5523

is the number of newborn caps sewn by moms and daughters, sisters and friends across the USA and sent to the Caps to Caps Haitian birthkit project that my girls and I took part in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so excited to read that number this morning when I read the blog entry http://www.soulemama.com/mama_to_mama/caps_to_cap_haiti_project/index.html
I may never help a Haitian mamma to bring her baby into this world but its pretty cool to know that we helped to protect some babies right after their births and will contribute to them getting a safer start!

Something new

You may notice the DONATE button on the side of my blog page these days. In an effort to keep Junior (Levi Matthew) and Diamoh (Keren Jubilee)'s adoptions as debt free as possible and in an effort to be as creative as possible, I have added the wonder of PayPal to our fund raising. We have applied to several grant providing foundations as well, one of which is a matching grant program. IF we should find favor with them and they take us into that program, we will send communication about it and will close down the PayPal button. What seemed like SUCH a long time into the future ,just so recently, is NOW almost here!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE GOING TO LIBERIA!!!!!!! God has been so faithful to us as He has led us in our adoption journeys so I have no doubt that He will show us how He will provide for our upcoming needs. Some of my adoptive family friends belong to large churches with adoption ministries and funds to help adoptive families in those churches,but our church is small and while we are very faithful to a number of ministries, do not have an adoption ministry at this time. If God should put it upon your heart to click on our DONATE button, I know God will bless you richly far beyond what you might choose to bless us with!! Above and beyond that, I also KNOW that if you, when you see the DONATE button, will pray that this need be met for our family, you too will be richly blessed beyond the time you gave when going to our Heavenly Father on our behalf ! Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity, thoughts and prayers!!

the pot of "Smith Soup" almost boiled over!!

OH MY.
I got the cell phone bill today and it was for $1098.03!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know I owed for last month, I know with 6 lines on the phone the bill is sometimes $350, but my heart was pounding harder than it was last night when a great big kid shouldered my Isaac on the basketball court and decked him flat during Game 1 of their tournament. $1098.03?????????????????????????
QUICK scan the bill , all 54 pages and see what in the world happened. My first thought was "WE CAN'T E A T NEXT MONTH" and it quickly re-balanced with "THIS IS A BIG MISTAKE" and sure enough, there was a huge Gideon bill (we will square that soon) but Esther's line which has had unlimited texting ( my kids pay their own phone bills) for some reason DID NOT, and I had over $700 in text bills and $50 in taxes !!!!!!!!!!! It took 15 minutes on the phone with Sprint and a lot of supervisor over rides because the error was so big, but we are OK now, although Gideon assures me that his bill is also incorrect, that he has more text time that the bill indicates so he should not have gone over either. Hmmmmmmmmm I don't remember what he had. I get the bill, I tell the kids their portions, and we pay the bill. My heart has stopped pounding, I have the Sprint Rep's name on my bill to reference back to, the pot will NOT boil over this time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Walter, and sewing newborn caps for Haitian birthkits

Walter is Esther's SaintBernard. He was a gift from the friend of a friend who couldn't keep him at exactly the time in her life that Esther needed someone to bless her with the DOG OF HER DREAMS.He's huge but he is so sweet!
In December I found out about a project that really drew me in and I posted about it then. We just got the photos downloaded so I could share a few of them. The project was making t-shirt fabric newborn caps for birth kits being assembled for an OB clinic in Haiti so that moms could be given a kit with basic birth supplies in it for a safer birth of their babies. The nurse midwife and lover of sewing HAD to make time for that! Here are a few photos of my #1 helper de jour, Naomi and me as we laid out t-shirts and patterns, cut and sewed and assembled our 40- some newborn caps. The pattern was so easy and fun........like a Hershey's KISS shape, with a knot tied at the top. Can't wait to hear how many caps were sewn and sent to Haiti as a result of this project!

news from GERMANY

Our daughter-in-law called this morning to let us know that she'd heard from Caleb, in Germany on his way to Kuwait and ultimately Iraq. She sounded good; we talked about how boo-hoooooooey the weekend was .I had called her numerous times to check on her and tell her I loved her and was praying for them both; she said she was too boo-hooooey to talk but was glad for hearing my voicemails. Thanks for your prayers for both of them!
And yes, our internet is back up and running smoothly today. For that too I am very thankful!
Back to school, it seems everyone enjoyed the order of getting up earlier for chores and breakfast. They were all at the school table before i got in from my part of the goat chores, and it has been a wonderfully productive day...a bit foggy on some subraction speed drill problems but SO orderly. I was very pleaesd to hear my three youngest low-level readers plugging away at their phonics and really nailing words and phonics rules solidly as they went through their language arts after a two week break from "i before e except after c " " "2 vowels go walking the first one does the talking and says its name sound. The second one is silent" and
"v words end in ' v-e', never just a v" . GOOD JOB KIDS!!!!!

STILL on the wireless card, Lord Open the Eyes of My Heart!

but not for long. Charlie has to take it with him when he goes out of town. HOPEFULLY my internet provider will fix my internet connection problem.........I LIKE my internet access!
Oh Y'all!!!!!!!!! I taught our church body the song "The Blessing" today. I think I was one of the few people who didn't already know it fairly well, : - ) but we had not sung it as a body before. It was a very anointed service ,and I was so excited about the precious spirit of the worship time. We sang "Open the Eyes of My Heart" "Lord Reign In Me Again", "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and then learned "The Blessing" as we shared ways God has shown Himself faithful to us just over the holiday season. How I long for our local Body collectively and for each of us who know Jesus as personal Savior to go deeper, deeper , deeper with the Lord in our relationships with Him. I long to see our local Body, and the Body worldwide be willing to be used by our Lord in whatever and what all ways He would choose to use us. Used as his hands, His feet, His Words, not for our own patting -on- the- back satisfaction, but so that we who are the Redeemed would BE the salt and light Jesus called us to be to the world around us,leading others to Jesus: thirsty for His Living Water, from being around our "Saltiness". That was the focus of what God gave me to share as I led the worship service. I am so challenged by the lyrics of "The Blessing" ! If you know it, you probably understand why; if you don't know it,
you can hear it at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tvDQpaJBuo and go back a post or two and see the lyrics written out................
" For Your Kingdom For our children For the sake of eevery nation,
We will choose to be a blessing for life"

on a borrowed wireless card

Too frequently it seems our internet provider, er, DOESN'T. Charlie uses his wireless card when traveling so he kindly loaned it to me so I could be online for a while!
After one more tearful phone call, my son finally boarded his 4 AM plane ..at about 4 PM! Caleb should be in Ireland by now where he will change planes for Kuwait. I am thankful that Courtney's mom went out to Ft Campbell to spend a few days with Courtney!
WE DID IT! Our dossier is on its way to our agency! I had to go make a few new copies of a power of attorney doc to RE-SIGN because as we started to sign them at the notary's office, I realized we were signing in black ink and had been very clearly instructed to use BLUE INK. OOOOOPS! Next stop Midland Texas for assessment and review (hopefully no corrections !!) and then on to Liberia to set up for a court date. We are praying earnestly for the next step in Liberia too; CASE HISTORIES for the children. This is kind of like a home study done by the Ministry of health as I understand it, but it has to happen before we get a court date for the adoption hearing. These have been sporadic and unpredictable for a while, so they are the very definite subject of adoption prayer!!
Our trip is still slated for late February , which breathtakingly is NEXT MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When we started praying and talking about this adoption and that we had to wait until after mid Feb, it seemed SO long in the future. NOW its around a nearby corner!! Junior and Diamoh, your family is working its way closer and closer to adoption day! Working hard on fund gathering, raising and seeking!
Hannah and Jon took their kids and our Naomi and Rachel with them for a weekend trip to see other daughter Kari AND to pick up Hannah's Christmas/birthday gift: A mini Schnauzer puppy .Few minutes ago the phone rang and it was Hannah asking me to talk to a very distraught Rachel, who wanted to come home NOW (they are 6 hours away) She sobbed into the phone, we talked , I loved on her as best I could from this distance and we prayed her bedtime prayers together on the phone .The tears faded and I think she's OK now, but she wanted Mommy and home. I told her that if she woke up in the middle of the night and needed to call me she should. She has never gone on an over night that was not just at Hannah's house, 5 minutes away, not since she came home to us three years ago at age 6. I miss my Naomi and Rachel terribly! It is so weird that they are not home for so long. I think we will all be very happy to see them come home tomorrow afternoon!
Days that touch a mamma heart............a son calls in tears as he is leaving for war and his very much younger sister calls, also in tears that she is already away and ready to come home. Please Lord Jesus wrap them both in a blanket of Your peace and comfort that they recognize clearly as You! Thank You so much that I am so blessed to be their mamma!

2 Blue Star Mamma again......

Thanksgiving dinner out with Caleb and Courtney, here they are surrounded by Mom and sibs!

As Caleb leaves for Iraq in the morning. Joshua is already there, on the last three months of his 4th tour, and Caleb begins his second tour. We are so thankful that he and Courtney were able to be here for Hannah's wedding, for Thanksgiving, and that we were able to pass the phone around tonight and talk to brother/son that last time for a long time. So special to pray with him over the phone as we have prayed with him together so many times over so many things since he was a baby........

As my verse says in my blog header " All your children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children".How often I have prayed that verse over one child or another in any number of circumstances or situations. We have introduced our children to our Lord Jesus, taught them about Him, they have met Him, have each asked Jesus to be their personal Savior and Lord...in that, I can KNOW that my verse from isaiah 54:13 continues to be true: "GREAT shall be the peace of my children"
Even as I pray my son off to war, as I continue to bring my oldest son before my Heavenly Father and pray for safety and for comfort and peace, I know that the Holy Spirit is ministering to them both , and to their wives. Not one day do I take for granted that either will "just come home" unscathed when their tours are up. That is grace and mercy beyond what I can fathom; but with a pair of teary eyes and a grateful heart I do thank the Lord that for whatever reason, all MY GUYS have come home thus far, alive and healthy. While Charlie was in Iraq the first time, one of his Reserve comrades, also a close friend of Caleb's was killed in Afghanistan. Caleb,just back from Afghanistan himself, took me to Tobie's funeral. As we finished up wedding details this summer we also had to make funeral plans for Charlie's good friend, Scott. I can't imagine how deeply Charlie had to draw on God's strength to write a eulogy and do radio interviews about his friend, while planning to his daughter's wedding toast, but he did and God was faithful. When we celebrated Gideon's homecoming from Iraq earlier, we also memorialized two of his pals who were killed in action.
Each day we have with our loved ones, with all that is the life God has blessed us in, we need to be thankful for each moment, each person, each interaction, each experience , and savor them, learn from them , make meomories for later and grow a faith and relationship with God that will be strong and rooted to stand no matter what may come on another day. Be taught of the Lord, and great will be YOUR peace !!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you !!

To my dear friend Jill who is so gifted with cyber scrapbooking and blog designs! She is the designer of my blog and while I loved the Christmas design that we worked on earlier, this design is HERS ALONE and so, so pretty!! And, unlike the previous one which we didn't have total control of design and placement over, all of my blog page words are out in the open and not hidden or partially hidden by script! Jill is turning her gift into a business venture , by the way. I'm linked to her blog for those of you who don't know Jill already.Check out "Forever n ever n always". Maybe you and Jill can bless each other???????????????

The Blessing by John Waller

I had shared with my PRAISEmoms prayer group a while back that this song really ministered to me one day quite recently. I had never heard it even though it is not a "new song". Working on future music for church worship services today I spent quite a bit of time listneing to and thinking about the words to this song. The final ending is so powerful to me! See if it challenges you as it has me!

(ENDING)
For Your kingdom
For our children
For the sake of ev'ry nation
For Your kingdom
For our children
For the sake of ev'ry nation
We will choose to be a blessing for life
For life
Blessing for life
For life
Verse 1
Let it be said of us
While we walked among the living
Let it be said of us
By the ones we leave behind
Let it be said of us
That we lived to be a blessing for life
Verse 2
And let it be said of us
That we gave to reach the dying
Let it be said of us
By the fruit we leave behind
Let it be said of us
That our legacy is blessing for life
Verse 3
Let it be said of us
That our hearts belonged to Jesus
Let it be said of us
That we spoke the words of life
Let it be said of us
That our heritage is blessing for life
Chorus
This day
You set life You set death right before us
This day
Ev'ry blessing and curse is a choice now
And we will choose to be a blessing for life
We will choose to be a blessing for life
Misc 1
(BRIDGE)
'Cause blessings and curses are choices
Will we build up tear down
The moment of truth is now
Misc 2
(ENDING)
For Your kingdom
For our children
For the sake of ev'ry nation
For Your kingdom
For our children
For the sake of ev'ry nation
We will choose to be a blessing for life
For life

the near mishap..............

Had to share. Here is Jon the Wonder Son- in -Law saving the tree from going horizontal!

Day after Christmas gifts

Oklahoma weather is so unpredictable and so extreme, one really must be prepared for ANYTHING and this Christmas week was no exception. Over the weekend and Monday we burned wood in the wood stove round the clock. The weather man promised that the week would give us warmer weather and FOR SURE, it was!! Christmas day was downright balmy and yesterday I scooted to good ole Walmart for marked down bags of spring bulbs and I planted 100 new bulbs in my yard on December 26 in Oklahoma..........me, who is almost ALWAYS cold, was outside in shirt sleeves and no sweatshirt whatsoever......... happily digging in my dirt. WHAT A GREAT GIFT FROM GOD FOR A WARM WEATHER LOVER, and with investment for springtime too.....hundreds of pink and purple hyacinth, tulips and allium to enjoy later!! And that is not all!! I had dinner to fix and didn't get to water all those freshly planted bulbs. I planned to do that this morning. You know what? God gave me another gift! It RAINED last night, a good steady soaking rain. I woke up to crisp, cooler blue skies and WATERED BULBS!!!! But that was not all!!
I almost never remember dreams,but night before last I dreamed that we got out 171H in the mail on the 26th. SURE ENOUGH, there it was.............our advance approval to adopt Junior and Diamoh.....and oh , um, even though we asked for approval for two children, our social worker approved and recommended us to be approved for up to three, and that is what our approval documents state....APPROVED FOR THREE CHILDREN.
I will leave that alone for now, but its done. MY open arms and big big heart already have "ideas".I HAD ideas, even when I wrote the word "two" in the block on the app.......................Charlie and God, God and Charlie, may have input that is different from my heart stirrings; yes, I will let God do ALL the stirring, or letting things stay still, but it won't stop me from praying that THE RIGHT FAMILY be found for a precious little 5 year old in Ukraine, a little girl named Ginger whom I KNOW God put on my heart to pray for. I believe that God will stir the hearts of THE RIGHT FAMILY for Ginger, whomever they are!!!!!!!!!!! I know HE will!
"How can I keep from singing Your praise? How can I ever say enough How amazing is Your Love How can I keep from shouting Your Name? I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"