HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God" I John 3:1

"Beloved let us love one another for love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him....Behold if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." I John 4:7-10

Valentine's Day is fun; my daughters were thrilled to wake up and find a rose surrounded by Asiatic lilies on each of their pillows, we love to make cookies and give cutsie little cards to all our friends , its all fun. Heart shaped pizza, pancakes, the gorgeous bouquet of roses Charlie gave me: symbols of our love for each other.
HOW THANKFUL I AM that GOD created us to love, to show it, receive it, live it, and then HE gave us a way to do what He created us to do....
I'd encourage you all,dear readers, to read the (little) book of First John. Its my Valentine's Day gift to share with you!

First glimpse of our daughter Naomi

We saw Naomi's first referral photo 7 years ago today. In the midst of a suspension of adoptions in Cambodia, where we'd thought that both of the children we'd prayed about and planned to adopt would come from, our referral for our 4ish year old boy was made ,but not for the baby girl we had also prayed for. Over a year ago being matched with Noah, and still waiting for him, God brought us to our daughter, in Vietnam.the other country we'd felt most drawn to at that time. We had said we were open to some medical special needs and Naomi was diagnosed with Hep B. NO QUESTION in our minds but that this sweet baby in the photo, this Thoa, was OUR DAUGHTER: Hep B and all.........
Fast forward to today, one more of many visits to Naomi's Pediatric gastro-enterologist for a check up, assessment and lab work , all to determine how high her viral DNS counts were and what if any damage were the high numbers of virus running around in her 41 pound body doing to her young liver. Naomi has been on a medication for several years, a chemotherapy in the true sense, and fro a time it was causing a decrease in the number of virus were alive and kicking im her body. The thing with children and Hep B is that they tend to grow and develop more quickly than a med can do its complete virus killing job, and the child develops an immunity to the med, or the virus mutates and stops responding to the meds. Apparently Naomi's virus is one of those which has mutated and is no longer responding to the treatment. The second consideration for Naomi is that for some reason , Asian people are more resistant to the Hep B chem drugs than are white or black people. In November Naomi's counts shot back up almost higher than they were when we began treatment 6 23/4 years ago. The lab values from today's blood draw will tell us the next part of the story : will we be rejoicing that her the virus is responding to the increased dosage of med for the last three months OR will we schedule a liver biopsy, assess liver damage, and start a second drug to go along with the one Naomi takes daily now? I will know more mid week next week, but we have been praying for a healing since we first saw the beautiful face in the tiny photo, believing God to keep Naomi healthy in spite of the incredibly high numbers of liver damaging virus are rampant in her body. She is not sick, at this point, that we can see. She is an active fun loving terrific equestrian and future rodeo cowgirl who loves everything in life except her visits to the pedi-gastro doc. (Naomi hates talking about the sickness and hates being talked about in a visit)
My sweet precious baby girl, growing up into a petite but spunky young lady, You have given your heart to Jesus, you are His and He is yours and that is the only thing I can be certain about in your life. Some of the details of Hep B are pretty grim, yet some are amazing and we will pray for a healing of your disease for as long as God directs us to pray that way. WE BELIEVE!

Happy Birthday Jael...15 years old

From her wonderful, albeit 5 weeks-early home birth through her dedication to the Lord, warching as the Olympic torch came through our town when she was a huge eyed 2 year old, to her first ballet recital, being baptized, in every facet of life Jael is SO alive with spark and passion, and fierce fa,mily loyalty and pride.
I love you dear Daughter@
Mom

Today

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been sharing with a number of friends today and I may be of little use to the rest of the world.There is SO much to pray for and to PRIASE GOD for.....................Please excuse me while I step back and focus on a LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE AND SITUATIONS today! It is more exciting than I can express to know that God is at work in so many places and so many people, making His glory known!

Car wash report and health updates

The day could not have been more perfect!!! There was some gusty wind for a while but it was warm and brightly sunny, mid 70s, and simply NOT what one would expect of a February day in this part of the country 4 days after it was 14 degrees!
God was so good to us!! This was not the day of "super generous givers" but a day for us to REALLY bless and minister to the people we served and who gave back to us. I do not think I have ever seen such dirty vehicles at a fund raiser car wash EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We really WORKED this car wash, I mean REALLY WORKED!!!!!BUT, we got to share how God called us into the wonderful ministry of adoption, talk about His love and faithfulness to us as a family, His plans for us and life around us. We got busier at the end of the shift we'd established so we worked from 11 till 4 but we met some great people!
The guy who operates the gas station we do our car washes shared with me that he was raised in foster care and came from a very messed up multi-racial family. He was thrilled to hear what our family was doing. It was my blessing to get to share how God's love for us led us to show His love to children outside of and beyond those I'd home grown. At the end of one of our several conversations, he said "OH I just have to give you a hug, I think you are so wonderful!"
Several Black people came by and they were especially excited at what we were doing the car wash for.
At the end of the day, in large part due to two particularly large donations, but a lot of smaller ones too, we made
$460!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This amount is being set aside for our visas into Liberia. It is more than we need for visas, but I don't remember exactly how much we need!
We are praising God for His goodness, that is for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday morining update:
Isaac is still quite sick, and Noah has followed in his footsteps, as has Naomi, Leah, Jael and Malachi. Leah, the least sick of the sickies and I did the farm chores by oursleves last night and this morning. My sweet sickies all wanted grits and eggs for breakfast, with soy bean sauce of course, east request to fill.
I continue to trust God for healing of my children as I pray for sweet Abby Riggs who is far sicker than all of us combined . Standing firm in the knowldege that God is faithful and He IS good, all the time!!!!!!!!!!!

TAGGED! Let's have some fun!

I have been tagged by my friend Anita at Banku, Pho and Fried Spiders!
Here are the rules:
1. Go to the 4th folder where you keep your pictures on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in the folder
3. Explain the photo.
4. Tag 4 fellow bloggers to join in the fun

SO TAG YOU 4 are IT!!!!!
1. CK aka The Hills are Alive with the sound of Egans
2. Kirsten aka A Day in the Life
3. Cheryl aka Romans 8:15
4. Kellie aka Bonkland

YOU ARE TAGGED!!!!

Go figure.even in Cambodia I was able to find a pig to photograph for my collection. This was a sign I found near my friend Rhonda's house in Phnom Penh...I am not sure what kind of shop it was, the thought maybe spices and seasonings as it was not a butcher shop.

Please pray for Abby Riggs and her family

Update to the Thursday Abby Update...


Abby is doing worse this evening.

Her lungs have become “junky” and she is having a hard time breathing, and taking quick, choppy breaths. Her oxygen levels are down some. She has no immune system at all at this point. Her sores are worse today. Not sure what the docs are going to do, but we are watching her closely.

Without trying to over alarm or be melodramatic, it is COMPLICATIONS that are usual cause of death for kids in Abby’s situation. So every complication that arises at this point is very concerning.

God is in control and we rejoice in the opportunity to depend on Him and observe His mercy and goodness.

We appreciate your prayers. We appreciate you letting other people know to pray. We appreciate are blogger friends posting to their readers when they can. We’ll keep you updated.

Blessings,
Brent & Michelle

Bracelets!

More blessings!! A dear friend has a jewelry business. Among her creations are Salvation and Story of Jesus bracelets. She has made a wonderful shared profit-offer to me for our adoption fund!!!I ordered one for my future daughter in law for her birthday coming up. If you are interested in ordering a bracelet, please let me know. Kathy makes them to order, so if you would like to add or modify something she can do that for you!

Esther describes her life for a college class

“....Faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.” from 1 Corinthians 13 :13 is one of the most meaningful Bible verses of my life. Every day since I was first brought into this world my family has shown great faith in God our Father, hope in all that is good, and love for each other. My family is a large one, definitely one -of- a- kind, and is an important contributing factor in who I am today.


The Veggie Tales ' Veggies and The Stylistics became my favorite music groups from the time I was old enough to form memories. They remain my favorites to this day. I have had the privilege of being raised in a strong Christian family with extremely deep roots in our faith. Veggie Tales are movies that tell Bible stories in a way that young children can understand and apply to their lives. Starting or ending each day with a Veggie Tale cartoon Bible story helped me start off on the right foot when it came to my faith. The rich meanings and applications of the many Bible stories and verses I memorized when I was very young helped shape me into a strong young woman of faith. That early memorizing has also served me well in remembering details and facts now that I am in college. “Betcha By Golly Wow” is a song by the Motown group , the Stylistics, that I would listen to and sing along in the car with my mom every time we would go see one of her patients. My mom was a Midwife when we lived in Louisiana and I loved going with her to see each and every patient and little baby. This song still plays in my head when I go anywhere with my mom. She'd sing that song right to me: :"Betcha by golly wow, You're the one that I've been waiting for forever...." and it was so special and so fun! I believe singing those words to each other brought us close when I was little. Knowing we believe those words about each other keeps us close now. it . My mom is definitely one of my best friends and always will be.

“It’s better to be sweet than pretty ‘cause someone might slap the pretty off your face, than you're left with nothing,” was a warning I always heard my mom giving to my older sister Hannah when we were younger. Hannah was very conceited and vivacious. I was always the sweet, mild-mannered and friendly “go everywhere girl": my parents' nickname for me from the time I was about 2 years old. I did not need to be reminded that my sweetness was more important than my prettiness . Being the middle daughter for seven years combined with my natural-born personality I just seemed to easily develop into the laid back and gentle spirited person that I am. I was always the one who could go play by myself and have the time of my life but would still enjoy being around my family and friends. Then and now, I rarely ever get upset and when I do it does not last very long. My mom would say that I just let problems roll like water off a duck’s back. I know what I like and what I want in life; even when things don't work out exactly as I have envisioned them, I am still just as easy going as before. This laid back approach to life has greatly benefited me particularly when it comes to cooking. My entire family is great at cooking and baking, but somehow that "good cook gene" is missing from my DNA. I have messed up everything from spaghetti, chocolate chip cookies and I have even ruined an "Easy Bake Oven " cookie for my 6 year old sister.. Although I have goofed up all these different foods, I still enjoy trying to cook, with parental supervision of course. I try to stick to the outdoor chores and activities instead. My cooking errors have given our family lots of laughs at my expense, but have not caused me to compromise my sweetness or my prettiness, I have to humbly mention!

Riding horses with my daddy is definitely my very favorite pastime. I received my first horse Sugar, when I was eleven years old from my dad. I thought I was in heaven! Dad and I would go out a couple evenings a week and ride for hours. Talking, laughing, and just being together on our horses was what made life real to me and worth living. The time spent riding seemed to chase thoughts of school or anything else not related to riding horses, into a faraway dream world. Owning my own horse taught me more than any class or text book possibly could have.. Responsibility and respect: one horse showed me these extremely valuable values. Having to feed, water, and exercise another creature every day is no easy task, but I learned to thoroughly enjoy it. My horse's life depends on my not being lazy or selfish with my time each day. Sugar also reinforced the value of respect which my parents planted in my head as I was growing up. One has to respect the horse for it to give respect back. Some people that think anyone can just jump on a horse and ride off. My brother Gideon can attest to the fact that this is the farthest thing from the truth and he learned this the "hard way." Not everyone will respect another person just because they are told to, and it is the same with animals, particularly with horses. Showing pigs has reinforced much of what being a horse owner had already taught me and yet I have learned so much from my years of raising and showing pigs, too . All of these lessons stay with me and I want to keep them as a part of who I am and always will be. I may not always have pigs in my life but Sugar is one of my best friends and will be "forever" ..........as long as I show her the respect she deserves and she does the same with me.

Thinking of learning and being shaped by a best friend, immediately reminds me of my great friend Matt. Matt and I went to school together for years and we were both very involved in our FFA chapter. He always made me smile and laugh. Matt encouraged me to have fun with life. Never was there a dull moment in our five- year friendship. He always wanted to let everyone know how much God loved them no matter what was going on or who was around. Matt passed away on December 23, 2007, in a house fire. All of our friends and I were devastated. It took me several months to realize the finality of Mat's death. I think it finally , truly hit me, hit me like a sack of bricks at graduation in May of 2008 as Matt’s mom walked across the stage to receive his diploma. Oh how I missed him at that moment! Matt was the sweetest, most friendly person I have ever known, but right then when all four hundred and fifty eight graduates stood to their feet and clapped as his mom walked I realized just how loved Matt was. That scene impressed upon me that life is too precious , too short, and too uncertain to waste in making enemies or holding grudges against anyone . I am learning that I need to choose to love everyone, even when I don’t really want to. I'm learning that I should not to put off experiencing anything that I think is important for some other day. Tomorrow is simply not promised to anyone. These lessons were reinforced to me again a month after Graduation when we received word that my dad’s close friend Major Hagerty was killed in Iraq by a car bomb. We never know when God is going to call us Home to Himself and we have no real way of preparing ourselves or others for that. We can, however live our lives to their fullest. We can show God’s love through every facet of life every single day. That is how I want to live my life and how I want to be known.

Different people are influenced and shaped in different ways. I for one have been influenced by the lifestyles and the values my parents have instilled in me. Staying close to both of my parents throughout my life has helped me want to develop into a strong Christian woman who loves her family .I look forward to sharing and teaching the same values and Godly standards to my own children that my family has blessed me with

Lathering for Liberia, an Oklahoma car wash in February!

Ok so what if it was 14 degrees when I took Jael to school and when I milked the goats this morning? This is Oklahoma and the weather is as fickle as anything could be..........Oklahoma weather is the stuff school kids learn how to do AVERAGES over!
It is warming up even as I type. Tomorrow it will in the high 60s, Friday high 60s too, but windy and cloudy. Saturday my weather map tells me that it will be 71 and partly sunny, no mention of wind. I have been thinking how we have been SUPER blessed when we have done car washes for mission trips in the past and that if there were a warm day even in February, a car wash would be a great fund raiser to do. I didn't really pray hard, or fervently over the idea, but it has been floating around in my head for a good while and giving me pause to smile. The manager at the grocery store where we have had the best blessed car washes just gave us permission and said he too is very optimistic for the day and has a big cookout planned.
I love doing car wash fund raisers because we get to talk to so many people about what God has us washing cars FOR, (HIM!!!!) and we can involve the younger kiddos and the older ones too. NO over head except for soap and sponges, posters, pizza to pay the help..................Lathering for Liberia here we come!!!!

"I Wonder" an adoption poem by Chris Malone

This really moved me and Chris who posts on Reece's Rainbow gave me the green light to share :



I wonder...when it was 10 days before I met God and He adopted me, was
HE this excited?

I wonder if His stomach did flips and He got tears in His eyes when He
thought about holding me for the first time.

I wonder if His heart ached when He thought about my life without Him
as my Daddy.

I wonder if it grieved Him to know that I was living as an orphan and
had no hope of a future without Him.

I wonder if He was as okay with paying my ransom as I am with paying
our boys'.

I wonder if, for Him, there was no cost too high, no sacrifice too great.

I wonder...

little things on a Monday

Jael didn't like the photo I posted of her and Caleb so she "made me" change it to this one which she customized with her pet name for Caleb ;" Teb"
And my Junior and Diamoh button.itsn't it super!!!??
My new friend Amanda who is adopting two precious children through Reece's Rainbow helped me put it together.
If you are looking for help with blog, button designs,
I recommend ~Amanda's Graphics Blog~
(Creating Headers, Buttons, Favicons, and more)
http://amandasgraphics.blogspot.com/
She is doing blog designs to help fund raise for her adoptions. I was happy to bless her for how she blessed me!!!