Sweet Life in the City

We moved into this brand new house in February of 2007. It was such a neat idea that we were the very first family to move into this house. Samuel was only 2 years old and it was perfect for our family of 3. We had also decided that we would be starting the adoption process again shortly after we got settled, so it was exciting to plan for the future of our growing family. We moved in on a cold February 1st and we had friends and youth group kids help transport our stuff in several loads to and from our houses. By the end of the night it had started to snow and we woke up the next morning to a blanket of fresh snow on the ground. Later that month we sat at our kitchen table making plans and filling out paperwork to adopt a little girl from Guatemala. We would later change our mind and proceed to adopt from Korea, but I believe that love that was planted in my heart for Guatemala only made my connection with Karlita and the other girls so strong. It was in this house that I experienced ...

I have actually been too exhausted to blog the past few days and I have not taken one single picture. Friday I did a bunch of packing in the morning but I was getting overwhelmed with all the boxes and clutter packing up was causing in my house. If you have been to my house clutter does not exist. It drives me crazy! Anyway, Friday afternoon I took the kids to see the new Ice Age movie. It was super cute and it gave me a few hours to just relax while they enjoyed their selves. Saturday I woke up to see a black marker mark on the wall in the living room. I knew whoever did it was an accident, but nobody would admit to it. I got it mostly off, but while I was vacuuming I noticed two spots on the carpet. Once again "Not Me" was the answer from all three kids. I interrogated each child together and then separately. Samuel and Emma break pretty easily when it comes to thing like this but they both were insistent that they did not do it. Chloe was holding her ground pretty good, bu...

We had originally planned to leave last Sunday for Memphis, but we decided to go on to Memphis on Saturday. We stayed with my cousins Saturday and Sunday night. We usually see this side of the family at Labor Day, but we got to see spend this past weekend with them and we had so much fun! We were able to go to church with them on Sunday and then spent some time swimming Sunday afternoon. Momday we headed to downtown Memphis to attend a few days of the FWB National Convention. We only stayed two days, but it was great to see so many people that we have known through the years. It was also great to see some that have made such an impact on our lives. It was a great boost as we are drawing closer to our move. We got back Tuesday afternoon and then we had TWO showings Tuesday night of our house. We have several that were wanting to pursue buying the house but are not able to get financing at this time:( There are a few options of letting someone lease to own our house, so I think we are go...

We have gotten into a habit around our house. It is called being lazy! It has been raining or cloudy every morning this week and the kids and us have slept in every morning. Jeremy has gotten up when the kids woke up and I have slept until 9:30 most mornings. It has been nice, but it has set tone for the rest of the day. I have then been taking a 2 hour nap every day and staying up until 12 or 1 am and then the cycle starts again. I think I am ready for a life of routine again. I know in a few months I will be wanting a break again, but I am ready to be working. I did get a few things packed the past few days. I got all of my Grandma's China and other precious breakables packed up. I miss her so much! It added a lot of emotions to my packing. I am hoping in the near future I can get a small china cabinet to display her things. Other than packing we have just stayed in during the day. The kids have gone to VBS all week and last night I had about three hours completely by myself:) Th...

2 " Do not conform  to the pattern of this world,  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing  and perfect will." Romans 12:2 This verse in Romans has been my verse for the past few days. It is amazing the thoughts that go through your mind every second! I know that my worrying and anxiety about the future starts in the things I think might happen. The planner in me wants to think everything out and get the plan set, but in this case I have to turn over the plans to the only One that knows what is in store for us. I spoke with the dad from that nanny position. They really, really liked me (in his words:) so I am planning on working August 3rd to make sure it is a position that I want to do. I am pretty confident that is where I will be working this year. We are finally getting a good amount of rain. It started to rain last night and has continued to rain on and off since. We were in desper...

" In October 2006, she felt her body got changed and she took a test to confirm her pregnancy and she told him (the birth father). Time went by not knowing of what to do as the two were too young. One day they had a quarrel over a trivial thing and soon she tried to call him but he did not answer. A few days after, she was cut off from him. She searched for him through a friend. But she could not find him. In the meantime her sister noticed that she got bigger and took her to the hospital. They confirmed that she was 7 months along. She entered a shelter for unmarried mothers to get help. And she delivered this child later." When we received Sam and Emma's information about the days leading up to their birth I was not as emotionally attached to the words printed on the referral papers. I guess the connection with the birth mother was already there because of Samuel, but reading her account of being pregnant with Chloe broke my heart. You can read through her words that sh...

Tonight we had our last birthday party in this house. My living room was full of those who have loved us and have been the closest to us these past 8 years. My BABY girl is turning 5 tomorrow. It has been an emotional night. I held it together during the party, even when those around me where letting the tears fall, but as my house is getting quiet the emotions are building up. I will, however, share that for another night. Chloe told me a few months ago that she wanted an owl party. I did not know that she liked owls, but that is what she wanted. Since I love owls I was excited to do her party in owls. The problem, I could not find any owl birthday stuff. A few weeks ago when I was in IL I found some owls plates, balloons, and napkins at a party store. A few days ago I found the cutest owl stuff at Wal-Mart. I tool one of the napkins to a friend that owns a bakery in town and she made the cake. The cake was adorable and beyond what I thought it would be. I made BBQ and just had chips ...

Last year on this day our dear Granny went home to be with the Lord. I know that I mostly talk about my Grandparents on my mom's side, but we were with them more than my Granny Douglas. We did not love Granny less, it was just different. Granny was an old country women who had a bit of a rough life. She was forced to marry my grandpa by her parents and she was quite vocal that she had been in love with someone else. Her and grandpa lived on 160 acres of farmland that had been in my grandpa's family. At this farm, she raised 7 boys and 1 girl (who happened to be the baby). My grandpa was a WWII veteran and had been wounded on the banks of Normandy. He died when I was in 2nd grade and truthfully I do not have many memories of him. The ones I do have of him are not really pleasant. We would go to MO twice a year to see Granny, at Thanksgiving/Christmas and July 4th. Granny and one of my uncles would make the trip to our house every October around her birthday. Out of the 8 kids my...

Although this day is known for the birthday of our nation, I think of this day as the birthday of someone I love and miss very much, my Pawpaw. Freddy Barrells was born on July 4th and he could be described as a Firecracker. He was one of the strongest men I ever met. He was full of life and was known as a hard worker. I mentioned before that my Grandma married Pawpaw after her own children were married. Pawpaw was known for saying, " They may not be my children, but those are my grandkids." He loved us like his own blood and I would have never guessed he wasn't our flesh and bone grandpa. I have many memories of my Pawpaw. They went on many trips with us. One year we were in Washington D.C. for the 4th of July and we were at the Washington Monument, but it was a madhouse. We ended up going back to the hotel to swim. The pool was on the roof of the building and the water was freezing. Pawpaw took off running and jumped in that pool and he hollered so loud we thought he wa...

" You gain confidence through knowing that I am with you-that you face nothing alone. Anxiety stems from asking the wrong questions: "If such and such happens, can I handle it?" The true question is not whether you and I can cope with whatever happens, but whether you and I together can handle anything that occurs." Jesus Calling - June 29th Yesterday was pretty discouraging for us. We had quite a blow to the stomach. We found out yesterday that we did not pass the church planting assessment. The problem is that their reasoning did not make a bit of sense. They said that we were not "called to be church planters from God, but we were doing it out of our heritage." "We were just trying to please our parents." Their ending remarks was that we are called to be missionaries that plant churches. WHAT?? Isn't that the same thing?? They also had the nerve to make a recommendation about what I should do about my fibro! Also, they mentioned that since...

"Hear my cry for help,     my King and my God,    for to you I pray. 3 In the morning,Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you     and wait expectantly." Psalm 5:2-3 "Pray about everything; then leave the outcomes up to Me. Do not fear My will, for through it I accomplish what is best for you. Take a deep breath and dive into the depths of absolute trust in Me. " Jesus Calling- July 2nd I did not realize that it has been almost a week since my last post. We have had a whirlwind kind of week! I talked with the lady concerning the nanny position and I really wanted to try to meet her this week but it just did not seem possible to get to Chicago this week. So we made plans to meet the week of July 15th. Wednesday afternoon Jeremy got his official email from CPS with all of the paperwork that needed to be filled out and one if the papers said he needed a drug test within the NEXT 72 HOURS from receiving the email! WHAT!? Jeremy talked to his ...