am so proud by you want to send to me a bible. This is a good idea because I will be learning what the bible says.

GOD BE WITH YOU AND MY FAMILY FOR EVER!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU MILLION TIMES AND I MISS YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!

your son"

Our Son - Ephrem Jonathan Kibru Diaz - and the email that changed our lives

2010-08-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

This post seems overwhelming for me to write. There is so much to say and share, but it is hard to convey in words. Most people think Ephrem is like our sponsor child. But that isn't accurate at all. He has truly become our son and brother in our hearts and lives, although not legally. But the Lord has seen fit to bless us with this boy and God is not confined by legal adoption.

Originally, we were assigned a different boy, but never heard back from him after trying to contact him, so we requested the boy in this picture. We took this picture back in November 2008 when we visited Kolfe orphanage. I don't remember talking to him, but he was one that followed behind quietly. He seemed reserved, but friendly and he was not trying to get all the attention - I liked that. Well, in March 2010 we got our first email response from our son Ephrem Kibru (Kibru was his dad's first name) and the rest is history.

We heard the amazing testimony about how having a mom, completely changed the life of Solomon Mestas. You can see their story here. After following his story and hearing that many more boys longed for a mama and family, we knew that this was one more way that we could care for the orphans. We knew this was a long committment and was something much more than "sponsorship". This was adopting him in our hearts. Jordan has always desperately wanted a big brother, and now he has one. We email him 1-4 times a week and skype him every once in a while. We send him care packages and chose a birthday for him and recently celebrated his first birthday ever. He also noticed that we all have "J" names and said he would like us to give him a "J" name to be part of our family. We share scripture with him, pray with him and dream about the future with him - all things he didn't have parents or anyone to do with him before.

Oh, amazingly his English is very good. Some of the boys can not speak English, others are in between. Those that can speak English just help translate for the ones need help.

Over time I will share some of his emails with you. He has given me permission. Here is the first one we ever received. Do you see how hungry he was for a family?

"Hello mama, how are you doing?I am so fine to hear. I am very happy by you are my mama I was haven't a family but in this time I born again by you
I haven't any family.my father died when I was a little boy he was a solger and he died by war but I don't know by what war he daid my mother also diad I think when I was a 8 years old. she was sick but I don't know by what disease is she but it like TB.I am 16 years old and I live in kolfe for 8 years.Iam a grade 11 student and I like maths and english but my languge is not perfect but I always try to become a perfect in my languge and I am a medium student and also I like a soccer I like a club of Arsenal it is an england club.
mama I miss that day to see you again in Ethiopia and in our campus. I hope one day it become true and I see you in our campus and Ethiopia.
I don't know how to you pray for me but pray every day for me and I pray every day for you and my family at when I sleep and I weak up. say hi to my family.
GOD BE WITH YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU
I MISS YOU AND I LOVE YOU
your son Ephrem"

Wow - this first letter really surprised me at how open he was and how he immediately called me mama. Stay tuned for some other special posts about our son.

Flying High

2010-08-02T13:48:00.001-07:00

This is our entertainment whenever Daddy or Uncle John are in the pool. We just roar laughing as we watch all of the funny expressions and poses in the air. Jeremiah and Elizabeth can really fly because they are so tiny.

PS- Check back the next few days for Part 1, 2 and 3 about our son Ephrem in Ethiopia.

You Too Can Care For The Orphans

2010-07-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Want to help us show love to the boys of Kolfe in Ethiopia??
My friend Tamara (another Kolfe mama)and I would love to fill our suitcases with some practical love for these boys. 130+ orphan boys who need what our kids never even think about having to go without.

We are collecting:

SOCKS, UNDIES, BOXERS, SHIRTS, PANTS/SHORTS
sizes kids' 8 - men's medium

AND

DEODORANT, BAR SOAP and TOOTHPASTE

They would also LOVE any soccer jerseys. Do your kids have extra jerseys in nice shape that they could donate to these boys?

We know God's call to care for the orphans is not optional. Is God calling you to tangibly care for these 130 of the 147 MILLION orphans? Will you show them that God HAS NOT FORGOTTEN them?!

Would you be willing just to check the clearance boys and mens sections each time you are out at Target, Walmart or wherever you shop? You will be amazed how often you can find packs of undies, shirts and shorts for $3 or less. Also, many of you do Coupon Sense or similar - could you start collecting soap, toothpaste and deodorant from those deals even if you are stocked up for your family?

If you gather things for us to take, you can drop it off at homes in Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek, or we can arrange a time to swing by and pick it up!

Surprise!

2010-06-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Due Nov. 1 . We are 1/2 way done - 20 weeks to go until we see the face of our next sweet baby. All things looked great on our ultrasound - praising God as the almighty creator of all things - including this little one coming soon.

Here I am 16 wks pregnant and done throwing up - yahoo!

Our Sons at Kolfe and a Fundraiser

2010-05-27T11:21:00.001-07:00

I really need to fill you all in on our beloved son at Kolfe. There is so much to say, so I will write a separate post about him. My sister and brother in law were able to meet our sons and bring them love and care packages from us. They also brought us back gifts from them and pictures.

Well, Tamara and I are hoping to make a trip to Addis soon to visit and minister to our sons and the other +/-130 boys living at this government orphanage. She is having a garage sale to raise money for the trip. If you have any garage sale items that you can donate, please let me know. You can check out her link and get more info here.

Father/Son trip to Dominican- May (the first of many new posts - I just caught up so scroll down)

2010-05-24T14:30:00.001-07:00

It had been 3 years since Javier and I last went to his home country, the Dominican Republic. He was missing family and he had saved up enough frequent flier miles for 2 tickets, so he decided to take Jordan so they could spend some time together and because he wanted to see all of the tons of boy cousins he has over there. Jameson also went along, since his family hasn't met him and he was free as a "lap child". I got to stay home with the other 6 for 10 days :).
Here they are at 5 am ready to take off for the airport.

Junior and Philipe - Tio Mario's sons

Tio Mario, Javier's oldest brother

J.J.'s favorite toy - the mop

Stefanie, "La Negra" Tia Francia's daughter

Aneudis, Tia Francia's son

Brian, Tia Francia's son

Jordan in his element playing baseball in the campo just like his daddy grew up doing.

Tia Ana, Javier's oldest sister and her husband, Fermin - loving on my boy or should I say he is loving on her?

Ana is a great mom and cook - look at the size of these pots and how do you like her stove?

One day they all went on a boat to a private island to enjoy a day on the beach and a buffet.

Ana told Javi to leave JJ there for her. Maybe he should have because she did a great job with her 3 boys and Jameson is a tornado of trouble and messes :)

Daryl, Ines' son

Gabriel, "Chiquilo" -Ines's younger son

Ana's oldest son, Jose Luis - Javi said it rained EVERY day

Ines with her son Daryl.

Ana, Gabriel, and Jorgito

Ana's other son, Jose Rafael, Daryl, and Javi w/Jameson

Gotta love those buns!

See what I mean about tornado of trouble? Here his sister is trying to wash clothes and JJ is putting the dirty broom in the clean water buckets that the clothes are soaking in.

Playa Boca Chica - look at the clean water and calm sea

This is at the house we helped build for Javi's mom and sister. Jameson is going up the stairs where on top of her house, we built 2 small apartments we rent. They rent for very little, but Javi was able to get that rent $ out of the bank once he arrived and use it on the trip and to give to his family, so the trip cost him $0 - nada.

Javi's spunky grandma "Catin"

Jameson happy to be at his Grandma and Tia's house

Saying goodbye to Tia Ines and Abuela at the airport

They were supposed to get home Saturday night, but their flight out of Miami to Dallas was delayed a couple of hours, so they missed the last flight out of Dallas. Thankfully American Airlines put them up in a hotel and gave them $30 for food - thus the little piggy with the pizza
in his hand :)

Welcome home X 2

2010-05-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

2 special families in our life brought their children home from Ethiopia in May and it is such a joy to hear the God stories surrounding their adoptions and to see and hear the stories of how the kids are now thriving.

Above you can see all the little cousins after a swim on Mother's day. Biruk, on the far right, is their new 5, almost 6 yr old.

My friend Andrea also brought her 2 newest kids home, Misrak in the pink and Micah, the little guy in daddy's arms. We have been friends since starting our failed adoption in Zambia, then we both adopted our kids from Ethiopia in 2008 and went through that process together. Her little Micah sounds like a long lost twin of Jeremiah. Their personalities, actions and size are just identical. I even think they look similar, except that Micah is lighter and older. I am so thankful and amazed by this family who has taken on 4 young children with special medical needs, even though they are caring for their adult daughter and their other daughter is off to college. So many people in this stage of life have excuses and are looking forward to some peace and quiet and being "empty nesters". I thank God for families like this that are willing to start over again and trade in the "easier" life, for the more "tiring", but far more rewarding life of following Christ's heart when it is less convenient and much more costly.

It's swim time!

2010-05-24T13:39:00.001-07:00

The kids have been swimming since April, so you can see we are all already pretty brown. We are SO thankful for a pool in this AZ heat!

I just LOVE this picture of my 2 boys!

And look how strong and big Josiah has gotten in the last 1 1/2 years! I mean he came home in a size 6-9 mo pjs!

Here is my flirty boy!
He is not so big. The boy we once called Pudgy, is still only 26 lbs, skinny and short. Little Jameson weighs a few more pounds than him now!

Julia is actually doing a pencil dive/jump, but it looks like she is standing on that floaty thing :)

Look what we saw Saturday morning in our yard!

2010-05-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

I looked out the window at 6:30 AM and saw this buck. This is crazy odd in Phoenix, Arizona. We followed him around the neighborhood (yes, some in their pjs and undies). We found out from neighbors that a pair has been around for a couple of months. They escape over and over from a ranch nearby.

Splish Splash - I was gonna take a bath

2010-05-24T13:29:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning I ran the bath water so I could take a bath. I left to upload pictures and when I returned to check on the water, my tub had been hijacked by 2 little chocolate, sneaky boys. Can't you just see how tickled they are that they snuck in the tub??!!

Easter 2010

2010-05-23T15:24:00.001-07:00

The kids caught this bunny in our yard in the morning before church. They named it Easter.

Fun stuff in April

2010-05-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Josiah is crazy about his chickens. He just catches them and picks them up like a pro. Well, now they are a lot bigger and faster, but he is going to make a great chicken farmer - following after his idol - his big brother.

My 3 little piggies playing in the mud

Catching up - March/April

2010-05-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

March we celebrated 4 birthdays at my sister's house and we sang "Happy Birthday" over and over :) - but it was much more fun and easier to celebrate 4 at once.

So Jeremiah turned 2 and got a Curious George cake - because he is literally a monkey and can climb anything. He is a tiny but strong little man with no fear.

Then my niece Rebecca turned 5 and had a chihuahua (glittery dog bone cake), because she is obsessed with Chihuahuas, especially our Mia.

Then Julia turned 8 and she and Janae made this amazing berry trifle desert.

Janae turned 11.

Josiah had severe hearing loss and got tubes put in his ears. Since then, he has really progressed on attempting more sounds and words.

Also, Josiah started preschool for speech when he turned 3, so here he is on his first day! He is doing really well and always has a great report from his teacher. She adores him, but his speech is still struggling quite a bit.

2 weeks ago, he finally passed a hearing test :)

A few changes to Yvonne's plan

2010-04-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

**Updated list**
HDTV converter box
Microwave
Queen mattress
glasses
mop/bucket
trash cans
someone with a truck and others willing to help them move Saturday May, 8

Consumables:
dish soap and all purpose cleaner
Salt
Oil
Sugar
Tomato sauce
onions
Children’s Tylenol
Children’s cold medicine
Children’s fluoride rinse – like ACT

** Thanks so much for all of the donations that have come in! It is amazing how God has provided all their needs in just about a week!

As of today, she is moving in with her friend in Phoenix until she finds an apartment. She has found a studio with 2 months free rent and reduced rent after that, but it is not available until June. For this reason, we have a few weeks to collect stuff and we will store it here until she finds a place. Also, we need to be very careful not to collect too much stuff since she will likely be in a studio apartment.

She is so excited to start work - you can't imagine! Wednesday late at night I was trying to figure out how I was going to be here for H's bus at 8:45 and 11:30, go to a hearing doctor with Josiah at 10:00 am and go to the main office for Yvonne to do her final job paperwork, about 45 minutes away - all with 8 kids -6 of them sick with hacking coughs- 4 with fevers and a couple throwing up - then be back by 2:00 for H's dentist appointment. Our friend Tamara emailed me not even knowing anything about that and offered to help us with anything the next day because she had a few free hours! It was a huge blessing. She stayed with sick kids - and packed up all of Yvonne and Happyness' clothes and things in their room, while we ran out to the office. Thanks Tamara!

New ways to help

2010-04-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Yvonne, the refugee from Congo who has been living with us, has just gotten a night job in Phoenix and so she will move back to Phoenix by her friend so that she has access to public transportation and so that her daughter, Happyness, can sleep at her friend’s house while she works. Yvonne has been desperate for a job all along, but either transportation or childcare has been an obstacle, but this seems like a great solution. She will move in the next few days so we are trying to collect some things quickly. God has done a great work in them over the past 2 ½ months and He used many of you to love and serve them in so many ways! Not only is her daughter a completely new child, but Yvonne laughs sometimes now and has hope. Also, a small group from Second Mile collected $650 to pay part of her $1902 airplane bill that she needs to pay back to the US government – praise God – what a burden lifted off her shoulders! A few have donated things or given her small cleaning jobs and a few have been dedicated to helping them with appointments and taking care of her daughter and embracing them. It has been hard, but the blessing has been great! Thank you.

As of now, this is the list I have of needs/wants for her to move to their own place:

Silverware
Couch or love seat or recliners
Large cooking utensils
Children’s video tapes
HDTV converter box
Microwave
Any size beds
Sheets
glasses
mop/bucket
lamp
trash cans

tub or big bucket or toy box for toys
someone with a truck and others willing to help them move

Consumables:
Boxes for moving
dish soap and all purpose cleaner
Toilet paper and paper towels
Salt
White rice
Oil
Sugar
Tomato sauce
onions
Children’s Tylenol
Children’s cold medicine
Children’s fluoride rinse – like ACT

Things we now have:

Dresser or chest of drawers
Cutting board
plastic cups
broom

fan

clock

Feel free to drop this by my parents’ house (outside of their garage or on their front porch) Or by our house (sorry I don't want to post my address, so you can leave a comment or email me at javijoy@cox.net )

Thanks in advance and please pass this on to your friends and small groups!

It's B-day time!

2010-03-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

Today Janae is 11! 11 years ago she was born after a lot of scare at 5lbs 6oz. Now she is a young woman and is just 10lbs less than me and her feet are bigger than mine! I knew my kids would be bigger than me eventually, but I didn't think they would pass me up when they were 11 years old! She is such a huge help as a little mommy and teacher. She has had a rough year with mono for several months, so we hope that this next year she is healthier and has more energy.

Yesterday was officially Josiah's 3rd birthday, but we will try and change his birthday to July when we readopt him to change his name and make him a US citizen. We sort of celebrated a little bit yesterday, but hope to have things final by July and really start celebrating then. Last week, we finally got a photo copy of the boys' birth certificates, so now we can finally start the process of readopting them. Josiah got tubes in his ears a few weeks ago, which we are hoping will help his hearing and his speech.

Joanna turned 4 a few weeks ago and she celebrated with her cousin Elizabeth who also turned 4. They had a princess b-day party. Joanna is sure in a cute stage. She is physically beautiful and just so funny and sweet.

Celebration Time!

2010-03-09T16:04:00.001-08:00

Woohoo - I am officially an Auntie of 2 beautiful boys in Ethiopia! My sister and brother-in-law just passed court last week for brothers who are 5 and 12 years old! They are adopting through YWAM (who I highly recommend from watching her experience). Jordan is so glad to have more boy cousins and especially a big cousin. Go congratulate them here. If you look at her blog quickly, you will see their pictures. Their descriptions sound wonderful and everyone who has met them just seems to love them.

Got hangers?

2010-02-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

We could use a bunch of hangers for Y and H - adult and children hangers - anything is great. Thanks!

Things are going really well. They are moving in. Update to come - there are so many God stories I need to share. Thanks for your continued prayers!

My sister now has the whole family of 7 living with them. I just realized last night that now we are both households of 12! Please continue to pray for them as well. Check here to see her updates and pictures - they have exciting news on the Ethiopian adoption front too!

Rough day - long road to healing

2010-02-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

Jameson is learning to be an African baby and he likes it. She obviously loves babies.

Today was rough, over and over. The night ended peacefully, with singing praises in English and Swahili. The little girl loves to belt out her songs to the Lord in her language and her mom has such a proud smile on her face, when her daughter is singing. They laugh at us as we try to sing, "Tutiman moongooshi" Javier taught the Bible and then she wanted to sit in his lap. The other night she asked me, "Does that man sleep here?" I said, "Yes, he is the daddy, he pays for this house and our food." She is learning what a daddy is. Her mom told me today that she always asks who is her daddy and she tells her Jesus, but she won't listen to that answer. The answer is something she can not understand now and would just bring more pain.

The little girl, H, only wants to eat Injera, Shiro, rice, apples and french fries:). She has good memories of the almost 2 years they lived in Ethiopia as refugees. Today we looked at all of my pictures of Ethiopia and she would point with great excitement and say, "I know that is African car, that is Donkey, that is Ethiopian kids" etc. We also printed off the picture of her as a princess and put it in a frame. She was carrying it around like a treasure. Those were the good times today, but my kids were hurt a lot and are learning how to deal with her, but amazingly they still love her and come right back wanting to play with her and hug her. Kids' hearts are amazing!

The mom also shared with me (without me asking) about her 4 escapes and other tortures. She has pain but it is good she is able to talk about it and share her feelings. When the little girl overheard the mom describing one of the scary stories, she screamed and flailed on the ground. Clearly the most painful thing of all for the mom was when she told me what she had to watch being done to her daughter.

Please cover them in prayer - our God is a God of restoration!

Jeremiah 17:14

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for you are my praise.

Asanti sana - thank you

2010-02-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

This is the little girl staying with us. She loves to play dress up with my girls all day long.

This is the fire victim family with their 3 youngest children.

On the left is the lady and her daughter who are living with us, then our pastor friend of 11 years and his wife and then his brother's family.

Asanti sana - or as they say, thank you very much! We are overwhelmed - speechless! People from our church, surrounding churches, blog friends and family have poured out love and donations on the refugees in need.

Here are some examples of things we have received:

*all kinds of toiletries

*canned food

*tons of clothes

*new undies for the kids

*hair things

*toys and books

*wipes

*pack n play for the 3 month old baby

*jackets for everyone

*a target gift card for 1 family

*many blankets

*many great shoes for the little kids (a few for the adults)

Tonight we found out from the refugee pastor, Augustin, that another refugee family from their refugee camp church is coming to America (AZ) tonight and another one next week. When they come, the government literally gives them an apartment for a few months and mattresses on the floor. The great thing is we already have enough blankets and toiletries for them and surely some of the overflow of clothes we have will work for them too.

My sister and brother in law are taking in the fire victim family until they can find an affordable apartment. Please pray for my sister's family as they take on this challenge and blessing. They will have 6 kids 6 years old and younger in their house (the oldest 2 children from the family will probably stay with a friend so they can continue to go to their school in Phoenix).

We have never felt so covered in prayer like we did this week! Miracles from the Lord is the only explanation for what is happening in our home. We were warned of severe and dangerous behavior from the little girl staying with us, but so far she has done pretty well and is learning how to behave. The mom would love prayer for healing of her daughter from the trauma and a job for herself. She needs healing from the trauma as well. Praise God that He is the all powerful healer.

Below are ways that you still can help: The items in this gray color are no longer needed.

*volunteer to help me babysit the 5 year old girl when her mom has appointments

*help the mom apply for jobs

*sz 7 1/2 or 8 women's shoes

*women's sz 3/4 (XS) and size 16/18 underwear

*bath scrubby fluff balls - we have had several body washes donated, so they will last much longer if used with those things you can find at the $1 stores

(with homeschooling 4-5 kids and with 3 babies/toddlers -taking on a 5 year old with major emotional/behavioral needs or running errands like applying for jobs, is more than I can do)

Anything for the new refugee families:

*furniture (not mattresses) - kitchen table, coffee table, something to set a TV on, desk and computer for the older boys

*dishes

*cups

*large pots and pans (nothing for baking - they don't bake)

*utensils

*laundry soap

*towels

*pillows

*sheets - any size

*clocks - still need alarm clocks

*school supplies

*toilet paper

*someone with a truck/trailer willing to deliver stuff to the families in Phoenix

*anything else you can think of to set up an apartment - like I said earlier, they get mattresses and about $220/mo + food stamps to pay for rent/food/toiletries and everything for a few months. There is nothing left to buy any of the necessities I mentioned above.

Thank you for all your help! I hope we can have a big African party at our house where everyone who has helped or who is interested can come hear their stories and enjoy their singing and thankful spirits.

Urgent needs for refugees

2010-02-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

Here are the brother and cousin of the refugee whose apartment burned down

Here is an article from CNN and a quick video (click on video under the title) of one of our African refugee hero friends. She now Biblically helps other refugee women deal with their past and forgive their captors. She has an amazing story and radiates the joy of the Lord. (she had 7 children with her in the death camp, a 4 year old that she got separated from and was reunited with 14 years later, and she gave birth to twins in the death camp - a total of 10 children!)

The post below is for my friends here locally in AZ.

Urgent needs:

Situation #1:

One of our African refugee friends’ apartment burned down a few days ago. They have nothing. Last I heard was they may need to go to a shelter as of last night. We are working on getting them another government apartment, but if anyone has connections of a place to stay or low income housing, please let me know.

I told them we would try to collect clothes and shoes for them right now and once they find an apartment we can try to find furniture/household items. If you have any used or new items that you can give them, will you please email me or leave a comment.

Dad – size 34x32 pants and Large or xLarge shirts
Mom – size 16
daughter – size 8
son – size 6/7
daughter – size 4/5
son size ¾
baby girl size 6-12 months

hygiene products – toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo, soap, etc.
maybe a basketball , dolls/stuffed animals, blankets

You can guess on shoe sizes if you have some that you think might be age appropriate. They did not give me shoe sizes.

Of course they could use diapers, gift cards, or anything else you can think of.

SITUATION #2:

We are helping a refugee lady and her 5 year old daughter. They witnessed the killings of her father and brother and were held prisoners in a death camp in Sudan, where they both endured and survived unimaginable atrocities. They were brought here as refugees by the US government in November, but there is no more funding for them. They are just trying to get settled and especially receive treatment for the daughter, so that she can stabilize and get the right help she needs. The mom can not work until her daughter can enter school, but soon they will be homeless.

Meanwhile we will be having them over for a short stay or possibly longer. In any case, we would like to help her with basic needs. Can you help with any of the following:

Clothes for the mom size 5 pants/ medium shirts
Clothes for the daughter size 8
Toiletries/hygiene products – hair bands, pony tail holders
Feminine products
Canned food, white rice, oil

A few things we need:

A baby monitor so we know our children are safe

(not a need but it has been suggested to us if there is one available) A camper to put on our side yard if safety becomes an issue or for her to go to if she goes into a rage/panic

Above all – please pray for these 2 families – that their physical needs would be met through the body of Christ and that they would receive the love and healing they need.

We will take any donations above and beyond what is listed. If it does not work for one of these families, we can give the items to help with the next garage sale for the refugees or my sister’s garage sale to raise $ for the adoption expenses of their 2 boys in Ethiopia.

Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in helping.

Matthew 25:34-46
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, [6] you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

JJ is 1!

2010-01-27T01:34:00.000-08:00

Wow - we are just crazy about him! A year ago we were checking into the hospital at midnight and he literally popped out when they were trying to help me get on the bed a little after 1 am (not without due pain beforehand ;)). Javier then fell asleep not even 20 minutes later. Good thing I was "experienced", had a nap that day and had an awesome nurse to help. Javi is beyond proud and in love with this boy. He is 25 lbs, walks fast and climbs onto chairs and up steps already. Right now he LOVES Jeremiah and laughs at everything he does. Happy birthday Jameson!

We like 'em big, we like 'em chunky

2010-01-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

Look at the pink grapefruit from our trees! They are gigantic! My kids are addicted to them and always ask Grandpa for some from his trees, so you can imagine their delight when they could finally pick some from our trees.

Chick love

2010-01-24T15:07:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we bought 6 chicks at the feed store. Each big kid has 1 and all the 3 boys have to share the other one. Jacklyn and Jo Jo are obsessed with their chicks and they put their hoodies on backwards so the hood can be a pouch for their chicks to ride around in. You can see they are getting so big already. Hopefully in about 4 months we will be eating more eggs!

I am a MAMA for the 9th time!

2010-01-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

** This ministry is kind of on hold - as soon as I find out more info, I will pass it on. So many of you were interested in this - thank you! You can see pictures of the boys, sponsor and communicate with one of the boys through Children's Hope Chest **

I am a proud mama for the 9th time and my husband doesn't even know it yet. In fact, he had nothing to do with it . . . . . . . .

We have just been matched to be the "parents" of a 17 year old son in Ethiopia named Yednekachaw! He live at Kolfe Orphanage. I should explain.

Let's back up to Nov. 2008 - remember how we collected tons of donations for an older boys' orphanage? Well, when we went to pick up our boys we went to visit that orphanage called Kolfe and we met several amazing young men.

Well since then we have met and followed the story of one family who has made an incredible impact in the life of one of these boys through long distance love and care. Please, please watch her short video testimony here

Now she is asking other moms and families who would feel called by God to care for the orphans, to sign up to love these boys through emails, giving them hope in Jesus Christ that they are not FORGOTTEN. The idea is to pray for them, communicate with them, be there for them, send care packages to them and/or visit them - really whatever God calls you to do.

Is God calling you to be a Kolfe Mama?

PS - I hope to have pictures to share with you soon.

Matthew 25 missions

2010-01-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

We were blessed to meet up with Lana and Ernie while we were in Mexico. They go there often to bring food, clothing, blankets and Bibles to some of the families the local church there is ministering too. In fact, many of you have given me donations for Lana to use for her garage sales to benefit Uganda, and Burundi. She also uses those donations to bring to Mexico.

On this trip we met this lady Ana, who had no formula and was not lactating, so she was feeding her 3 month old water and flour. Lana, who has known Ana for a while, gave her some bags of food and got to name the baby. I then nursed him for her and gave her the formula I had in my diaper bag. He was also very congested so Ernie got the Eucalyptus oil out of her purse and mixed it with some olive oil and rubbed it on him to help him breathe. It was neat how God was able to use the little we had to help this woman. When we returned to AZ and told my parents about her, their Bible study group jumped into action collecting quite a bit of formula to send down to her. She is very thankful for the help, but still bewildered why these Christians would help her. We had a good casual talk with her explaining that there are no strings attached, we just love her because Christ has filled us with this love and we just want to bless her.

We were also able to visit this lady, Marisa, who has 7 children. They collect cans and bottles to help pay for food. She has a beautiful faith in the Lord and a joyful spirit.

The kids loved holding her new puppies too :)

Memorial Box Monday - Mexico, Manta Ray and Memories

2010-01-18T04:23:00.000-08:00

Javier took a week off of work in November, and one in December or he would lose them. We had no plans. We had looked into going to San Diego for a couple of nights - but with 2 hotel rooms per night and tickets to Legoland or Sea World it was going to be way out of our budget. We searched Craigslist and found an amazing deal on Thursday night for a trip to Mexico. It was for a week timeshare that started that Saturday at the same 5star resort we went to last year. We confirmed the reservation on Friday and packed in a hurry and left Saturday after Jordan's game. Again it was about $55 a night for 3 rooms (including tax) - 2 bedrooms with a kitchen and living room (with pull out beds) in between! The person selling it to us couldn't use her time share at the last minute because her daughter was in the hospital, so she sold it to us for about 1/2 of her cost! We couldn't even find 1 hotel room in San Diego for that price, let alone 3 rooms at an awesome resort. Also, the drive to Rocky Point is only 4 hours instead of 6 to San Diego.

This again was just so exciting that this would all fall in place on the week that Javier already had off and at a price we could afford. Also, since it had a kitchen, we could cook most of our meals in the room (can you imagine how much it would cost for a family of 10 to eat out 3 meals every day for 1 week!) God provided!

A few times we went in to town to buy carne asada tacos (grilled steak tacos). When we pulled up to the taco shop in someone's garage, he said, "We give good discounts to church groups." (in Spanish) - He saw our big huge white van and assumed we must be a church group :). We would buy about 18 tacos, beans, fixings and a few drinks all for $20! We returned to the same place a few times and became friends with the family and they even showed us around their house.

This was our 3 little boys' first experience at the beach and they loved it! All of our kids loved it. This is the best place for our family. This year it was especially dead and it just had several older people there, so we didn't have to worry about our kids at all. They all loved the kids and loved talking to us and watching our little parade of kids go by the pool several times each day.

Jameson sneaking somebody's beer that was left there - LOL

The kids enjoyed playing bingo, beach soccer, karaoke, building sand castles, collecting shells, swimming in the heated pool and playing in the ocean (which wasn't as cold as the outdoor pool).

One day Jordan was running into the ocean to throw back a shell that had a crab coming out of it and he stepped on a sting ray. He was bleeding and in a lot of pain so we carried him back to the hotel. The hotel doctor wanted $300 to clean it up and give him a shot. Javier asked if he would die without it, and the doctor said no, so we just took him back to the room and soaked it in hot water. A lady we had met was a nurse and she said to give him Tylenol and Benedryl and just soak it - and he was feeling much better (just tender) within a couple of hours. Now he is so proud of his "war story" and we call him Manta Raya Jordan(in Spanish).

The second to the last day our friend, Socorro, came to meet us there. She LOVED it and we loved having some extra help. She then road home with us for Thanksgiving.

It was almost exactly a year earlier that we were at the same resort hoping to hear news if we had passed court. This trip was a perfect celebration to reflect on all that the Lord has done for us in this last year. So for this Memorial Box Monday, we added a wrist band and shell to our box. Thank you Lord for giving us a much needed rest and relaxed family time after a hard year.

My chubby love

2010-01-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

This little guy has so many nicknames - all seem to include love or chubby. Most all of my babies were happy and content, but he is the happiest ever. He giggles at any little thing and is so friendly with everyone. He will be 1 at then end of the month. (not sure what is going on with my camera - sorry about the color)

Thanks for your concern - Haiti/Dominican Republic

2010-01-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

Many people have been asking us about Javier's family in the Dominican Republic. They are all fine - Praise God. They live about 160 miles from the epicenter, yet they have seen no damage at all. They did feel it, but it amazes me that the damage could be so severe just 160 miles from them. Javier's brother is a volunteer firefighter and they are planning to go help. He said that the problem is that they can not get much past the border because bridges have collapsed and they just can't get access by road very far. We are so thankful to be able to skype them often.

Javier does feel anxious to go help in some way, but he will wait until there is a clear need for him - maybe with rebuilding?

Let us pray for Haiti and especially the orphans - that they would be protected from all kinds of trafficking and that both the US and Haitian governments would cooperate to streamline their adoptions. I have read rumors about the US issuing emergency refugee visas for some of the orphans.

14

2009-12-30T08:12:00.000-08:00

Celebrating 14 years of wedded bliss ;) - by God's grace. I am thankful for the husband and daddy the Lord has given me and our kids. Javier said this morning, "Well 7 of those years we were having babies (2008 we "had" 2) - so what were doing the other 7?" Believe it or not, Javier really loves babies - especially when they are under 1 year. I love that about him. Truth be told, I think he loves them because they are quiet and don't make messes yet and because he has the special touch with all of our babies. He can calm them or get them to sleep anywhere - anytime.

Last night he rented a movie I would like and he surprised me with some gifts (big deal since we rarely give gifts and I gave him a hard time for not giving me anything for Christmas - even though gifts are definately NOT my love language). Tonight we are going to go out to dinner with a gift card while my parents watch the kids. Then Jameson will stay the night and go to San Diego with my mom for a day or 2 to meet his great grandparents and other relatives that live there.

Jordan - Fall ball - The Dodgers 2009

2009-12-27T17:10:00.000-08:00

Jordan just finished up his fall baseball season. His team did pretty well. Again he was one of the youngest in his division - kid pitch- and it was his first year playing in our new town with new rules which allow them to steal. Once again, he was a big hitter - the most consistent on his team. The funny thing is that he is sort of slow compared to the tiny and skinny kids :) - so it is a good thing that he can hit it hard out of the infield.

Christmas Greetings - from our family to yours

2009-12-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

Oh we pray that your year was as perfect as ours, but I doubt it was!

At the end of January, our sweet little Jameson Javier was born. It was the easiest pregnancy ever and he popped right out -just like everyone says – I am the baby machine –no morning sickness, no swollen feet, no weight gain, no extra belly rolls or acne. Of course I was able to wear my skinny jeans home from the hospital! Thankfully he slept through the night since the day we brought him home and he was potty trained at 3 months old.

As, you all know we have the most precious and easy going 1 and 2 year olds that we adopted from Ethiopia, Jeremiah and Josiah. They too potty trained themselves, so we never had to buy countless diapers for 3 babies each week at Sam’s Club. They also never had parasites, endless diarrhea for months or scabies like I have heard is quite common. I just don’t know what we would do without them organizing our cabinets and pantry, taking away Jameson’s bottle to keep him from overeating and keeping our floors spotless. If you ever call, you will never hear them squealing or fussing loudly in the background because they are likely sitting nicely on the couch while folding laundry. You will also not find them running around naked, standing up in their high chairs or conspiring against me, because they are perfectly trained and dressed at all times.

Joanna, 3, and Jacklyn, 5, are our sweet princesses. These little ladies are always sure to be training their Chihuahuas. Whether it be dressing them up and teaching them to dance, or sliding them down the slide, these dogs can do amazing tricks thanks to these beauties. These girls have many talents besides dog training. They can read chapter books and whiz through trigonometry while painting their fingernails and playing dress up. When we asked Joanna to pick up the dog poop, she informed us that princesses DO NOT pick up dog poop! How could we have made such an oversight! We will soon correct that by adding that to our gardener's duties.

The 3 big kids – Jordan, 9, Julia, 7, and Janae,10 – all speak 5 different languages now and are working on their master’s degrees. They have taken over all of the domestic duties and yard work. Who needs help when I have a gardner/chicken farmer, professional nanny and chef? These kids can do it all and always with a cheerful smile. Not a day goes by that I have to holler at them to stop talking and get back to school work or to clean the house.

Javier has a no stress job and works only a few hours a week. The rest of the week he spends golfing, taking customers out to lunch and playing softball. He never gets frustrated working with Jordan in the batting cage because Jordan swings like a major leaguer and never misses a ball. Javier often comments how quiet and peaceful 8 kids have made our home and he is ready for a dozen more.

As for me, well I just sit by the pool and work on my tan day after day while sipping frapuccinos. I certainly do not have 3 books that I have started to read but never finished. With no interruptions, I just read every book from cover to cover. I also do not count tackling with 8 kids, running after toddlers or lifting 25 lb bags of rice as my workout (of course I have a nanny and personal assistant to do all of that), because I enjoy a few hours every day at an exclusive gym and spa. Thankfully, no black bags, wrinkles or sagging happening on my entire body, because I think every child we add, just takes years off of me.

Well . . . . . . . . . . . . .maybe this will be true next year. Until then, back to wiping bums, holding one baby in each arm and one on my back, giving assignments, sweeping floors, picking silly putty out of the carpet, catching chickens, braiding hair, driving to baseball practice, cuddling with my hubby (yes we still have time for that) and counting my many blessings from the Lord. Without our eternal hope that only comes through the grace of Jesus Christ, this life would leave us empty and burnt out. Through His death and resurection, He has paid the ransom for those who believe and trust in him. He took our place, knowing He would be crucified. Although we fail day after day, He continues to heap his grace on us. He never grows weary of forgiving and restoring us! What can our response be but to worship Him - with our words, our heart and our lives?! Will you lay down your life and worship Him this year? Without it there is NO hope and NO peace.

Mar 10:45
"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Love,

The D family

Advent/Christmas Traditions/Gift Ideas

2009-12-08T10:12:00.001-08:00

I have had a couple of people ask me to blog about our Advent and Christmas Traditions.

Advent

Well, really we don't do much of anything out of the ordinary. This year we are going through that book I mentioned earlier and it has great questions to "hook" the kids in and help them attach the learning to something they know. Then there is the lesson and prayer time and a Christmas carol. There are crafty things and ornaments, but we aren't doing that just because I can't handle that this year. We also have a book called Christ in the Carols - that gives the stories, history and meaning behind the author and words of different carols - we love that too. Since spiritual training is a part of our every day lives, I will try to do a separate post on that soon.

Traditions

My friend Krista had a great idea on her blog last year that I am copying this year. We took all of our Christmas books that we already own and wrapped them up. Then every other day or so, I let them unwrap a "new" book and they think it is fun. Either they have fond memories of it or it is "new" to them. Some are Christ centered and some are just for fun. Maybe we will try to add one new book a year.

Also, my Aunt Carol and Grandmother started the tradition of giving us ornaments every year so when we had our own home, we already had several ornaments with memories to start off with. Now my mom and Aunt do this for all of my kids and we write their names and dates with a tiny sharpie on them.

Christmas Eve is always our Dominican meal, Bible reading about the birth of Christ and our night to open presents as a family. Then a special breakfast and day at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas with all the cousins.

Presents

We only buy 1 or 2 gifts for each (plus little stocking gifts) and we spend about an average of $10 each because at least 1/2 of the gifts we buy at garage sales for $1 or less. I buy stuff all year long and put in in a "big gift box" - so when Target clearances out their $1 and it is 75% off, I buy little lotions and lip glosses and pens etc for $.25 a piece and save them for their stockings. Then the kids write notes and fill each other's stockings with little toys and candy. Also, every time a child becomes a good reader, we give them their first real ESV Bible/Bible cover - so this year Jackie is getting that and Janae is getting an ESV Study Bible (Jackie has been so excited wondering when she will get her first Bible now that she can read) PS - I have found a lot of Bible covers at Ross lately for $10 or less. The more we have scaled back on presents, the more excited and appreciative they seem. The neat part is they actually remember and treasure what they got last year. Some other FREE gift ideas that my kids LOVE/or would love and your kids might like too are . . . . . . . . getting their first library card (once they are responsible enough), taking a free cooking class at Shar's http://www.sharskitchen.com/ with me, and certificates for me to paint their toe nails. What about a certificate to join Daddy at work one day? - my kids would love this if he had a job that allowed it. Some material and a certificate to go to Grandma's house and learn to sew or make a scrap book - you know a big project that you usually can't do on a normal basis. A fabulous idea I saw on a blog was to give an apron and a recipe notebook with clear sleeves in it to your daughters. Then add a few simple recipes that you will let them try and leave room to add more. Gosh - Jordan also loves to cook and takes pride in his cooking, so I know he would love it too - maybe with a home depot apron or a chef's hat. I love all of these ideas because they build memories through quality time and are virtually free :).

Oh and if you think 1 or 2 gifts is not enough, think of the gifts they get from Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, Great Grandparents etc - I mean really, even that can get to be too much and the focus becomes all about the gifts, which is a shame. Another thing we stopped doing was putting the gifts under the tree in advance. It consumed my kids' thoughts when they were seeing them sitting there day after day. Instead, shop with the kids for angel tree, or put together a gift box of holiday goodies for some missionaries and have the kids help, or make some shoe boxes of goodies, socks, toiletries for some homeless people and pass them out - most seem to love coffee - how easy is that to either bring a thermos of coffee and some styrofoam cups and pass out or stop at a gas station and buy a couple of coffee's. These are the kinds of memories we want our children to have about Christmas - to serve others as we seek to be like Christ and honor him - for Christ did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

Please share your favorite Christmas ideas!

Friends Behind the Scenes

2009-12-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is long over-due, but I just wanted to thank my friends Lana and Molly for serving us through so many stages in our life. They put on a garage sale for us and helped with other sales as we raised $ fo the adoption, they helped us paint when we moved, they came over to bring little treats to our kids and read and play with them during the first few hectic months of having all 3 babies home. They ironed and cleaned and encouraged me greatly. We 3 share a heart for missions that has always tied us together These ladies serve when nobody else sees them and the are a true example of putting feet to their faith. Several times, (even when I had morning sickness with Jameson and now after being home for months with the boys but battling sickness) they have surprised us by cooking up big meals for us and bringing over frozen soup. For our Memorial Box Monday we put this foto in our box to remind us of how the Lord has used Molly and Lana to lovingly care for our family. Thank you ladies!

Some Christmas Fun

2009-12-04T09:19:00.001-08:00

We always buy our gingerbread house kits at after Christmas sales and then pack them away for the next year. We don't let our kids eat it anyways, so it works perfect and saves $.

We are going through this advent book this year. So far we are really enjoying it and it has sparked some great conversations. If you are not doing some sort of Bible or advent time with your kids, I encourage you to start now. It is not too late - I bet there is even free advent stuff on the web.

There is a lot of "uh uh" and "don't touch!" going on in our house, but overall the boys are learning. I am a stickler on training instead of putting things up high or putting latches on things etc, but don't get me wrong, it isn't easy. Especially now with 3 little curious boys it makes things a lot crazier and I am struggling with being consistent more than ever before. Luckily I have a house full of "police" to help train the boys. After all, they need to be trained for when we go to other people's houses - not to open cabinets or touch their Christmas trees etc - so it is either teach them now, or have stress later.

Cousin LOVE

2009-12-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

All of the cousins love to hug and kiss each other. Well, this day, Josiah kept hugging Elizabeth and then opening his big slobbery mouth like he does. Elizabeth thought he was going to take a big bite so she kept backing up and sticking her lips out like this. Finally we got Josiah to close his mouth and wipe off his slobber.

Finally - success!

proud of his big boy undies - but still not close to being potty trained

Playhouse fun

Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T04:54:00.000-08:00

18 people for Thanksgiving

Julia and Socorro - This was Socorro's first time celebrating Thanksgiving.

Janae cooking the gravy

JJ's first Thanksgiving

For the first time ever, all of my family came to our house because our friend Socorro wanted to help us cook the turkey and a few other things. She injected the turkeys with so much flavor, I thought they would burst. MMMMM- they turned out so flavorful and juicy since they marinated overnight.

JJ is walking!

2009-12-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

He took his first couple of steps while still 9 months old, but yesterday, at 10 months and 3 days old, he took 5 steps. Today I caught it on camera a couple of times. All of my kids, except for Jacklyn, Joanna and probably Josiah, have all walked at 10 months old, but Jameson beats them all by a couple of weeks :) This boy is going to be a bulldozer.

The Big 9 - Happy B-day Jordan!

2009-12-01T05:42:00.000-08:00

(he caught this wild bunny in the net of his batting cage and was so proud)

For years I have said, "What are we going to do with him and all his energy????" This year I can honestly say, "What would we do without him!" To the best big brother who never runs out of energy to wrestle and run around with the boys, best chicken farmer, best dishwasher loader, best Bible fact whiz, best 9 yr old cook and sweetest big boy who still loves to give me kisses without being asked - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

. . . .What a Waste it Would Be

2009-11-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

(Please first read my last post - this is the "AMEN" - the " proof" to that post)

What a WASTE it would be for these boys to have grown up in an orphanage! What a complete waste it would have been for our family not to follow God's call. We would have missed out on watching God's miracles of providing, answering prayer, transforming lives, heaping blessings on us and growing through trial after trial. The light in their eyes, the hope, the love, the personalities shining - it is undeniable. All of this - not because of us, because we fail and struggle and are by far not the perfect family - but through God's grace, he chose to use us and work HIS love and HIS Grace in the lives of these boys. What gratitude fills my heart to think that the Lord would use us - a broken, sinful family to fill the most basic need in 2 boys' lives - the need of being loved by a family. All Glory to Him!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for choosing the perfect boys for our family and the perfect brothers for eachother - not related by flesh and blood, yet as close as twins.

Love,

The D Family

PS - I am on a blogging update frenzy. I have about 4 more posts that should publish throughout this next week - so keep checking back :) - I am trying to catch up!

One year ago . . .

2009-11-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

If you are one of many thinking, "What difference is adopting one child going to make when there are more than 140 million orphans?" or "It really will take a lot of $ and time to adopt/add one more child to our lives" - just let these pictures speak to your heart whether or not the "ransom" is worth it.

Imagine your child . . . yes the one you tuck into a warm bed with a kiss and a snuggle . . . the one you care for and stroke when they are sick . . . the one you have pictures of plastered all over your house because you are so proud of them . . . . . the one you make sure has plenty of healthy food, clean water and beautiful clothes and the one who is involved in amazing activities . . . . that you would give the world for . . . . . imagine that precious gift sitting in an orphanage or more likely on the streets. . . . . . going unnoticed . . . . . not loved and definitely not cuddled or kissed at night . . . . . .uncared for when they are sick . . . . . . . . going hungry . . . . . and sitting in a crib or bed silent and lifeless.

I can not help but think this is what our Lord - Father God is thinking. He must be saying, "Where are my people? Why are they not taking care of my beloved children?"

If you are a follower of Christ, please pray, fast and ask God what your role would be in caring for the orphans AND widows - that is exactly how we got to the point of adopting. Everyone's response will look different, however we must do more for the orphans around the world. I know - I have seen it first hand and now I must be a voice for them.

A few years ago, we became convicted that sending $ to support some kids wasn't enough according to the blessings the Lord had bestowed on us. We could do more, so we had to listen and follow His leading.

Has the Lord nudged your heart and you have ignored it . . . . or do you justify why this wouldn't be convenient for you? Do not turn a deaf ear to his leading. Could you do more for these orphans and are not?

All I know is that we will have to answer to the Lord one day what we did with our time, resources, talents and money. Yes, even our "talents" as mothers. I know many who the Lord has blessed to be great parents, who are raising sweet kids, who have a love for the Lord and are financially stable - what a gift the Lord has given you and what a blessing it would be to use that gift to be Jesus' hands and feet and give a child an earthly example of a mother and father's love, so that one day they might be able to know and trust in the Heavenly Father. I mean really . . . it is such a beautiful picture of how the Lord paid our ransom (He paid far more than $20,000 or $30,000 - he gave everything including dying on the cross) and he took us - lost -and adopted us as His own children and utterly transformed our lives.

I hate when people say, not all are called to adopt, because I think at that point people are quick to say - "yep that is me - one of those not called to adopt". It is true, not all are called to adopt, however, I am sure many more are called and we should all surrender that and at least seek the Lord and ask him if we should adopt. If not, there are other ways to support and serve orphanages and adoptive families - we have seen and experienced this too through our church family.

Overall, Christ followers should be KNOWN for adopting orphans, in this lost and dying world - it should not be as rare as it is now. You can be a missionary in your own home, declaring God's salvation to the nations.

Our hearts overflow and rejoice in what the Lord has done as we can not help but GIVE THANKS - to Him who has done far more than we could ask or imagine. He has "set the lonely in families" and transformed the boys' lives, our family's life and touched so many lives we never imagined.

80% of the pictures are like these, distant and turning away from everyone

Flying home last Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving meal in Ethiopia before boarding the plane

Josiah's body was so tiny

This is what I woke up to for the first time last year on Thanksgiving morning - Glory be to God!

Family Pictures

2009-11-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

You know our family doesn't seem that big except when we load and unload in our big van or when we see a picture of ourselves. Javier and I both laughed out loud, "Wow- that looks like a tribe!" We have 1 little girl that would not smile, another that had the "cheesy smile" and a little boy that cried most of the time. Maybe in 10 years from now, we can get a good picture :) until then, we will just be thankful for our little characters.

Fabulous Find Friday

2009-10-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

I found this about a month ago. $3 - oh yeah - I couldn't believe it either! Ok it is not in perfect shape - but the kids can get some good fun out of it. PS - these are my best things in the last few months - not every garage sale find is this good :)!

Double Trouble/Pure Sweetness

2009-10-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

PS - sorry about the blurry pictures - they look great on my computer, but when I upload them to the blog they look bad. I noticed this with the camping pictures too.

Memorial Box Monday -11 people, crawdads and a bear - oh my!

2009-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jo Jo is on the lookout for bears with her binoculars and walkie talkie in hand.

The bear's snacks?

catching crawdads

We thought there was no way we could take a vacation now with 3 babies and 5 other kids, for 2 reasons. The 1st reason was cost and the 2nd reason was that it would just be too hard. We could afford camping , but we knew it was hard enough last year with 5 kids - the youngest being 2 1/2 . Well, our Mountain moving - always providing God gave us a camping trip. Our friend Socorro came in to town and has never been to the mountains or camping and she really wanted to go and assured us we could do it with her help. She really is equal to 3 people - she sees a need and does it and has a special way with kids that is amazing (of course spoiling them and giving them gum always helps :)). We went to the forest just about 2 hours from our house - for 2 days and 1 night.

The kids had so much fun hiking, playing games, going to the lake to fish for crawdads, roasting marshmallows, singing around the campfire and shooting the bb gun and cross bow.

The hammock was the best thing! Socorro stuck the boys in it for nap time and they swung right to sleep in the warmth of the sun.

Well, not only was it a blessing for all of us to go on a little camping trip and make memories, but the Lord also protected us. When we got to camp - the neighbor campers suggested we put our dogs in the camper or van at night because they heard a bear the night before and their trash had been ripped apart. Well we were planning to put them in anyways and we packed up all our food and put it in the van. Javi and Jordan slept in the van, while the other 9 of us slept in a 30 yr old camper that is falling apart. I heard 3 loud bangs on the window that night. When we woke up, on both sides of the campsite in between our camper and van there were a couple of places where a bear had scratched and dug with his claws. Also that old plastic window right there on that side of our camper was broken. The neighbors also said they heard the bear at their campsite again that night and they were in a tent! All we could think of was how God protected us and what we would have done. We laughed so hard thinking about Javier and his fear of wild animals. Javier said that he and Jordan would have just started the van and taken off :).

So to remember the way our God provided for us and protected us, we added a tiny toy bear to our memorial box. If you are wondering what this memorial box is all about, you should check it out here where I got the idea http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/2009/09/memorial-box-monday-check.html .

We are known by our actions

2009-10-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

I believe every life is precious and that we are known by our actions. We can easily say we are against abortion and that children are a blessing, but what are we doing to support women who choose life or what are we doing to care for the orphans? One family is trying to raise $ for the legal fees to adopt a baby from an incarcerated woman. They were teenage parents themselves and now have a beautiful Christian family. You can donate even $5 or $10 or more on their blog and watch them bring home this baby. http://www.storinguptreasures.com/ . This family only needs to raise $3000 more out of the $7000 total needed for the legal fees. You can donate via paypal. I sold some jeans once on ebay for our adoption and never cashed it out - so it was just sitting in my paypal account - purposed for adoption - so I thought - how perfect! Do you have something similar? Or could you give up a couple of coffee drinks or runs through the drive thru to bless this precious baby's life, not to mention bless this family 10 fold? HMMMM - invest in a mocha frapuccino (gone in 5 minutes if you are me) or invest in an eternal blessing?

Fabulous Find Friday

2009-10-09T06:38:00.000-07:00

If you only know me through the blog, you may not know that I buy EVERYTHING from garage sales. Every piece of furniture in our home was either passed down to us for free or bought at a garage sale with the exception of 1 set of couches and a huge coffee table my dad made custom for us. I think every decoration and all my curtains were also garage sale finds and most of the kids' toys and clothes are from garage sales. Well, I think I hit the jackpot the other day. I found this solid wood wardrobe thing for $20! The kids had fun pretending it was the wardrobe from Narnia, but now I put in the shelves that came with it and it holds our school stuff. I was needing more storage to organize my school stuff and I would have spent the same amount on 3 big tubs at Targ*t. This is how we save so much $, but have everything we need/want. I just might make this a regular post on Fridays :).

Mia's new friend

2009-10-06T21:32:00.001-07:00

A month or so ago we got a new long haired chihuahua named Quico (keeko). He was really scared and snappy at first, but now he is so in love with our kids - especially Julia.

Caught Red Handed

2009-10-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

Make a run for it

Aww - she caught me. (yes that is a bag full of brownies and one in his hand too. He scooted the chair to the counter and snatched that bag - can't blame him - they were really yummy :))

(another post below)

1st buzz

2009-10-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER

My late grandmother would always ask me one thing about Jordan . . . . "Is his hair still nice and short?" That was really important to her and it is also important to Javier. Well, I couldn't take the sides flipping out any longer . . . so . . . . J J got his first buzz. Janae was so cute and ran to get a ziploc baggy and wrote the date and name on it (she is my brain since I don't have one after 8 kids :)) I know he looked better with hair, but it will grow. First haircut - 8 months

Is there anything more delicious?

2009-09-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Couldn't you just take a bite of this chubby little thing. He is still just the happiest little guy!

PS - he now weighs 21 lbs and is 7 months old and Jeremiah weighs 22 lbs and is 18 months old - Jameson is going to pass him up soon! - (2 more new posts below)

Psalm 67-Burundi night

2009-09-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah celebrating Burundi night using the Burundian basket as a hat. Burundi is dear to our hearts because of our refugee friends. We have had a lot of great memories with them - here are a couple of my highlights over the last few years.

The Burundian wedding reception in our old backyard. Many of you helped donate and lend items and volunteer time to make this possible. Some young men played African drums and an electric guitar and everyone sang and danced. All the songs were praising the Lord and blessing this new marriage - really neat.

Jacklyn got to ride around Burundi style and loved it!

I was able to meet my Burundian friend at the hospital in the middle of the night for an emergency c-section because she couldn't get a hold of her husband at work. I was the first to see her baby - she didn't believe me that her baby came out white (she was put under for the c-section). I was pretty surprised myself.

Her baby browned up quickly and her husband was able to make it to the hospital shortly after.

This meal is not exactly authentic, but the Lima beans/spinach/tomato sauce dish on white rice is a recipe they taught me and believe it or not -all of my kids except Jordan LOVE this meal and ask for more.

The kids did a mini report on Burundi during school time to share with us at dinner. We also used this Operation World book to find out more ways to pray for the people and country of Burundi. It is a tiny country, the size of Massachusetts, located near Tanzania, Rwanda and Congo. Many have been killed or displaced because of the genocide between the Hutu and Tutsi people groups. This has also created many widows and orphans that need care and our prayers. (Notice Josiah bows his head and closes his eyes - not for long, but he is learning :))

Our traditional clothes - look at JJ going after the beans :)

The dancers were great too!

Socorro is here again!

2009-09-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

If you need a deep cleaning and/or organization of cabinets, linen closets, garage - anything, my friend Socorro will be available this coming week. This is the easiest way to get the word out. Let me know if you want to book her. Also, if you live further, Javier can always take her and pick her up or meet you since he works near the 101 and Broadway. She works all day and most people pay her $100-120/day.

2009-08-31T22:30:00.000-07:00

"If God answered all your prayers of the last 7 days, would anything in the WORLD change, or just your world?" MP

Tonight we started a new tradition - P67 night (Psalm 67). We want to impart God's love for the nations to our children. Tonight we ditched the table, took off our shoes, covered our heads, put on our kaft*ans and jela*bas and ate on the floor by lantern - with no plates or utensils. We prayed for the people of Mor*cco.

Unfortunately, American Christianity is largely viewed as only a personal relationship with Christ and Christians read the Bible to see "what it says to ME". Yes, that is good and true, but that view is greatly lacking. The Bible is a story of God loving, forgiving, redeeming and saving His people. People from every tongue, tribe and nation.

Think of heaven and the people worshipping him, truthfully what image do you see? People like yourself? Mostly English speaking, middle class, singing a nice tune, not too loud, clapping hands to the beat? . . . . .At one time I did - but that is not a biblical image. God is so greatly to be praised that he will have a beautiful variety of every language, every large and small tribe and ethnic group - worshiping him. Every skin color, size, tradition, dialect, dancing, chanting, singing, clapping on and off beat, stomping - not just conservative-stand in a row, clap in unison, English speaking believers :).

There are still many, many unreached people groups. People who have NEVER heard the gospel and who have none of God's word in their own language -we need to pray fervently for them. There are hurting and poor people, orphans and widows in many nations - we need to pray for them. There are Christians still being martyred in many nations - we need to pray for them.

Are you imparting a Biblical world view to your children? Are you installing a passion in your children to see ALL people groups blessed by the gospel?

*Next week - Ethiopia* - (What a great way to make social studies and worship/prayer relevant - have your kids find a few traditions and recipes about a people group and go for it) Anyone want to join us and make this a tradition in your home?

Busy August - picture update

2009-08-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

Although we have so many great cleaners in our family . . . Sometimes we need some extra help. Thank goodness for our friend Socorro from Hermosillo!

Our refugee friends from Burundi came over this weekend. We have known them for 10 years. If you have never seen Hotel Rwanda - you should rent it. It gives you a taste of what they lived through except they hid in the "bush" (jungle) for months and in the movie the people hid in a hotel. Augustin also lost 2 children in the midst of it, yet they are so thankful to the Lord and such faithful and joyous people!

Agustin (above) and Audace, Jessica, Penina and Sarange (below). Penina and Audace had their wedding reception in the backyard of our last house - it was my favorite wedding party I have ever experienced. Now they have 3 little ones! Oh how I would love to have another wedding at our house!

Christina (below) she was just a baby when we met them, now she is a beautiful young lady. There were many more kids, but they were off playing.

Also this last weekend, Javier's 1/2 uncles came over. Javier found out about them and met them about 7-8 years ago and they now live about 2 hours from our house. Uncle Juan is actually younger than Javier. His dad is Javier's paternal grandpa. He also originally came to the states to play baseball. It's in the blood. The kids LOVE it when Uncle Juan comes to play.

Josiah was so comfortable with Uncle Juan. Uncle Freddy is below.

Like father, like son - Jeremiah is learning early.

See mom what I got?! Both of our dogs are so good with letting the kids do anything to them.

I finally got a 3rd highchair at a garage sale. Jameson just doesn't like baby food. He has gone straight from breastfeeding and formula for 6 months to table food (of course he still loves his milk too). I have never had a child do this - he doesn't throw a fit or anything, he just will not open his mouth for even applesauce. He is crawling fast and just starting to pull up on things and stand. He has fallen flat backwards a few times this week, because he has no concept of what happens when he lets go. He is almost 7 months - we call him chub-a-lub. He is still the happiest and most mellow little thing - Julia was just like him.

Need I explain this next picture - let's just say this was a great homeschool science project of identifying organs and he made a great dinner, but a little chewy :). We got 7 eggs yesterday from our wonderful hens! (all we get from the roosters is a lot of noise!) Before we have only gotten 2-3 eggs a day- so hopefully this means all 7 hens are laying now. It takes about a dozen and a half to feed us one breakfast (assuming we add toast and other food too) - so bring on the eggs!

I just love that we are starting to get back to having a real life and having people over again after 8-9 months of the boys adjusting and getting well and us figuring out how to go from 5 kids to 8 all of a sudden. Life will never be "normal" here, but it sure is fun, or more accurate - blessed!

Need a deep cleaning and live in the east valley?

2009-08-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is the easiest way to get the word out (sorry this post doesn't apply to people in other states :)) I know some of you mentioned being interested in having my friend Socorro come to clean, well she is in town. She is available to work Saturday or any day next week (she might stay for 2 weeks - I'm not sure yet). She usually spends the whole day at 1 house cleaning it from top to bottom. Depending on what you want, she does blinds, plant shelves, light fixtures, insides of cabinets, cleaning out refrigerators or anything she has time for (in addition to regular cleaning) - it just depends on how big and how dirty your house is and what you want :). She even likes to refold linens and wipe out shelves etc. You can pay her what you can, but most people pay her $100 for about 7-8 hours of work. Some pay her a little more or a little less and some people use her for 2 or 3 days. We love this because we can not afford a regular house cleaner, but we can afford deep clean a couple of times a year that helps out another believer. She is honest and a fast/hard worker. I can translate everything and deliver her/pick her up most days and places in the east valley. You can email or if you have my # call me. Also, pass this on to anyone else that might be interested. There is also another lady available from our Spanish church to clean, cook, iron or babysit etc that is here for 2 months in the Queen Creek area who also has similar rates and is looking to make some extra $ while she is here. Just let me know.

1 more thing . . .

2009-08-04T18:50:00.001-07:00

This was supposed to be in my last post - sorry. We got our first egg yesterday! I know it is tiny, but it is a start - the kids were so excited. Jordan does most of the care for the chickens - he is a hard worker around here. It turns out our dog caught one chicken and it died, then 3 died in a storm and now we are left with 7 hens and 6 roosters I think - oh well. I think we will be having some rooster soup pretty soon :). We are officially farmers!

The little things in life

2009-08-04T16:05:00.001-07:00

This was Josiah the first day home in these 6-9 month pjs - notice they are even a little baggy on him - 8 months ago - he was 20 months old

Here is Jeremiah a few weeks later - same pjs - he could wear them for quite a while

Now here is Jameson at 6 months in the same pjs - it is crazy to think Josiah was this size when we brought him home - possibly a smidge taller, but much thinner. Now Jeremiah is a tiny bit taller than Jameson and he has a bigger head, but Jameson is chubbier.

This is where we found Jameson after the birthday cake at Jackie's party. He is no dummy! If mom won't give him cake, he will get it himself under Jeremiah's highchair. Yes- Jameson crawls and sits up now.

This is what happens when you have so many big sisters - They called him "Man Bug" instead of ladybug

And Jeremiah heard that pink is the "new blue"He loves the potty seat - just for fun

My handsome boy at Jackie's party

Jackie really wanted a brown girl baby alive for a long time - we found her on clearance for her birthday- she's perfect and she named her Janissa after Mona's baby girl that she just brought home from Ethiopia.