WONDER WOMAN

All of us have heros; Batman, Superman, Spiderman (Isaac's favorite), Batgirl, Wonder Woman, etc. Well, mine is Wonder Woman and believe it or not, I have met her. Not only have I met her, but I KNOW her. Not only do I know her, I lived with her! And not only did I live with her, but she raised me. I know, I know, it is amazing that I was raised by Wonder Woman! Now during my growing up years, I did not appreciate the fact that Wonder Woman was my mom, nor did I recognize her to be Wonder Woman ( Part of it was because she didn't wear the outfit while at home). But now looking back, I am amazed that her true identity slipped by unnoticed and unappreciated for so long. Here are just a FEW of her amazing feats:

1. she had six! children (all without epiderals or pain medication...CRAZY!)
2. she homeschooled all six children
3. she grew organic vegetables for us in our 5 acre garden (well, she says it was much smaller, but I had to weed that sucker and believe me it was at least 5 acres)
4. she made and baked our bread almost everyday
5. she was a single mom to 6 kids, 2 dogs and 2 cats for 3-6 months out of the year (my dad traveled to work)
6. she was (and is) constantly striving to be better
7. despite all of her frustrations, stresses, and disappointments, she loved God and remained faithful to Him
8. she loved (and still loves) my dad through thick & thin and didn't take the easy way out, but kept her vows, ensuring that her kids would grow up with a mom AND a dad
9. she didn't let me settle for being less than who I was created to be
10. she loved (and still loves) my husband as her own son (sometimes I think she even likes him better than me)

Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg! I could write and write about all that she has done, said and taught me. She is indeed Wonder Woman.

I recently got a glimpse of her cape...she took Lukas and Isaac to her house for an overnight visit on Tuesday, Kathryn and Evalin went on Wednesday night AND then on Thursday night, she took ALL FOUR of them for an overnight trip! (this is no easy task...believe me!) I had time with just the girls, just the boys and then just my husband! WOW!

Mom, if you are reading this, THANK YOU! Thank you doesn't seem like a big enough word, but it is the only word I have, so...Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I love you and am glad that out of ALL the moms in the world, I got Wonder Woman!

A Good Man is Hard to Find

Every parent thinks that their child is wonderful, hilarious, genius, etc. and so they tell you everything that their chid does, while you smile and nod politely. I am the chief offender of this...I think my kids are soooo funny that I often drive people away with my numerous "funny" stories. However, this story has to be told:

Evalin talks incessantly about when she gets big and has her two babies "Spooney" and "Abbie" And she is always planning their lives and what I (the grandma) will do with Spooney and Abbie. The other day we had an interesting conversation that went something like this:

Evalin: "Mom, I don't think I am going to have any babies"
Mom: "Why do you think that, Evalin?"
Evalin: "Because I am sooo little"
Mom: "Well, Evalin, you have to grow up and get big (not literally big, but big=older in our house) and then find a nice, kind man and get married, THEN you can have a baby."
Evalin: "No, TWO babies, Mom, Spooney AND Abbie"
Mom: "Okay, TWO babies"

Just then, Phil comes home and walks through the door and Evalin says "Dad, where can I find a man?" Phil laughed and said "I don't know" to which Evalin hung her head in despair and said "I don't know where ANY mans are!"

















Even at age three, Evalin is one of the funniest people I know. She is so dramatic, that simple things, ( like finding a man!), become a huge drama. She is so awesome! What a gift she has been to us...children truly are a gift from God!

What Is The Next Step?

So God is always working on us and though things are just settling in around here... we still feel like we haven't done enough. While we don't know specifically what that means we do know that more adoption(s) may be in our future as well as missions work. Please pray for us. Take a look at these videos that were shared with us by some of our close friends. I am challenged by this kind of testimony and am beginning to feel that the only faith that is acceptable is "reckless faith".

Little Chefs

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I LOVE to cook. So it was only natural for my children to also inherit the love of the culinary arts! We have many budding chefs in our house (Phil's new question before he eats anything is, "Is it tainted?" which is code for "Did the kids make it?"). We have so much fun cooking and I am always entertained by the numerous "taste tests" that occur. Lukas' famous line is "I didn't quite taste it enough, Mom" which then results in yet another taste test (usually with the same dipping finger used the first time...now you know why Phil asks his question). So here are some pictures of our cooking adventures...