Catch Up?

I figured I could throw a bunch of random photos together 

and finally be caught up on the happenings around here. 

Here we go!

We finally got rid of the Christmas tree. 

I put the kids to work cutting off the branches.

I know there are easier ways, but this amuses them. why not?

They each take a turn chopping and then gather up the branches together.

Irina has been patiently saving up the daily points 

she earns in school to be able to go paint pottery with me. 

We finally went! She was beyond thrilled and it 

was a great exercise in patience for her. ;)

Winter swim meets... I had NO idea. These are the swimmers and families waiting for their turn.

There is a lot of waiting and waiting... we come straight 

from Aaron's basketball game. Luke and Irina are troupers. 

They don't look very happy in this picture, but they handle it just fine. 

 Ethan is loving it and swimming well. It's worth it! 2 more to go...

Aaron has on his full armor of God. 

He loves to dress up. So cute!

Strangely, this makes me very happy. Fuel points means I got 18.598 gallons of gas for $9.28!!!!

 A little more snow...

 I think we are ready for March.

Ordinary and Extraordinary

At the beginning of this month, we got to celebrate my birthday. 

It was just an ordinary day. I think that's what I liked about it the most. 

It was a school day and so we did school. 

My parents joined us for a late lunch after we picked 

up the big boys from their homeschool academy. 

It was relaxed and happy. 

Surrounding my birthday, there were all sorts of special activities. 

The Friday before my birthday, a kind friend watched the kids 

so Darin and I could go out on a date. (Definitely a treat!) 

The week after my birthday, I enjoyed dessert out with another sweet friend. 

I finally got around to making books out of my blog. It's been 5 years of blogging and I'm thrilled to 

have hard copies of all the memories made. The blog books arrived unexpectedly ON my birthday. yeah!

I can't seem to get this photo to rotate, but Ethan cross stitched this lid topper for me.

The other kids bought the candy to fill it. Super sweet. Literally! ;)

And finally, Luke and Irina set the table for our extremely simple, yet delicious, kale salad and chicken dinner (my request). I got to use the "Celebrate" plate. In my mind, all these special touches made an ordinary day, extraordinary! 

Spread the Word

I know a young lady whose life has been changed by her trip to America in 2013. Many of you prayed, supported, and participated in Irina's journey. Being hosted as an orphan was a stepping stone for her to find her forever family. Us!

Will you participate in changing the life of three boys from China? 

They are here in Virginia and so eager for a family. 

Read more about them by clicking HERE. 

They will be here until March 13th. Will you pray for them? Do you want to meet them? 

Email me for more information about an Orphan Care Luncheon THIS Sunday, 2/28. 

EVERY child deserves the love of a family. Pray mightily, prayer warriors. 

Action

Love IS NOT a feeling. Love IS an action.

YES! I think that's what I was trying to get at with my post earlier in the week. Sometimes love "feels" hard and beyond what I'm capable of. If I choose to only show love when I "feel" like it then I suspect I would miss out on a lot.

This is a shift in thinking for me. Or maybe just a reminder of things I've learned, but forgotten? I often have to ACT on love before I feel it.... again and again and again. It's not easy. I mess up far too many times, but I'm hopeful that over time the feelings will follow the actions. A dear friend shared a neat article with me today entitled "When You Don't Feel the Love" seen HERE. This is a little excerpt

There is a way to love and that’s following The Way and how He loved. 

I don’t know if Jesus felt love for the people who failed Him and treated Him horrifically, but we do have a glimpse into how He demonstrated His love —
“. . . but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” {Romans 5:8}

What Does Love Feel Like?

I've written at least ten blog posts since January. They've all just been in my head! ha!

I do a lot of thinking, praying, and listening to God when I'm running/walking in the morning in the dark. I have all sorts of thoughts and realizations that never make it on paper. And while I treasure daily time reading God's word to strengthen me spiritually, I also treasure the quiet mornings outside moving. Somehow I'm able to still my mind more easily if my body is moving. Maybe it's just being out of the house when it feels like all the rest of the world is at rest? I feel near to God. 

Recently, I was struck by the lyrics of a Toby Mac song. I know Toby is not for everyone ;)  but his fast beats help me keep my pace and keep me running.  Even though I play music, I don't always notice it - if that makes any sense at all. This particular morning though, I was listening to more then just the beats. Read these words and see if they resonate with you. It's not the whole song, but maybe you'll get the idea.

"Love Feels Like"
I am tired, I am drained
but the fight in me remains
I am weary, I am worn
like I've never been before
This is harder then I thought
Harder then I thought it'd be
Harder then I thought
Takin' every part of me
Harder than I thought
So much harder than I thought it'd be
But empty's never felt so full
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what love
Feels like
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what love
Feels like
Poured out, used up, still given',
stretching me out to the end of my limits
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what real love
Feels like
This is what love feels like poured out,
used up still willing' to fight for it
This is what love feels like
Yeah, this is what it feels like"

My definition and understanding of love is being broadened. I see it in learning to love Irina. I see it in loving the boys, Darin, family, friends, etc.. 

It's so much more then I thought or even realized. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. Day to day, it is just plain hard. I'm not very good at it on my own. Loving like Jesus means loving people who are not always lovely! I'm certainly NOT always lovely and I live with some people who are not always lovely. I still need to love them. Trying to figure out what that looks like...

Loving like Jesus means serving, being humble, repenting, forgiving, extending grace, admitting I'm wrong, holding my tongue (the hardest for me!)... Loving like Jesus means emptying of myself and filling up with His Spirit. 

My definition of love is being tested, but I hope and pray that a new understanding will spring up in me. Real love is all about being empty of self and full of Him. God alone gives us hope! So thankful that He loves us with a REAL love (not the cheesy, hallmark kind of love!). Now I need to receive that and let His Holy Spirit poor out of me into others. :)

January SNOW

Really can't believe it's been two weeks since we hunkered down for a big snowstorm. 

It was a fun one... especially since it was on a weekend. Lots of time for all six of us to be together. 

When it was all said and done, we got about 14-18 inches of snow. It was really hard to measure because of the strong winds. They were not technically blizzard winds, but it sure was gusty leaving snow drifts here and there. I thought we were all set on snow gear, but Aaron has grown like a weed. He didn't complain about his "capri" snow pants but they were not very effective. 

There was a lot of tunnel and fort building. The boys loved this!

Irina, not as much, but she went with the flow. Her favorite is sledding. 

My favorite was actually shoveling. Crazy, I know. That's not to say I didn't grumble a bit about the resulting aches and pains. I just really liked being outside in the snow and working as a team with Darin. The kids were begging to help and they did some, but we only have two shovels. I didn't want to share my time shoveling with Darin. It was a shoveling date. :) Took about 2 hours each time we shoveled on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I had a captive audience for my chatter.

If you can believe it, we still had our Christmas tree on our deck in the tree stand! 

The kids loved watching the birds fly in and out of the tree finding refuge from the storm. 

Of course we went sledding once the streets were passable. Wish we had somewhere we could walk to go sledding. The sleds we bought the kids for Christmas broke the first day in the neighbors driveway. Boo hiss! They don't make sleds like they used to. ha! Thankful for friends sharing their sleds with us. Especially the snow board contraption above. Ethan was in heaven!

We charged forward with our school work the week after the snow when public schools were closed. The kids had mixed feelings about that, but I think they'll thank me early June when they get to hang out at the pool. One of the blessings of homeschooling is that without all our extracurricular activities we can accomplish a lot and still make time to play.