LEGO mania

If you have boys above the toddler stage, chances are you have some LEGO lovin' boys.  Mine have been obsessed with LEGOs for years...  recently they made swords!  Aren't they cool? 

the end is in sight

Well, the end of March for us, means then end of this journey to a finalized adoption!

In 2 short days, we'll officially officially

be the legal parents of Gabrielle!!!!!! 

I could fill the rest of this post with exclamation points,

 but I'll spare you.  The judge wanted something else to

 happen before he'd sign off on our adoption and the day is fast

approaching and we're THRILLED. 

yay

yay

yay!

Our little munchkin is now the proud owner of 3 new teeth and is ever so close to walking.  She stands like a champ and will soon be taking her first steps..  that went fast!  Also, child safely locks are on several of our cupboards... she's a curious little one.  :) 

Here we are enjoying a candlelit dinner of waffles a few weeks ago, before we gained a bunch of daylight like we have now...  our kids ask for these regularly.  Also, who knew you could fit so many people around our little table?  Gavin is sitting on the window ledge as seat too.  :)  (Also we took the leaf out of the table so we could fit the table tent on that day... the "tablecloth" is actually a table tent that my mom made for us a couple years ago, complete with a tie back door! So creative.)  

just a beautiful homeschooling moment to me

Finding things like this on my kitchen counter brighten my day and make me wonder what sort of entertainment I'd have if I wasn't a mama. 



what a difference 9 months makes!

Here's Gabrielle on Day 1 home with us,
she was 9 weeks old...

Here she is 9 months later! 



Annika Scarlet turns 3

This year Annika picked a "rainbow" theme for her 3rd birthday!

We had a simple family party this year to celebrate Annie turning the big 3 with her grandparents.  I made a cupcake rainbow and we had rainbow sherbet too!  It was all super simple and took no time to throw together.  I love parties, but I'm not a spend a lot of money and slave all day making it happen kind of gal.  To add to the rainbow theme, for food we had rainbow goldfish, rainbow tie-dye fruit roll-ups, a colorful veggie platter, skittles,  fresh strawberries and oranges, and a sandwich platter.  Yum! 

I remember this day so clearly.  I can remember who else was in the room just then, and had JUST gotten home from giving birth a few hours earlier.  Wow, this tiny babe has grown!  Three years flies by in a rush. 

But I wouldn't reverse it one bit, I love this little girl I have now too much. 

We are so thankful you're our daughter, sweet Annika. 

We proudly call you our silliest kiddo yet, and love your energy and beautiful smile. 

You are so caring and love to care for your baby sister and anyone else that will let you. 

You're SO big now, your Mommy and Daddy love you SO dearly. 

We're so happy that God saw fit to bless us with YOU.

She was super excited about her new bee pillow!



Happy Birthday to you!

from the country's freezer section

Hello friends,

I'm so happy to be posting my entry today for a contest giveaway to win a full scholarship to the 2011 She Speaks Conference held in North Carolina this coming summer!  She Speaks is an annual conference put on by Proverbs 31 Ministries (which I LOVE), for women that sense God is calling them into speaking, writing, or leading women in ministry for the glory of God. There's even a chance to meet with publishers and editors in the writing track... wow! I have been eyeing this conference for a couple years now and am praying God thinks this year is the year for me to go!



God has led me into speaking, writing, and women's ministry at one time or another these past few years... and I thank him for the opportunities he has provided.  I love to share God's good news in my sphere of influence and beyond, and I have sensed God has been setting me up for this for a very long time.  Currently, I have been focusing on the writing aspect with a few speaking engagements thrown in and am working on projects that will give women a fresh outlook on their lives as mothers. But also, I am thankful for the opportunities I've been given to connect with women on marriage, adoption, and homeschooling as well.  God has given me a fresh voice who is right in there with these women who are changing poopy diapers for the bazillionth time that day and who also have an honorary degree in PB&J.   I hope to be published in God's timing and for his glory to be used as a vessel (as weak as I am) to reach women deep in the trenches of this life. I can only imagine the kind of information that will be available at She Speaks, and I'm so thrilled about the possibilities.

God has moved me, changed me, and shown me immeasurable grace in my life - I just can't keep silent! 

God's best for you today,  Amanda

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who

 bring good news, who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,

who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”

Isaiah 52:7

Thank you, Proverbs 31 Ministries and Cecil Murphey for giving this woman, wife, and mama to five a chance to hone the gifts God has given me.

nothing - well, maybe something

Hey guys...  well, I've once again been at a loss for words when it comes to blogging.  I had a couple weeks of feeling cruddy, and now I'm pretty much back to the old Amanda, and still have no words for you.  Life is good, it's great actually.  Here's why: 


Well first, life is good simply because God made each day, and purposed that we be here living in this generation to impact the world around us for His glory.  Now that's something to celebrate!

We have more daylight, and that makes us all happier around here after the long winter days.

Gabrielle finally cut her first two teeth, started crawling, and is cruising around the furniture - and that all happened in about one week!  When she smiles (which is all the time) her new little pearly whites look so adorable.

We have a new lease on homeschooling.  I'm learning, thanks to two women who've been there, done that - that I need to relax and enjoy my kids and not push to barrell through curriculum, but to stop and smell the roses, so to say.  So we're doing more as a group, not pushing to keep up with any guidebook schedule... and are enjoying our time MUCH more.  It's been a freeing couple weeks around here.  Remember this post?  Well, my problem was the pressure I was putting on myself. 

I am floored almost daily at the life God has given our family.  Though we may not be blessed monetarily in our culture, we are rich in the most important of ways, and are storing up treaures in heaven.  This verse has been given new life to me this last winter:   "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21

God truly has done more that we can think or imagine in our lives and hearts, and we couldn't be more thankful. 

I have amazingly supportive and caring family and friends.  It's so nice to know people care. 



I'm gonna sign off and hit the sack.  I got around 2-3 hrs of sleep last night and it's just not cutting it.  We stayed the night with some friends last night (SO FUN) and some nights I have a really hard time falling asleep... last night was one of them.  Laying in bed for 4 hours, then finally falling asleep after 4am, and having to get up at 6:30am was no picnic.  But it was all worth it, because Jeremy and I got to head out on an early morning breakfast date with the Governor and Ravi Zacharias!  Well, and a thousand or more other people too. Our good friends kept all the kiddos so we could go, and we were just 20 minutes away from the event that way.   It was fabulous, let me tell you. 

So goodnight, sleep tight, I'm gonna go try to catch those elusive ZZZzzzzz's.