God is Good

We have our 6-month post placement visit on Friday. SIX months already??? For the few of you who knew the ups and downs of the first 2 1/2 months home, you can whole-heartedly say with me, "God is good!" Now say it fifty times over, and it still wouldn't be enough.

The Bible we read to the boys at night talks about the love of Jesus as a Never-Stopping, Never-Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. He is our Rescuer. We can personally attest to that.

God is good.

Be Holy

"We should wash ourselves clean from every impurity of the flesh, making our sanctification complete in the fear of God." 2 Corinthians 7:1

I read this verse today in my daily Bible reading. So many verses in the Bible talk about washing yourself in the Word, coming before Him with clean hands and a pure heart, cleansing yourself from impurities, and so on. But in the verse above, it says to wash ourselves from the impurities of the flesh, in order to make our sanctification complete in the fear of God." God is telling us to be holy.

First Peter 1:15-16, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy." He is not calling us to be all-knowing or all-powerful or so many other things we can somehow almost idolize.

Be holy. This is how we honor God.

We do not glorify Him by eloquent expressions of pompous service, but by aspiring to converse with Him with unstained spirits and live to Him in living like Him. -Selwyn Hughes

Adoption Video

Here's a (rough) video we put together of our trip to get the boys. Only 6 months late. :) But you'll have to adjust your volume. (Apparently, we were really close to the camera, but then sometimes really far away.)

Fall Soccer

First soccer game of the fall soccer season. Where did this long-legged fast runner come from? Jack is playing with his good buddies Parker and Hudson this season. He's giddy about it.

This was Ben's first time to play "organized" soccer. They played all the time at the orphanage, so he's pretty intense. He's happy to be on Mr. Greg's team with Turner and Elin. :)

Jesus in the Sky

Ben: "Jesus, thank you for Paw Paw, Grandmama, Big Mama, Nana, Poppy, and for our food. And Jesus in the sky, Mommy say play in backyard. Jack do homework. And Jesus in the sky, I step on poo poo and Mommy said I come in the house no. And Jesus in the sky is so big and so long arms. My frisbee on the house. You can get it, no? And Jesus in the sky and on the cross. Amen."

Name That Tune

11 Things We've Learned, Part 2

This post is continued from the last post entitled 11 Things We've Learned. I'm sure this will be an ever-growing list...

1. Dinner, play outside, shower and in bed QUICKLY before they ask for 2nd dinner.

2. Boy #3 likes to pick up spiders. Step on them before he sees them.

3. Coffee stains baby teeth.

4. When boys do really dangerous stunts, like ride their bikes down the big hill with their feet propped up on the handle bars, don't look.

5. Anything can be turned into a weapon. Legos, spoons, a PB&J...

6. Karate and any other rough play must be done without a shirt.

7. Starting the day asking for wisdom and safety along with gratefulness is a good combination.

8. The smell that you can't locate is coming from sweaty Keens. Trust me.

9. Don't break up the wrestling until someone starts bleeding.

10. The bathroom can be flooded in a matter of 5 minutes. One little boy, two plugged sinks, and a bunch of dirty toys apparently needing a bath.

11. The big black streak that shows up on the side of your WHITE car from a scooter handle comes off with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

One Year Ago

One year ago today, we received an unexpected phone call followed by an email. Our dossier had just left the U.S. only weeks prior to this phone call. But God's timing is perfect, and in His perfect timing, we received these pictures...

And we fell in love.

We studied these pictures and prayed for these boys over and over.

And so many of you did too.

"Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—

this is God whose dwelling place is holy.

God places the lonely in families;

He sets the prisoners free and gives them joy."

Psalm 68:5-6