Sunshine.

Sun is shining.

Oh happy day!

there they are...

When I wrote this post I knew there was a pic somewhere of us together when we were young.  Today, I was not looking but found them!

I was 11.  He was 14.

[how do you like the ginormous attitude I'm sportin'?…. I am sure this moment was super uncool to 11 yr old me…. sorry mom ... now I love this moment captured…thanks ;)]

That's me and my red face [and awesome permed bangs] … it was always 120* in the show ring.

That's hubby [and his really large hat].

 6 years later:

What 11 year old me wrote on the back of the picture:

How do you like the end end?  

Thankfully it was not the end end.

Updated

I update our Adoption Q and A ----------------------------------------------------------->

Original post in black is from January of 2009 [pre-adoption].  Updated Jan 2011 in blue [pre lil D adoption].

Fun to see the journey God has taken us on with adoption.

Another Season

Another season of softball has begun.

#4 is starting her first year.  How can it be?

Her "ready position" is to die for.

Her run had us all in stitches.  Can I freeze her at this age?  

This will be #1's 8th season.  How can it be?

Hubby is a coaching both.  

Sometimes we measure "ministry" by level of spiritual appearance.

This is where God has us right now.

This is as important as leading mission trips.

It is never about the "works" but always about obedience.

This is a way we are "coaching"/discipling our daughters. {and as aways, having fun along the way}

What a great call. 

today

No shower.

I am obsessed with the upcoming state test for the kids.  i print, reprint and print more released questions over and over.

Was feeling today was a loss… until this:

and this

and every inch of this

she even saw what I saw

more cute

he melts me.  

all my kids do.

[have i mentioned how much they love eachother?]

Random, I know, but it was a bit of today.

Off to load the printer with more paper. [not joking] ;)

Community

I am a huge believer in community.

Not because I am a social girl but because God laid it out for us to live like that.  We all have our place and way to work in the body.  This is His way, not ours or mine.  Doing it any other way, really does not work.

It can be so very beautiful.  I have seen and tasted, and it is good.

The hard part is, in community, we are sinful humans in great need of God's continuous grace.

Ann Voskamp nailed it in this post.

May we all keep reaching out.  May we keep enduring, bearing with and hoping for a better day in days of struggle.

May love abound!

You fed him WHAT?

When I was on my way to meet lil D, I had emailed some other adoptive mama's to see what formula they gave their new chics.  I had only nursed my itty bittys and never had to move into the world of formula.  I would have love to relactate and nurse him too but time was the problem.  To those interested in relactating, it is a very real possibility and there is help out there to make it happen.  I did try but quickly realized I need to pursue plan B.  [breast milk is best - no doubt about it and that is a hill I am willing to die on - whoop whoop for all you nursing mamas out there!]

Back to plan B.

A friend whom I admire her eating habits, emailed what she fed her little cherub.  Homemade Raw Milk Formula.

That sparked a huge interest.  We already were milking and drinking raw milk!

For the next 3 weeks I researched it to death.  I have this crazy thing about research.  Google only feeds that in me.  Before google I would go to the library and check out every book on the subject.  I called people and in the end felt overwhelmed by the recipe so I decided to just keep on the "easy" route.

Lil D was not a fan.  He grew but had really bad tummy aches.  His sweet little legs would curl up and his poop was not normal.  We landed on soy formula and I had no peace about it.

At 4 months old, I had had enough and decided to go with what I felt was right from the start.

Raw Milk Baby Formula

The first time I made the recipe it took me 20 minutes and my older kiddos had to help. hehe  It was a team effort.  [and funny memories were made]

I nervously gave it to my baby and…… he loved it!  Not only did he love it but his tummy did not hurt!  He was more content then he had been from day one!

I quickly saw changes.  His poop was closer to that of a nursing babe and he rarely spit up.  Before that, he spit up A TON.  He slept more content and woke happy.  It was a major change and friends made comments that he was a different baby.  Hubby was thrilled (and had wanted me to do it from the start).

Each day I would prepare it fresh and it was a commitment.  Whey had to be made in advance and all 14 ingredients had to be on hand and fresh.  For us, that meant milking 3 times a week to have the freshest cream.

I eventually memorized the recipe and could make, the days worth, in 10 minutes.

We continued until he was a year old and moved to straight raw milk.  He did great!  Since then, we have not had as much raw milk on hand, and he is doing just great on all foods and store milk.  His system is very healthy and I know it was because of the great start he had with the raw formula.

He had a couple of colds but other than that was/is a picture of health.  Praise the Lord!

I was nervous.  Something about RAW MILK sounds so scary.  Can I just say that that is something brainwashed into us.  Yes, it can be bad!  Yes, there can be very bad bacteria, very bad.  But can I also say that all food can be contaminated.  In a perfect world we could grow all our own food, know what goes in and control the environment of all our food.  

When it comes to raw milk I always tell people:  I would only consume raw milk that I had milked!  You have to KNOW all conditions.  If I did not have the time or availability to do this, then we would not be a raw milk family.  Period.

When we milk, both Justin and I, think about the fact that lil D will be consuming it.  If there was ever a question in conditions then we would low heat pasteurize it (I only had to do this twice).

I could write a lot more on raw milk and the benefits of it but I must get to the day.  Be blessed.

[if anyone has questions, I have a few amazing people that can answer them - feel free to ask]

Go Team!

Lil D was sitting at the picnic table on Saturday and he thought he was something else. :)

He wants to be a big kid so badly….sadly he is well on his way.

He has grown up so very fast, faster than all the others.

Maybe it's time to update that homestudy? ;)

Oh Glorious Day!

What a day to celebrate!

I can not think of a greater reason to party.

And party we did.

We ate.

No, we feasted. 

And enjoyed one another.

The daddies set up an Easter egg hunt for all 18 kiddos.

Every kid ran, ran and ran with big smiles.

How cute are these little ones?

It was a blessed day.

The Lord has had me in a season of being still, quieting down the noise in my life.  He impressed upon my heart, at the turn of the New Year, to remove myself from fb, slow down on bloggerland and tune into HIM.  Only The Lord knew the season that would come and it has been good to be a bit disconnected from the world.  The Lord has been speaking so clearly and showing Himself, yet agin, to be The Great Counselor that He is.  I love Him so.  He is so worthy to be praised!  

He is a tender Shepherd and has been shepherding my heart daily.  The Holy Spirit has stirred others to speak into my/our life and showing me the beauty of the body of Christ.  

Yesterday reminded me of LIFE.  Sometimes in darker days life can seem covered with a fog.  The fog is lifting.

He gives life, pressed down and FULL!

Spring is coming!