Noise level over load

Callie and Noah both have friends over today after school. That brings the child count to six! I know many of you who read this have more than that of your own, and I have one thing to say to you: God Bless you!!!! :) Toben, Noah and his friend are playing Star Wars while the girls are running screaming from the litesabors (not exactly sure how to spell that!). But I have to admit, even though the noise is off the charts, I LOVE hearing all the squeals and laughs! :)

Tomorrow is Friday...I didn't know....

A dear friend of mine sent me this e-mail yesterday. This is not a forward...my friend wrote this. She lives here in Midland. I couldn't even respond except to ask her permission to post this. Her facts are from the people she spoke to there by the parking lot, so she put the disclaimer that she has not researched the facts, but today, this morning, as she e-mailed me permission to post this, she said the parking lot is full and a parking attendant is there to tell ladies where to park when the spaces run out.....God help us!


Dear Wonderful Brothers & Sisters and Friends in the Lord,
It has been some time since you have heard from me on an update. Some of you I see often, but most of you I miss more than time has allotted us to fellowship.
Last week, I started working for a new organization .... I will share more about that in a later letter. Mainly I must tell you what happened last Friday. My first Friday here. I got up early and got ready for work. While I was getting ready I just kept thinking about a dear friend of mine. I couldn't get her off my mind, so I knew that I had to call. I've found that when that happens (you just can't get someone off your mind - you should just pray because they need you to at that moment in time) you should just call. Well, I called her and she was very sick. She had been vomiting all morning long. I prayed for her and just visited with her a bit. Then I went on to work. When I got there, there were all these people outside the building next door. The little dismal gray office building next door has a razor wire fence around the parking and it as well. Every single parking place was filled - there must have been about 15-20 cars there. There were a couple of ladies sitting outside the building on a bench. And outside the fence there were people holding signs. There was even a Catholic priest standing outside the razor wire fencing. What a picture. I got outside my car and my phone rang just as I did. I answered and it was my friend that I had called that morning. She said that she felt like the Lord told her to call me back. She was just about to tell me something and I saw this man walking next to the building, so I asked her to wait just one minute while I asked him what was going on. I had told her about the scene. He came over and I asked, "what is going on?" He said, "Today is Friday." I looked at him clueless as to what that meant. He said, "Well, today is abortion day. Every Friday is the day the doctors come to Planned Parenthood and perform the abortions that the ladies wait all week for." He said that he wasn't sure if it was 4000 babies every 6 months or every year that they kill here at the Midland office. I was just in shock. 4000....I grew up in a town of 783 people. Right next door to my building all these murders take place every Friday. My friend was listening on the phone. She just started sobbing. She said, "Now I know why I've been throwing up."
14 Years ago she went to Planned Parenthood. No husband. Pregnant. Her boyfriend left her. No career. They told her she just needed to get an abortion. She couldn't provide for the baby. What kind of mother would she be and what kind of life would the baby have. "Just have an abortion."
She didn't. Her son is now 13. He loves the Lord, is an awesome kid that is a great athlete. All his brothers and sisters look up to him and he is a naturally gifted leader. Not to mention the talk of all the other 13 year old little girls. The Lord provided in an amazing way. My friend went home from Planned Parenthood. Went to the Lord and He provided an awesome Godly man who loves that son as his own, because he is his own with all his heart. My friend wants to come and pray on Fridays at my office building.
When I park, I look at that Planned Parenthood. Tomorrow I am sure the parking lot will be full. It is really hard to work where I do in a way. My organization goes into prisons and teaches marriage enrichment courses for inmates who have spouses on the outside. They have an 85% divorce rate within the first year of getting released. We go into prisons to set the captives free, and right next door, everyday ladies are willing and walking into captivity, believing the lies of the enemy as he says - There is no hope....you have no choice. It is hard to work when I know at that moment just yards away a silent genocide is taking place. A little person...no voice of their own...just killed. Unloved and unwanted by a mother who knows no better and has no hope in her life. She just doesn't know.

Please, please pray with me tomorrow. I pray the Lord will overwhelm the ladies and workers in Planned Parenthood with His love and grace and call them to no longer be deceived to serving a god and idol of convenience. 42 million so far....and counting. 40 more million than those killed in Sudan. Midland would have around 140,000 people instead of 100,000 if all the babies hadn't been killed over this past decade. This past week a man was on his knees on the corner praying openly. He was wearing a tie and business suit. It didn't matter to him that he could rip his pants or lose time in the work day or what it looked like to anyone watching. I am praying the Lord will give me the courage and opportunity to befriend the workers there. It is the love and mercy of the Lord that changes lives, hearts, and eternities. I once was lost, but now I am found. They do not know what they do. Please help me and pray for that opportunity for me and the love that I do not have myself, but that He alone can give.

Tomorrow is Friday....I didn't know....

Vote for my friend....

I have a friend who is a WONDERFUL song writer! She is a SAHM, and has a song that is every mother's theme song at some point. It is called Anywhere But Here. Anyway, she is trying to win a spot on the radio, so if you go to this site: http://www.indieheaven.com/fanfaves.php. Her name is Karen Fisher and she is number 4 right now. You can check her out on her website at www.karenfishermusic.com. She sings and plays the piano with John on the Praise Team at Stonegate. She is a gifted song writer! Anyway, check her out and give her a bunch of stars if you like her!

Thanks...and I promise to get back to blogging soon with LOTS of pics! I just am still trying to keep my head above water with FOUR kids and all the agency stuff! Thanks for checking back from time to time to see if there is anything new! ;)

Seven pounds of bananas.....

lasts exactly 6 days at our house! (See post titled "A Little About Toben" for further explanation!)

All negative!

For once, all negative is a good thing! We got the test results back today on all of Toben's test and he is perfectly healthy! No HIV, Hep B, Hep A, Hep C, anemia, etc, etc. Everything was great! Praise God!

Now we get to start immunizations...not fun! Shots every 6 weeks for six months.

Toben has become an Idol junky! He is so cute. He will not watch cartoons, but when American Idol is on, he is glued to the TV! This is him sitting in a drawer watching American Idol this evening!





He is finally getting used to his new name. When he sees a picture of himself now he says, "Toben!" instead of "Obediah".

All over again!

I am sitting at a coffee shop making a time line of the events of our trip to Liberia. I need it for documentation. Reliving it all over again is almost more than I can take! I am having a hard time typing because of my shaking hands! I keep thinking of Jesus in the temple with the money changers...I wish I could just flip over some tables! I am such a justice person! My black and white brain just doesn't know how to process the injustice done to us or the irrational actions taken by the officials! God help me do this!

Valentines Day....

John and I have never been big Valentine's Day celebrators (is that a word???). But this year, it just seems that I need to mark this day with a few things, in no particular order, that I appreciate about my M.O.G. (aka: Man of God).

1. He shares my love of God! There is no way this man could have put up with all my hair brain ideas if he didn't understand my desire to live a life sold out to God and walking with God in total faith....sometimes stupidity in faith's clothing..... if he didn't share my love of God and desire to honor Him with our lives!

2. We have the same taste in decor. When we met, we had the exact same living room furniture! We both love to decorate, so I am so thankful we share the same taste! I love that he helps me decorate our home and appreciates the time I put into making our home a pretty place to be.

3. He agreed to go from "I only want one child, and she is here" to being a daddy of four very diverse children. Even if he does tell people now that the first years (Callie) and the last years (Ava) were great. But those middle years (Noah and Toben) were a little rough! ha!ha! When you lead the life we live, you have to keep a sense of humor! :)

4. He still loves me and tells me how beautiful I am even though there is more than 50 more pounds of me now than when we met!

5. He is a master handy man! See previous posts for his most recent projects!

6. He is an awesome provider! He has provided for our family in a way that has allowed us to live more than comfortably and me to be able to stay home with our children even when he didn't really see the true value in that (he now is the biggest stay-at-home-mom advocate you will find!)

7. He is a man worthy of my respect. I haven't always valued that part of him. We have had some rocky years where respect didn't come easy because of different issues. But I can proudly and freely say today that I respect him more than any man I know! God has truly blessed me!

8. He loves to curl up in bed with rocky road ice cream and watch home improvement shows with me! :)

9. I fell in love with him when he was playing the piano and fall in love all over again every time he plays! He is a very talented musician and uses those talents to praise God!

10. He has stuck by me for 10 years! That means he is just as committed to me as I am to him! That is a hard thing to find in this world these days. Many of those 1o years have been a struggle because of both of our "issues"! But as we embark on year 11, I can say that I am soooo excited about our future! God is doing a work in us and I know that He will not stop until the work is complete! I pray that He allows us many more years together to complete the work!

I love you, John! Thank you for asking me to be your wife 11 years ago! I would say yes all over again today! I am blessed!

A little about Toben....

Ok, I know I haven't blogged since being home. I have been way overwhelmed with all that has happened with our issues in Liberia and settling into four children. This weekend was the closest I think I have ever come to having a complete nervous break down. Poor John, he just wants me to be happy! Things have been better this week, but still God is working on me to let go and let Him!

Ava has been EXTREMELY jealous, which means I am constantly having to monitor her and Toben. I think Noah has felt a little displaced, so he has had some issues we have dealt with. Nothing extreme, just everyone trying to find their place in the new family dynamics. Callie has been wonderful! She has been a huge help and takes care of Toben like a little mommy! We do have to remind Callie and Noah from time to time that Toben is a human being, not a toy or a pet! He has his own mind to know what he wants to do and when he wants to do it.

Toben (John just didn't like Obadiah enough to leave it, so we are making the transition to Toben) is doing great! I am just amazed! He acts like he has been here his whole life. The only issue we have with him is going to bed, but I don't know of a single little 3/4 year old boy that wants to go to bed! Each night is a little better, tonight there was not fits or crying! He is sleeping through the night for the most part. If he wakes up in the night, he calls for me, so I just have to go in and tell him it is ok and to go back to sleep, and he usually does. If he gets up, he comes and knocks on our door. That cracks me up because our other kids just barge in, but he stands there and knocks! So I always know when it is Toben that is up! :)

Some fun facts about Toben:
*He LOVES bananas! He would eat 10 a day if I let him. I bought 7 pounds yesterday, so we will see how long they last! I have never bought so many bananas in my life!
*He has the best laugh ever! It is a deep belly laugh and he uses it freely! He laughs all the time! There is not build up, just a huge laugh every time he finds something funny or gets tickled!
*When he smiles, his whole face lights up! When he gets really tickled, his nose even gets a dimple in it! ;)
*He plays by hitting! We are working on that. We are having to learn how to interact with his siblings with out hitting. When he gets wound up and is having a lot of fun with them, the hitting starts. He is not being mean, just playful, but he is a stout little guy!
*He is already growing! He is wearing 24 month clothes, but this morning when I put his jeans on him, I noticed they are just almost too short! This after being home just two weeks. That amazes me! They are fed well in the home, but I guess it is just a different nutrition and with a more balanced diet, they just shoot up!
*He freely gives hugs! He is very affectionate which I love but was shocked by because their culture is not one of affection.
*He didn't know how to kiss! He has hugged us from day one, but he hadn't kissed me. I kissed him, of course, and he saw me kissing the other kids and them kissing back. So a few days after being home when I was changing him into his pj's (which always provides opportunity for a wrestling match or tickle fest!) he jumped up and kissed me on the lips! I was so shocked, I think I just stared at him which made him a little nervous. Then I just scooped him up and kissed him right back! He has given them freely since then! But it was so cute! He didn't know what to do with his lips, so he just made the sound that we make when Ava kisses us, but didn't "pucker". Now he is working on the pucker part! It is funny to see him try to figure it out! Just something we take for granted with our other kids.
*He had his first experience with Mexican food this past Sunday. He LOVED it! He will make a great Texan! He picked up the salsa bowl and just started drinking! I had to tell him to put it down and use a chip to eat it or he would have emptied all of our bowls! He put the bowl down, but got out his spoon! :)

I have some precious pictures, and will try to post some of those this weekend. They are not loaded on my computer yet, but I will try to get them on here.
That gives you a little taste of how we are doing. I am just in awe of how God puts the perfect children in the perfect families! He just fits in perfectly with all of us! He even stayed with Nana and Granddad for a few minutes while John and I ran to Target! He was great with it! I just can't say enough about how well he has adapted. He has his moments of fits, but that is good because it shows he is comfortable. But overall, he is a very compliant, fun, energetic little boy! Just perfect!