Christmas Creations & Silent Souls

Shannon (my sis) has wanted to make a gingerbread house w/ her niece for a while.
Today was the day!

Mom, getting into the act!

Yum....I love suger!!!! (tasting the icing!)
The finished work of art.The "arteests!" (+ 1)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What Does it Mean to Wait Silently/Quietly?

Psalm 62:1
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.

Lamentations 3:26
It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

I realized this morning I needed a reminder in this area….

Sometimes, waiting silently & quietly has nothing to do w/ talking or keeping your mouth quiet.

The word for “silent” can also be translated “repose.”

The word “repose” in the dictionary means:

“peace, tranquility, calm, dignified calmness”

To me, this speaks to something much deeper than keeping my mouth shut…..

It’s about keeping my mind “quiet”….not allowing my mind to dwell on my day to day trials.

“dignified calmness”………….

Do I have it? Can I say (& mean it) that I have a calm attitude about our wait?

In all honesty, not all the time…..

One thing I have learned, is that I can set my timer for 5 min. intervals......find something that needs doing for only that amount of time & pray over what I am doing........the Lord calms my heart......

Mac 'N Cheese & Building Blocks

Mom, guess what my favorite job is?”

“What?”

“Making dinner. I LOVE making dinner!!” Picture her expressive eyes lifting on the word LOVE.

So, tonight, I helped her make mac n' cheese.

As long as there is a recipe & adult supervision…..we won’t fear for our tastebuds!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girls are also really getting into building w/ blocks, perhaps practicing for when they have a baby brother to play w/???

Busily, Ana places blocks carefully where she wants them.

But, if her project is not up out of Ruth’s way, baby comes to “help” Ana build……usually resulting in screams of agony over destroyed masterpieces…..

These are some of the little lessons Ana is daily learning….& lest you think WE have learned it all (ha! ha!), we are learning too, about how to teach Ana patience & Ruth gentleness….

Actually, I think Dave & I are learning more THAN the girls….(& a lot FROM the girls)

Ana's first attempt.......

Ahhhh....finally, a Ruth-proof location!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please continue to pray for our case…..we want good news soon! The next thing we should hear is that Nathaniel is legally ours & that we will be able to bring him home w/ in a month or so…..

I was reminded today of the passage where Jesus calms the storm on the sea. In Matthew 8:26b, God’s Word says:

“Then He arose & rebuked the winds & the sea. AND THERE WAS A GREAT CALM.”

Is there a “storm” in my life today? Is there a storm in yours? Jesus is in the business of calming storms, but just like the disciples, we must ask Him.

He Maketh no Mistake

Hanging on the wall of our living room is the following poem…

Why do I forget it’s truths until faced w/ a hardship?

Thank You, Father, for bringing it to mind again this morning as we continue our wait to hear that Nathaniel is out of PGN.

He Maketh No Mistakes!

My Father’s way may twist and turn,

My heart may throb and ache.

But in my soul I’m glad I know,

He maketh no mistake.


My cherished plans may go astray,

My hopes may fade away,

But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,

for He doth know the way.


Tho’night be dark and it may seem

That day will never break;

I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him,

He maketh no mistake.


There’s so much now I cannot see,

My eyesight’s far too dim;

But come what may, I’ll simply trust

And leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift

And plain it all He’ll make.

Through all the way, tho’dark to me,

He made not one mistake.

Whiter than Snow.....is it possible???

Jenica’s recent post over at “Is Anyone Paying Attention?” about hymns revealed to me that I don’t know enough words to the old songs.

Looking out the morning window at the sparkly white ground, the chorus of this hymn came to mind, but I had to look up the other words. Here is the first verse & the chorus.

"Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;

I want Thee forever to live in my soul;

Break down every idol, cast out every foe—

Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.


Chorus:

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow,

Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

This grand old hymn was written in 1872 by James Nicholson


At this season, when we remember Jesus’ birth, let us not forget that He arrived on the scene-only to die……for you & for me.

Yes, it is good to say….when He washes me, I am made whiter than snow….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few other pics

Ruth, hard at work stiring her magnetic letters
Ana, making cookies this afternoon. With a legitimate recipie this time!!!-(see my previous post )

Two eggs on the floor later (one by her & one by me) & lots of laughs later, this was the result:

Yum....wish you all could come & share a cup of coffee & a cookie!

Oh, my heavens!!! How WILL I eat that????

What do you do when your child makes supper for you?

Thank her & eat it, right????


Well, what if it is CORN & CHOCOLATE ICING??????

Yes, that was Ana’s masterful attempt at being Rachel Ray tonight…..

Ugggg…..The first bite I took was, ….well….let’s just say…..DISTATEFUL!!!!


These experiences are ones I’m sure older parents look back on fondly…..I know I have heard stories of my childhood cooking experiments.

Meanwhile, I am beginning to wonder if I will survive this adventure of parenting…..(just kidding…..well, maybe not )

I know many of you, my blog readers, have had had similar experiences, so just for you, here are the pics!!!


Yumm, yumm!!!

Sweet child of mine (Ana)……missing her brother….

(I ask you, could you help but miss this face????)

.......................& yes, her tears are daily flowing


Her most recent writing assignment?

“Re-copy in your neatest handwriting”-several sentences followed….one of which was:


“I am glad."


Instead, she wrote,


“I am sad.”


“Why,?” I asked.


“I just want Sr. Barios (his is the only signature left to make him legally ours) to sign Natty’s papers…..I don’t know if he’s ever going to sign.”


Those of you who know Ana, know that DRAMA is her middle name, but there was nothing pretend about the sorrow in the tears that followed.

Please continue to pray for our case, & for us as we parent this dear child who is TRYING to understand grownup things in her 6 year old mind-particularly, a God who loves her but is making her wait for something she has wanted more than anything else in her life.


I am amazed that God loves her enough to start teaching her hard lessons at the tender age of six!!

Hebrews 12:5-11


5. My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6. For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.

7..If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

8.. But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

9.. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?


10.. For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

11.. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Does God love her enough to begin training her at 6? Do I trust His hand on her life? These are some of the hard questions of parenting.....


So HARD to watch her HURT & not be able to fix it……like today…..and every day that she thinks much about Nathaniel….

Please, Father, take away this hurt from her little life soon……& let us go & get our little boy.

BLEACH, part #2

Ok......after cleaning up what I could of the laundry room last night.....& examining the laundry for bleach spots, I thought we were OK.

but......as it turns out......there were a *bunch* of ruined clothes...

How do I keep from being FRUSTRATED????

Do you ever LOOSE IT when these types of things happen?


How can I make us feel better about this whole situation????

.....she feels bad, & I am barely holding back my frustration!!!!