Going crazy!

Sometimes I get into the rhythm of trying to do too much!  When that happens, I slide into a pit of stress that doesn't want to let go, and guess who pays for it?  My poor family.  This has been one of those weeks when my kids are wondering who in the world this crazy woman is?  When will I come to the realization that I can sit and enjoy my family without having to get up 1,000 times to wash clothes, clean house, put away things, wash dishes, get the mail, pay bills, start a project, etc...  Poor Marlee has been on my hip for almost 4 solid months.  This week she has a cold and is cutting molars.  She doesn't feel well, and I'm bitter because of it.  You know what that tells me?  I'm doing too much and don't have enough left in the tank for my children.  That's pathetic.  I sure wish I knew why Mom's felt like they had to be Superwoman.  Thankfully, I have some sweet moms who have traveled this road ahead of me to say that I'm not going crazy and it's ok to take some time for myself.  So, I'm going to prop my feet up and watch a movie.  Maybe I won't be crazy tomorrow!

Girls today

Raising children is never an easy task.  Raising children in this technological world seems to be even harder.  Our children are bombarded by the words and images that "sex sells" at every turn.  I just read an article found here that discusses this very issue.  I started thinking about the fact that for some reason, God gave me the full time job of raising 3 girls.  Whew...that's a hard task.  We discuss modesty and privacy on an almost daily routine.  My girls wonder why people wear such inappropriate clothes, comment on the covers of our magazines (really, do we need a bikini clad Lindsey Vonn on the cover of Outside magazine) and wonder why middle school girls already have boyfriends.  These are hard things to answer for a 9 and 4 year old.  And yes, my 4 year old wonders why ladies are "inappropriate".  These girls also keep me in check.  They will tell me if my shirt is cut "too low", or if my belly shows in my shirt when I raise my arms up.  Trust me, I DO NOT want this muffin top hanging out for ANYONE to see.  But, will they always feel this way?  Will I always have girls that want to wear a one piece bathing suit, or wear modest clothing?  Probably not.  But, I can sure show my girls how proud we should be to be made in the image of God, how our bodies should belong to us alone, and that we already have the blood-stained approval of the ONLY One who matters, Jesus.  My oldest recently went on a skiing trip and came home with 8 stitches in her upper lip thanks to a snowboarder.  She handled herself with bravery and poise when she commented, "you know, this will be awesome to have a scar.  It will give me something to always remember that I went skiing.".  At 9, she's not concerned with having a scar on her face to make her appear "less than perfect".  She's proud of the fact that she's living & enjoying her life.  Even if there are some bumps along the way.

Moving, not moving....

Well, as with anything, it's not over until "the fat lady sings".  This is also the case with selling a home.  It looks like the buyers have had a change of plans.  A 40 year old home didn't sound as good as a new one, so they've decided to pass.  It looks like we'll keep it on the market, at least for a bit longer, and if it doesn't sell, we'll refinance and call it a day!  The good news is, we didn't have everything packed up and moved out...could you imagine?

China adoptions

It seems like everyone around me right now is in the throws of an adoption from China.  I can't even begin to tell you how ODD that is for me!   Things in China slowed down so much for the healthy program that for the 6 years we were waiting for Marlee, hardly anyone we knew was adopting from China.  Other than us, we knew of ONE other family!  Lots and lots of people around us were adopting from Ethiopia, but apparently that is becoming more and more difficult.  This seems to be the trend with adoption.  A country becomes very popular because of the short wait time, then a back-log occurs, causing families to wait for much longer than they anticipated.  Other families see this increased wait time and choose to adopt from another country.  It's exciting to see so many families fulfill James 1:27 by caring for orphans.  Adoption is NOT the only way to care for an orphan, but for our family, it was our way.  Healthy adoptions from China is still a 6+ year wait...honestly, probably more like a 8-10 year wait if you started right now.  But, adopting a special needs child from China is more like an 18 month process.  It's beyond exciting for me to see so many friends choosing this path.  Being in China, meeting the people, seeing the children....my heart is full of joy for my friends.  I sure wish I had the funds to financially help each one of them...unfortunately, that's not the case!  God will provide for each of these families, we've seen Him do it for us.  We know that these precious children will soon be home...there's nothing like it!

moving????

We decided randomly to start looking at selling our home again.  We had it on the market about 1 1/2 years ago and weren't comfortable with any of the offers.  We decided to try again and it looks like we'll be moving.  Not sure what we were thinking with a new child and a move....but we'll see.  We're not really sure what our plan will be.  We have a farm that we've been talking about building on.  I guess we'll head down that path unless the door is shut in our face.  God certainly gave his approval on our home selling....which was wonderful because I'm very, very attached to this house.  It had to be a very, very close offer for me to be willing to sell.  Thank goodness it's almost summer...I'll need a break from full-time parenting, moving and homeschool teacher!