Thanksgiving Thoughts..

My heart has been pondering Thanksgiving the past week and how thankful I am for so many different things.  God continues to send me so many undeserved blessings.  He has been so gracious to me, my family and to others as well.  Have you ever set down and pondered His sovereignty and how He has caused all things in your life to come together for His purposes?

Our church service Sunday evening was centered around being thankful for the many aspects of God's character.  God's purposes, his omnipotence and his sovereignty are a few that I found myself thinking about.  I am grateful to the One who made me,  for all the things that He has caused to happen in my life. I am even grateful for the things that I thought, at the time, were terrible and life crashing.

I am thankful to God for my parents for without them I would not have been given life.  God used them to bring this life to this world.  I am grateful for that.  They raised me in the church.  A church that had special people in it that God would use to teach me about Him.  My mom and Dad taught me the value of hard work, perseverance and to pay attention to God's creation.

I am thankful for my siblings.  We have experienced a lot together and have great memories together. We have gone through some of the most difficult times together yet through it all God caused our bond to grow stronger. I am thankful that God has used them in my life to teach me about His long suffering, loving kindness and patience.  I am thankful for their friendship.  A bond between sisters is a pretty special one!  I also thank God for my brother who I pray will see salvation someday.

I am thankful for hard times.  When I think of the different hard times I have experienced, I often think back to my parents divorce.  I was in my late teens, early twenties when this occurred, but that did not make it any easier.  In retrospect, I see how God used this time in my life to draw me closer to Him and to teach me.  I believe in Romans 8:28 and how God causes all things to happen, ALL things....for my good.  This case is no different.  God has used this divorce to bring a special man into my life, my step dad.  I am thankful for him and his love for his grandchildren and step kids.  God has used this divorce to help a friend who came along later in, my life to think right, to be able to listen to her and help her understand what she is going through.  I see God's purposes through adversity.  I may not ever see them all, but knowing this gives me great peace and joy.

I am thankful for my in-laws..for from them came one of my greatest blessings from God, my husband.  He is one of the most Godly men I know. He is a magnificent example of a Godly father.  He is kind, patient, longsuffering and loving. He treats me and the children so wonderfully. He is so wise.  He shows so much courage in the face of hard things.  He has done many things and had many encounters that I would have probably turned and ran the other way in fear or just not done because of fear.  I admire him.  He is my hero, my love.

I am thankful for my children. I am thankful that they have good health.  I love that God gave Justin and I four beautiful children to cherish.  They are truely a gift from God to us.  I love that they are obedient, smart and talented.  I love even more that they know who God is and what He has done for them. I am thankful that God brought one of our children to us from Ethiopia.  I love what that has done for all of us.  It has caused us to be more dependent on Him and has taught us to be more thankful, less focused on "stuff" and on what is comfortable to do.  I love that God has shown us to do hard things through the life of this little Ethiopian.

I am thankful to my friends, ones both far and near.  I am thankful for the encouragement they are to me and for the laughs and tears we have shared together.  I am grateful for our church and the family contained there.  They are special people in our lives and have been true demonstrators of Christ's love to our family.  I am thankful for our pastor Bill.  God has given him so much wisdom and I am super thankful that he teaches and shares it with his flock each week.  God has used him and his family to bring our family closer to Him and for that I grateful.

I could go on...I just love thinking about how God ordains everything.  How he has planned everything for our good.  There are times I just can't wrap my mind around it all and that is okay..I don't need to know really.  I just know that God has been good to me, given me more grace and mercy than I will ever deserve. He has given us His Word that contains truth.  He has given us a Savior and has given me eternal life through His work on the cross.  For that I will eternally be thankful.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Can you believe it has been 2 years???

Today marks 2 years since we got our referral call.  Amazing.  Time just simply goes faster with each year.  I think that possibly we notice this as we get older :)

Justin and I just marvel and stand amazed at the changes that we have seen in Abeba.  She has been home for nearly 20 months now and has changed so much.  Most of the major issues she had when she came home have either completely subsided or are barely noticeable.  She talks non- stop...seriously!  She even talks (and argues!) in her sleep.  Pretty funny!  After measuring her a few months ago, we realized that she has grown 7 inches since she came home.  She went from 18 mos size clothing to wearing 4-5T....that is incredible! 

Abeba's smile is still the same as those first pictures, but she seems to have much more glimmer in her eyes.  What a difference a family, some direction and lots of love can do for a little girl!  Praise God for chosing her to be in this Darling family!  I thank Him often for all that He has taught me through the life of this little gal.

Check out some of her outward changes.....

 

 Referral Picture

Received this picture a month before we left.

 Came with our referral package...

 One of my favorite referral pictures....

 Too sweet not to capture!  Wonder what she is dreaming??

Hannah took this one...love it!

Can you tell who has been watching Cinderella?  She told me she was getting married!  Not yet my dear!

Hannah attempting those impossible curls!

Powdered Sugar and Ethiopian skin...what a riot!

3 years old!

Catchin' Bubberflies....

Abeba and Israel have spent the past two afternoon catching what Abeba calls "Bubberflies".  The butterflies this year have just been beautiful and plentiful and fall coming on has not changed that.  The beautiful little creatures love my Sedum flowers. There are hundreds of of little butterflies, I think.  The two littles are so entertained by each other.  Sometimes that is good, sometimes that is bad, but that is a whole different post!  Anyway, they just love the challenge of catching the butterflies.  Israel is quite the pro at it, and Abeba is pretty cautious still.  She talks herself into it, but then starts to touch them and backs off a little.  Quite amusing :)

Butterflies are Israel's favorite.  In fact, he is in the process of watching his sixth Monarch hatch from its chrysalis.  He has found the little caterpillars, fed them their milk weed and then has released them after enjoying their beauty for a day.  On the first day of school we were able to watch the caterpillar make its chrysalis.  Now if that is not a science lesson, I don't know what is!  Perfect timing!  I love homeschooling.

Here are some pictures of my little entomologists:

Smiling about it, just because Mommy said, "Smile!"

Israel was able to catch 3 of them all at once...impressive!  I think the batman cape just might help him accomplish this, don't you think?

Can you see the little bit of fear in her eyes???  She is just not confident yet :)

A week in Review

This past week has been pretty busy, but we made it!  The 4-H fair, the King's obligations and the play all falling in one week was nuts, but we did it.  Abeba was a great sport.  We were so proud of her.  She had to sit through what seemed like endless hours of judging projects, many trips in and out of the car, and a 2 1/2 hour play three days in row.  Abeba was a real trooper!  The fair was a success.  Eli and Hannah both got champion in one project each and Eli gets to take his weather project to the State Fair once again.  Israel had a grand time being King (though he had to juggle his king duties with 5 hours of play practice each day!).  He is certainly a girl magnet and is certainly not afraid to talk to any that might come up to chat! 

The play was a success though we have 4 pretty tired kids.  We don't have much on the calendar for today...just hang out and rest!

Here are pictures from the week....Enjoy!

Thankfully, there is a park at the fairgrounds.  This was a great getaway for Abeba!

Israel and Macy at the Cat Show.

Israel with all "his" queens :)

Peter Pan Scene

The Darling Children...not to be confused with the Darling Children (think Peter Pan)!

Hannah, Eli , Israel and Jocelyn

Israel with his new buddies, the Coughlin Twins....oh do they have fun together!  The Coughlin family is a local family we met this summer during the play.  They are leaving in few weeks to go to Ethiopia to get their two daughters. Check out their blog "4 Double G Ranch" on our blog roll.  Please be praying for their family.

Hannah with her new friend Jocelyn.  She is the sister of the twins....

Hannah playing Nana!

Can you find our lost boys????

Still looking???

Captain Hook, he played that part pretty well!  Abeba was scared of that "bad boy!"

Hannah playing her second part....a mermaid.  She is the one on bottom, left.

Lost boys hiding that they shot down that Wendy Bird......

We have a King!

 As part of the 4-H fair in our county, we have a Little Mister and Little Miss Contest which coincides with the Queen Contest.  It is always so cute to see a little 5 or 6 year old girl and boy dressed up in a crown walking around the fair, but who knew it would be our child doing that???  This March Israel heard about this contest from his older siblings and thought it would be a great idea for him :)  So, Justin and I thought, why not? It would be fun for the little guy....he loves dressing up and such!  Last night was the contest, and he came out on top.  He was chosen from only 4 other boys (more girls participate in something like this, of course!).  He did a great job on his interview and modeling of his two outfits.  Evidently, this little guy is not afraid of getting up in front of a crowd.  He definitely gets this from daddy, not me!
I guess we will find out just how many small town parades are in our county this next year, but that is okay.  It will be something special for him to do.  Now Abeba is already asking when SHE can put on a pretty dress and get on stage!!! Oh My!  There is so not ever a boring moment in our household!

We are thankful that God is giving Israel this opportunity and for us as a family to be a shining light for HIM in a different crowd than we are normally not around.  Praise God for new opportunities!

16 years of Blessings

 Last Friday Justin and I celebrated our 16th Wedding Anniversary.  My sweet husband took me out for a surprise date Friday afternoon which thrilled me!  I came home from retrieving kids from play practice and his truck was sitting in the drive!  Hooray!  He had arranged for "back-up" for Hannah (she is babysitting for us now, but when we leave for an extended period of time, she sometimes needs help w/ refereeing the two little ones.) and he had the movie time all picked out.  We went and saw Toy Story 3 (believe it is better than the first two!) and then came home.  You see, we had to go to Justin's parents house that evening for a family reunion the next day......I cherished those two hours we had together without any interruptions. Ahhh.....

I can't believe that we have been married for 16 years.  The time just simply goes more quickly each year.  Our time here on earth is really so short and that becomes more real to me as I grow older.  I still remember so many details of our wedding day that it really seems like yesterday!

Our marriage really does get sweeter with each passing year.  Each year we grow closer through the joys of seeing our children maturing, through trials and adversities, by working side by side on construction projects and through the reading of the scriptures and Godly books.  I am thankful for my husband who brings so much to our marriage.  He is so wise, so strong in his faith and frankly, just the best husband there is, I think.  God has given our children and myself a true gift.

I want to share a book that I have been reading which is an excellent marriage strengthening book.  It is called "Sweethearts for a Lifetime" by Wayne and Carol Mack.  It is a devotional type book with a lot of scripture and application questions.  Justin and I have read through some of it together, but lately I have been finishing it up independently since Justin has been busy w/ school papers.  I read through a chapter and then bring it up for discussion after the kids go to bed that evening.  Each section has great application questions that bring up some discussions that Justin and I may have never thought about or discussed in depth.  We highly recommend this book for any stage of marriage.  Wayne Mack has another book " Strengthening Your Marriage" which is another excellent marriage devotion/study.  We did that one as a Sunday School class study probably 10 years ago.  Check these books out, your marriage will thank you!

I am so thankful that God instituted marriage.  I can't imagine life on earth without it.  I know that some people God meant to be single, but for those He knew couldn't make it alone, I am glad and thankful that God gave us spouses.  Marriage is a beautiful picture of Christ and what he has done for us, and for that I am eternally thankful.

Bathroom Renovation

Some of you may be aware that we live in an old farm house.  A 130 year old farmhouse;  one that needed A LOT of work when we moved in 10 years ago.  We have come a long way in our renovations and are always excited when the bank account has enough in it to start a new project.  Over the years we have moved a kitchen, stripped paint and old varnish off of a many of doors and stair spindles, redone the concrete on a wrap around porch, taken down old trees and landscaped the yard.  Our newest project is one that is ranking up as one of the most exciting....a second bathroom!  With a family of 6 it will certainly be a plus!  We have converted half of an upstairs bedroom into a full bath.  We are all pretty thrilled!

The house is somewhat in shambles.  It always gets that way during construction.  After all, why clean the dust multiple times when you can just do it once or twice?? :)  We are all walking around shower walls, sink bases and tools, but we are alright with that for now.

The bathroom is not done yet, but getting there.  A neighbor who is an expert on plumbing and electricity is doing just that, the plumbing and electrical (those are two things my dear honey will not go too far with!).  When he gets that done, then we will do the finish work.

Here are some pictures of the progress so far.....

 The vanity has been sitting in our hallway for a few weeks now.  The bathroom is upstairs, so we are only going to carry that monster up stairs only once!  We just have to remember that it is there at 2 am!!

 I can't get a very good picture right now of the bathroom.  This picture is of the shower hole.

March Madness

Our family experienced some March Madness of our own.  I realized lately that I haven't posted in almost a month! Yikes, I am so sorry.  March has been nonstop and April doesn't seem to be letting up either.   On March 18th my 84 year old Grandmother passed away.  I mentioned that she was in failing health before.  She was a strong woman who endured 8 brain hemorrhages, Alzheimers, a broken hip and a broken ankle.  The doctors told her after her first hemorrhage that she would probably not live to see 45, but God blessed her with almost twice that in years.  She taught me many things as a child and teenager and I will be forever grateful to her for those.  I will miss her dearly.  The week after the funeral our niece and nephew were scheduled to come for a week over their spring break.  We had such a great time.  They are 10 and 8 in age, so they were a lot of fun to have around.  We went to Fair Oaks Dairy in Northern Indiana for one day (check it out if you have never been there!!) and saw mass amounts of dairy cattle being milked on a "Dairy Go Round", a calf born and I had the best butter pecan ice cream ever (it is made fresh out of fresh cream).  The kids spent a lot of time just playing which was fabulous.

Another important happening in March was Israel's 6th birthday.  I can't believe that he is 6, time just goes by so quickly.  We celebrated with Justin's parents on his birthday with a batman birthday cake.  He is having fun figuring out all the different ways he can put up six fingers.  Maybe math will come easy for him!  He has been pretty witty lately.  Yesterday, I took the three older kids to the neighbors for kindergarten day at the farm.  Hannah and Eli helped with showing the animals to the kids and Israel went along to watch since he is a kindergartner.  I left to run some errands and while I was gone I guess some of the adult chaperons told Israel he needed to get with his class.  He came back with, "Really, I don't have a class, I am home schooled!"  Hilarious!  One adult even spoke to him from the bus while he was standing with me that he needed to go get with his class :)  I got the joy of saying he was with me that time!  Another funny saying went like this.....While he was watching his favorite show, the Electric Company, and the word "Mushroom" appeared on the t.v.  Israel looked at me and said,"  Mommy, mushroom is a really big word!"  He paused for a few seconds and then said, "It is really big word for such a little thing!"  I had to smile, pretty big thinking for a six year old!

We have also had some projects that we had been planning to do, but somehow started this past week all at the same time!  We had 3 trees cut down that were rotting, and also we have been purchasing and ordering parts for our new bathroom!   We are all excited to have a second bathroom.  Having only one bathroom for six people can be a big hairy at times, but we made it work.  We are grateful that we are able to finally do this project.

Whew, we are tired, but we will keep on going.  It is spring, so it is time to get in shape and get moving!  God helped give us a good shove and got us going!

My camera is giving me fits, so I am not able to post any pictures from the month.  I have a lot!  Hopefully, I will get that resolved and will have them up soon.

Special Times

Growing up I always loved spending time with my aunts.  They were ladies who would do things with my siblings and I that our mom would not normally do.  You know...go to the zoo, let you swim when you wanted, let you have cookies and candy before a meal, that kind of thing. Unfortunately, our aunts lived states away, so our time with them was minimal. Our children got to share in this pleasure last week with my aunt from Colorado.  She came back to Indiana in order to visit my grandma (she is in poor health, prayers would be appreciated please), and she was able to stay with our family for a couple of days.  It was great to see her, my cousin and my new second cousin whom I had yet to meet.  We all had such a great time together. 

My aunt Janet brought craft projects, ingredients to make cookies and ,of course, bags of candy and unhealthy, snacky stuff.  The kids had a blast making a mess with her  She even took them on an adventure to Chucky Cheeses and Ice Cream at Culvers while  I was able to get out and do some shopping by myself. I was even able to meet a friend for lunch!  It was time every mom cherishes!  I am so thankful that my aunt was able to come and spend some extra time at our home.  Thanks Aunt Janet for spoiling our kids with some old fashioned fun and lots of love!!

Abeba working on her butterflies for the butterfly mobile...lots and lots of glitter glue and stickers needed!

 While the older two tried to create masterpieces!

Can you tell that Abeba is enjoying this???

My aunt brought princess crowns for all the girl cousins to wear.

Papaw Baker and baby Dawsyn (isn't he just the cutest thing???)

Newest cousin Ava, she is a sweetie!

Older cousins playing Kemps

My sister Sarah, her daughter and my cousin, Amy, and her daughter

Thousand Dollar Smile!

Today marked a milestone for our Hannah.  Today she was fitted with braces!  This process is going to take a couple of years to achieve a straight set of chompers, but she is ready.  I think she looks beautiful!  Don't you think??      I just wish it was only a thousand dollar smile!!

Glamour Shot

Hair!

Curly Hair!

REALLY Curly Hair!!!

Abeba's hair care has been a challenge and a learning experience for us.  We have learned a lot over the course of a year; mostly from the internet and from reading blogs about black hair care.  I have found there are MANY different types of black hair ranging from a little curly to super, tight curls.  Abeba has the really tight curl.  I have had some time to learn because her hair was so short in the beginning because of her ringworm.  She is now getting some length on her hair and now the work begins!  I have found some awesome hair care products called Blended Beauty Hair Care.  It is all natural stuff and works really well with her hair.  I am not one that wants to put a lot of chemicals on our kids and this product seems to avoid those harsh chemicals.  Here is a link for the place that I get her products from: http://www.sistasplace.com/ .   We have also found the black hair care is NOT cheap.  Be prepared to spend a little (or a lot!). 

Another problem for Abeba's poor head of locks is this dry, harsh Indiana winter.  Winter is dry, so Abeba's hair will get super dry to the touch if I am not on top of things.  When her hair gets dry, Abeba starts itching and her hair begins breaking off.  Last night, I put her in the tub and realized just how dry her hair was.  I have read a little that capturing moisture from conditioner is beneficial and adding a little heat is also a help.  So, I wrapped the little gal's hair in saran wrap and then in a towel to trap escaping heat.  I think it helped.  Her hair feels so much better today.  Here is a picture of her "ice cream cone head" (that's what Abeba said of herself!).  Too cute not to capture with a picture!!

Abeba's hair is also now long enough for little pig tails on top.  That has been a lot of fun too.  We had in pink ribbons for Valentine's Day.  Too sweet!

The Darling Diner

Have I mentioned that we have the coolest, greatest kids in the world?  I am sure that I am not exaggerating, either!  Last week, the kids asked if they could fix dinner on Friday night, and, of course, I accepted that offer quickly!  They then got busy with cookbooks and pencils to find the perfect meal.  They made up my shopping list for the meal and had it all planned out, down to the last detail.  It was a grand meal.  I have a picture of the menu made for the occasion.

Justin's Birthday falls the day after Valentine's Day, so the kids decided that this would be a combination Valentines and Birthday meal.  We had our own table, set with crystal, candellite and my "company dishes".  We had a 4 course meal with sparkling cranberry juice, and we even had our own personal waiter!!

The meal was delicous.  Have I mentioned that the two older kids have a nack and talent for cooking??  Justin and I enjoyed some time alone and loved every minute of it.  Even Abeba got into the whole evening...too sweet!

After the meal was over and dishes collected, I headed to my purse to dig out 4 one dollar bills.  I handed each one a tip for the evening.  The older two declined but eventually accepted!  Abeba was excited that she got fifteen dollars (that is what she calls all money!) and Israel handed me the dollar back and said, " You wouldn't happen to have a Twenty would you??"  What a riot!  He happened to be saving for a video game and all he needed was twenty more dollars :)

Anyway, again, I am reminded how wonderful our kids are.  They are growing up so quickly.  It is neat to see how the older two are maturing into wonderful, responsible, loving young adults.  I have to remind myself sometimes of the almost "finished product" when I am exasperated with the piddly bickering and whining of preschoolers.....they do grow out of it and it happens too quickly!!  I can't believe how fast the years are going.

We got Daddy a new suit jacket, pants, shirt and tie for his birthday...he'll look good for Easter!!

I snapped this while the kids were eating their dinner...served after they served their parents!!