2014 Highlight Video

Hopefully you have received our Christmas card and were directed to this blog to watch the highlight video. If you did not receive the Christmas card and would like one, I have plenty of extra so please give me your address and I will happily send you one! ;-)

Hope you enjoy this small recap of our year! It's been one of the best and most difficult years we have had as a family.

Thanks for all your prayers and support!!!  We are so thankful for each of you!!!

Faithful followers

There was a time when I updated this blog regularly. To those few sweet people who still click on the link and check for an update despite my lack of attention...this update is for you. (Jillian ;-)

Liz has been doing a lot of cheering this fall. She cheered for her school football team and she competed on the school cheerleading competition squad. Now she is cheering for a local all-star cheer gym. She loves it all! She also loves hanging out with her friends and she just enjoyed an amazing 13th birthday.

Cael has been playing baseball, running around outside and learning more and more skills on the guitar and piano.  He loves playing music and singing all the time.

Gabe has been learning how to read. He has learned so much this Fall with his amazing teachers. He has also enjoyed playing baseball and PS4. He had another surgery to remove a bony tumor from his wrist and is recovering well. 

Grace loves being part of the crowd and helping mom with everything. She also loves playing with her dolls and toys. She is working hard to learn her letters. 

We just spent an amazing week in Virginia at a lake house with Adam's parents, grandparents and his brothers and their families. It was the first time we have all been together in 13 years...so we now have 10 children and 2 more on the way. We made some great memories together and have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

A few sweet/fun stories to share:

While decorating the Christmas tree, Grace was very enthusiastic about all of the different ornaments, especially the handmade ones. She wanted to know what was written on the back of each one.

"Elizabeth 2006"

"Cael 2009"

EJT 2009"

Liz "2005"

Cael "2010"

You get the point. 

Then, she found an ornament that didn't have anything on the back. It is a purchased ornament, not handmade. It is a wooden cross. She said, "Can I put my name on the back of this one?"

Sweet girl. The cross does have a way of making everything right. 

Then, there was an ornament "Thompson Family 2009...Adam, Jill, Elizabeth and Cael". Grace asked me to read it to her, which I did. "You were just a baby then. Isn't that funny to think of yourself as a baby?" She said, "I didn't even know who my mom was yet?!?!?!" Bless.

I will end with a heart-warming story from Gabriel:

As a family we shopped for the items and assembled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. We talked about the children that would be receiving our boxes and how this would likely be the only gifts they would get for Christmas and then we made a circle as a family and prayed for the boxes and the kids who would receive them. Gabe said, "I am not going to pray" (He usually says he is not going to do something if he is uncomfortable with it but he almost always comes around with a little time.) We told him he didn't have to pray out loud but we would go around and he would be last if he changed his mind. Everyone prayed and then it came to Gabe. He prayed. Out loud. "God, help this child to have a family because it is good. I pray they have a father like me."

No more words.

Abundantly blessed.

Miraculous Summer

This update is long overdue. I'm sorry.

We had a miraculous summer.  We feel like a real family now. It is great!

A few weeks ago, Grace started Kindergarten, Gabriel started 3rd grade, Cael started 5th grade, and Liz started 7th grade.



They are all doing great in school!

Additionally, 2 weeks ago Gabe had 2 large osteochondromas removed from his arm and had a lumbar puncture to determine treatment for a disease he was born with. The surgery was a success and the pathology for the lumbar puncture was as good as it could be. The treatment will be quick and effective and he will be cured. This particular disease would likely have never been found in Ghana but would have caused come severe symptoms later in life and possibly even death. Now he will be treated and cured! Easily! YIPEE! He is a happy kid. He is learning so much and now reads to us each day. Amazing! He is playing baseball this fall and really enjoying having his dad as his coach.

Grace loves Kindergarten and is learning so much! She is very far behind her peers and does not catch on as quickly as Gabe but she is getting lots of extra help at our awesome little school so we are confident she will catch up soon. She is participating in a tumbling class each week and loves to color and play with dolls.

Liz is flipping, stunting, jumping and cheering all the time. She is on a sidelines squad and a competition squad this year and is enjoying all the practices, games, and competitions that come with that.

Cael is playing baseball on a travel team this year. This is the first time dad hasn't been his coach and it seems to be working out fine. He has really matured so much in the past several months and we are so proud of his attitude and example.

I am so blessed to be the mom to these four children and I am also thankful for an amazing husband who allows me to go away a few times a year to serve families facing the loss of a parent with Inheritance of Hope. This organization means a lot to me because I have seen first-hand what an impact a Legacy Retreat has on a family facing the loss of a parent. As the Legacy Retreat Director, I can coordinate and plan the retreats from my home and then support the event on site. It is a joy and privilege! I just came home from the most recent retreat and my life is richer and blessed after having spent 4 days with an amazing groups of volunteers and 15 families who are now dear friends. My best friend, Kristen, who started this organization with her husband and passed away 2 years ago would be so proud of her baby girl serving alongside me (and Mickey). ;-)

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Some things have changed....some things have not!

We have been a family of six for 4 months. It is so hard for me to believe it has only been 4 months! It has definitely been the longest 4 months of my life probably because so much has happened during that time. Many things have changed and some things have not.

This girl still has a very fun-loving personality...

but she now has "LONG" hair!

These brothers still have moments of tension but it is usually a fun wrestling match instead of frustration and resentment. It has been a joy to watch this brotherly bond develop. Where Cael used to resent Gabriel's strength and toughness he now realizes there is no one he would rather have on his team. Gabriel said today, "Cael, I'm strong and you are smart!" A great team, I think!

This boy still adores his sister but he is coming to terms with the fact that a proposal would not be appropriate. Now he is just setting his sights on all her cute friends. ;-)

This girl has realized that her new brother is probably her best playmate and biggest fan. She is figuring out all his attention and love is a good thing. 

This boy still thinks he is the red power ranger. 

She is still beautiful and we are hoping we can keep her from getting a big head when everyone is telling her that all the time. 

He is learning to let go and be a kid and spend time in mom's lap. 

She still flips every where she goes. 

We are seeing a lot more of this and a lot less of the grumpy boy.

We are so incredibly thankful for all the positive changes going on in the hearts of all four of our children. God has been so good to us and we know He will continue to carry us through everything the future holds. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. We can only attribute some of these miraculous changes to that. 

What a year!

One year ago today in a VERY hot and stuffy Ghanaian court chambers, my wise and handsome husband and I officially adopted two new children.

This last year has had MANY highs and MANY lows:

Lows:
-leaving our kids for 9 months to return home to America
-waiting
-learning about Gabriel being hospitalized for Stage 4 malaria twice
-waiting
-reaching road block after road block for their visas
-waiting
-returning to Ghana to bring them home only to wait longer while Adam returned to America
-waiting
-walking Debo Grace into the operating room 8 hours before boarding a plane to America as she kicked and screamed so that she could get stitches in her massive leg gash.

Highs:
-seeing Gabriel's expression as the plane took off from Accra, Ghana on February 22.
-introducing Gabriel and Debo Grace to their big sister and brother
-reuniting with Adam/dad
-showing the children their new home, toys, clothes, bikes, etc.
-introducing the children to their many sweet cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents
-watching Gabriel excel on the soccer field and in 2nd grade
-watching Debo Grace learn to play with others and learn how to play independently
-seeing true affection from all of our children to one another.
-learning to trust God more


We are all being refined. This is a high and a low. It is painful to be refined but in the end you look more like Jesus and ultimately that is what I want for myself, my husband and all of my children.

Thank you God for taking us on this journey with you. Thank you that you will not leave us or abandon us but that you go before us and stand behind us. We are doing our best and we know that is not good enough. We need you to come into our home and fill in all the huge gaps that we are incapable of filling. You are enough and we know that. Thank you!

I wonder what things will look like a year from now?

A volcano erupts

I feel a little like we have been watching a volcano for the past 3 months. It has been smoking and rumbling and the people in it's path have prepared as well as they could for the eruption. However, instead of evacuating and running for the hills...these adventurers have made a very intentional decision to ride the lava. We are viewing our time in the lava as a refiner's fire of sorts.

If you have been following this blog for any length of time you know that our third child has many hurts. Those hurts present themselves in anger, defiance, sadness, and overall grumpiness.  We have listened, prayed, and trained and seen great results! However, we were still bracing ourselves for the impending eruption we knew would one day come.

Last Wednesday we were humbled to hold our son through a long and exhausting period of extreme grief and anger.
What began as a fight for control ended with a little boy who knew he had two parents who would protect him through anything.
What began as a tantrum of anger ended as a peaceful embrace of love.
What began as a fit of rage ended as a peace that passes understanding.
What began as a closed-off, lonely, hurting little boy ended as a more secure, more healed little boy. What began as a scared and independent fight ended as a family dependent on one another for safety and love.

On the floor of our kitchen on a Wednesday afternoon, a volcano erupted and this mom and dad and little boy stayed together through the hottest parts. The beautiful thing about God's refining fire is that it always removes impurities. It always leaves you better than when you started. It always makes you more like Jesus.

Gabriel yelled, cried, kicked and punched for one hour. Adam held him tightly while I rubbed his head and told him how much we loved him. I prayed the whole time that God would bring us to a better place when it was over. I prayed that God would heal his heart. The truth is, this was so far beyond us. Even if Adam and I were trained counselors or psychologists we could not help this sweet boy. Only His Maker could bind up these wounds. I am thankful that God allowed us to be two of the physical manifestations of His love to this boy. Adam told him we would stay there all night if we had to.

After the hour, we sat completely quiet for another 45 minutes. Gabriel had a hoarse voice and his eyes were swollen and puffy. When he finally stood up, Adam looked him in his face and reiterated how much we love him and how we will never leave him. That he didn't have to be in control anymore because we are taking care of him now and we are not going anywhere. He leaned in for a hug and kiss. I asked him if he wanted a bath (we were all covered in sweat and tears) and he nodded. He asked me to bathe him and even asked me to wash his hair twice. ;-) This mama wanted needed so badly to nurture this boy and bathing him was the perfect opportunity!!!! I am so thankful!!! I put lotion all over his sweet dark skin and even put his pajamas on him. (It was only 6pm and he is 8-ish years old)

Since last Wednesday things have continued to improve. The eruption wasn't by any means a magic moment but it was a necessary step in our son's journey. He is still cantakerous most of the time but it is short-lived. He still argues most things but he often realizes his error and backs off with a giggle. He has been more affectionate with everyone in the family. He has smiled and laughed a lot more at home. There might be more euptions. There is definitely more refining for all of us. All I know is, God does not give up on any of us and His plan for us is the BEST. So.Thankful.For.That.Truth

I wonder what God has planned for this sweet, smart, strong, boy...I'm so thankful I get a front row seat! ;-)

That we may...

We serve a God that gives to us generously. We get to be a part of His story.

That we may....

Three years ago I was given the opportunity to donate my bone marrow through a peripheral stem cell transplant for a complete stranger. I never knew anything about the recipient except that he was a 64 year old man with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

The donation wasn't easy but it wasn't terrible either. It was a privilege and honor to help prolong or save someone's life. I am so thankful I was given the opportunity.

I have prayed for this man and his family so much over the past 3 years and this week I finally received the gift of talking to his wife. Although he passed away, I know God's hand and timing was perfect in the transplant and uniting our lives in this amazing and incredibly miraculous way. I am honored to be a very small part in this amazing man's story.

The biggest lesson I learned during that time in my life was that my body was not my own...it belonged to God. Therefore I should honor God with my body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) I was given the opportunity to literally offer my body as a living sacrifice. I definitely did it for the recipient but, first and foremost, I did it for God.

There are other "living sacrifices" that I am called to do daily that are much more difficult than the transplant. They are opportunities to "die to self" and live for others. Opportunities to put other people's needs ahead of my own. My husband. My children. My friend. My neighbor. A stranger.

It's not easy. It is SO MUCH more comfortable to think of myself first. It's so much more natural to be selfish.

Fancy family trip or major donation to a worthy charity?
Great magazine/book or Good Night Moon for the thousandth time?
Sleep or "couple time"?
Surfing the internet or doing a puzzle with my child?
More pocket change or pay for the drive through customer behind me?

None of the first things are bad by any means. They are just focused on personal gain instead of others. We all need a vacation and relaxation and sleep and money but left unchecked our unintentional choices may lead us down a very comfortable path of stinginess and selfishness.

People say all the time how amazing we are to adopt two kids. I can tell you people that we are not amazing. We made a very intentional decision to obey God's calling and adopt these two children. We desired to walk down a more uncomfortable path of sacrifice and selflessness but it is SO HARD! God has provided peace, wisdom, patience, perseverance, and strength. But I really see how selfish I am at the core. I struggle daily with my wants and I mourn the loss of my "easy" life BA (Before Adoption).

Then I think about God's love for me. His ultimate sacrifice for me provided my own adoption into His family and made me a child of God. I am a princess now because I am a child of the King. That I may sacrifice such small things daily in an expression of gratitude to my heavenly Father...it is such a privilege!

Jesus is Alive!

It's Easter.

Jesus is alive and He lives in me!

My journey with Jesus has been a relationship. He has ALWAYS been faithful.

I am free from "religion" because I have Jesus.

Religion is all about what you need to DO and with Jesus it is already DONE.

The tomb is empty!

These last few years God has wrecked my heart for children who don't have a family. This last year He has broken my heart specifically for two such children. These last 8 weeks He has called me to nurture, train,  love, and instruct these two children.

I'm telling you...Jesus is alive because I have seen Him working in the lives of these two children as well as the lives of many others including myself, my husband and my other children.

This week God gifted us with many sweet moments as a family of 6. We were able to play together a lot and laugh together a lot and eat together a lot and talk together a lot.

We turned some major corners this week and we are so grateful for that. Clearly, we have a long way to go, as do all of you, but JESUS IS ALIVE so anything is possible.

I am so thankful for fresh starts every day. The sun goes down and we get a rest from the heat of the day and then we get a fresh start.

Waiting for church to start...brothers hanging out on the lawn.

Gabriel said, "I love you too, Mom" yesterday in response to one of my many "i love you"s
Gabriel told me he has a good big brother.
Debo went to preschool recess and lunch by herself on Monday and Wednesday with lots of smiles.
Mom got to take two uninterrupted, relaxing baths this week and got to go out to dinner with a friend.
Cael got pink eye and got to stay home with mom for two days.
Liz wrote a four page letter/essay on why we should not give the dog away.
We got season passes to Six Flags and Whitewater.

What a week!!!

This has been quite a week for us.

Every intention that I have made to simplify our family life during our adoption transition went out the window this week and I’m not exactly sure how or why.

Liz:

This week was cheerleading tryouts for Liz.  She has been preparing and looking forward to this week for months. We feel very thankful for her enthusiasm for a sport that she loves. Unfortunately, this week it involved being picked up and dropped off places each day. On Thursday we forgot to pick her up…TWICE! Hence, our reason for giving her a cell phone.  By Friday, we delegated the transportation job to some sweet friends who even made her feel extra special with a celebration. Thanks! Lesson learned….asking friends to drive your kids places is key when you need extra help.

Cael:

We started the week with the realization that Cael is a safety patrol this week. Really!?!?! The first week after spring break is hard enough but to arrive at school 30 minutes early is next to impossible especially with our additional challenges.  Despite the challenges, we made it on Monday. We weren’t exactly on time the rest of the days and didn’t make it at all on Friday but I count that as moderate success. On Wednesday night, Cael had the best baseball game of his life. On Thursday we had the meeting to finalize and confirm Cael’s need for speech therapy for his stuttering which has been steadily increasing. Cael is still struggling with this transition right along with the rest of us. 

Gabe:

On Monday night Gabriel got a high fever. It came out of nowhere and came fast and hard. It was very similar to the fevers he had on Thursday and Saturday of Spring Break. It immediately made us think malaria.  He had some blood tests which confirmed that he had small trace amounts of malaria in his blood. We were aware that this was a possibility since malaria can lay dormant for several months. He had 2 very severe episodes of malaria a couple months before coming home so we were well informed and relatively prepared. Despite the doctors desire to take him to the ER, we chose to treat him at home and watch him closely. The amount of malaria in his blood was so low they couldn’t even trace the type. Thankfully, his repeat blood work from Friday shows NO SIGNS OF MALARIA!!!!  He will stay on some preventative treatment but God-willing he will never have malaria again! We celebrated with a trip to Skyzone, an indoor trampoline center. The kids loved it!

Debo:

Debo spent a lot of time this week driving with me to and from all the above events. She also enjoyed her lunch and recess time for 1.5 hour at preschool on Monday and Wednesday which was a major blessing for me. She stayed by herself both days and seemed to do really well. She also enjoyed her 3^rd gymnastics class and even got a special treat when dad came to watch. She looked over every few seconds to make sure we both were watching.

I got a stomach bug this week and after dinner Tuesday night I was unable to eat anything until a bagel on Thursday. Friday I graduated to a bagel and rice. Thankfully, today I am feeling 100%.  

Adam woke up Tuesday with a sore throat and chest congestion. Thankfully, he rallied for the team on Wednesday when I was down for the count.  I guess our bodies finally caught up to all of the stress  of the past several months.

Today is Saturday…

Liz made the competition and side-line cheer squads. Yay Liz!!!!  Go Hoyas!!

Cael had a great baseball game today and will be getting weekly attention and help for his stuttering.

Gabe is malaria-free, had a great soccer game today, and asked in a respectful and polite way, “Mom, can me and Cael go to Skyzone to jump again tonight, please mom?” If you knew the way he normally talked to me you would recognize that as a minor miracle. SO…I am typing this from skyzone.  ;-) Two nights in a row! Yup!

Debo is healthy and well and watching Frozen tonight for the hundredth time with her big sis and daddy while mom is out with the boys.

Mom is healthy again and relatively rested.  I am so thankful for fresh starts. I am especially thankful for a faithful God who provides! He provides! This week He has provided through many of you. You know who you are….those that have sent emails, texts, comments with encouragement and prayers. Those that have offered to make meals, fold laundry, drive kids, vacuum floors. I am so grateful for each of you!

Dad is our hero. Following my emotional breakdown on Friday morning he came home from work with flowers and kicked me out of the house. This was EXACTLY what I needed. It is miraculous what 2 hours alone can do for you!!! So thankful for that man!

So that was our week. Next week will be different. I have no idea if it will be easier or harder…better or worse. All I know is God will provide.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...and then some.

I love pictures.

If you know me, you know that I am never very far away from my camera. Not only do I take a lot of photos but I am also very enthusiastic about displaying them in creative ways through memory books, picture frames, slideshows, videos and collages.

In our home we have at least 30 photo books full of precious memories...big and small.

In an effort to really capture the memory I often include words with my photos. These captions explain the event in detail, capture the emotions of the day, and describe funny or poignant details.

Recently I have displayed some amazing photos on facebook and this blog. Many of them are Christmas card worthy and full of sunny skies, beautiful parks, sandy beaches, big smiles. They are not staged or pretend. They are real. They are beautiful memories. But they are also worth ONLY a thousand words. Our story each day is comprised of thousands and thousands more "words" than these pictures can tell.

The reality is we have some great moments that we will cherish forever and celebrate daily, but we also have some really hard moments...many really hard moments.

Here are a few "snapshots":

• Gabriel is angry and homesick. He misses control. He misses Ghana. He misses his first mom. He is less tough to live with than he was 6 weeks ago but he is still VERY tough to live with. The pictures of him on the beach burying me in sand and riding piggy back are authentic, unaltered photos but they capture about 30 minutes of a 2 day vacation. Most of the rest of the time he was disgruntled, or argumentative, or sick, or annoyed. We love him so much and know that God will give us exactly what we need to raise him one day at a time...
• I had a great time at Sea World with my entire family (mom, dad, sister, brother, nieces and nephews) but that would not have been the case at all if Adam hadn't been taking care of Gabriel the entire time. I am so grateful for a wise and patient husband.

If you look closely you can see Gabriel's red shirt poking through between Cael and Kaleigh. Stinker.

• We can eat out as a family now! Chick-fil-a and Kuroshio are definitely the favorite spots for this crew. Yay for nuggets and chicken fried rice!
• When all the kids are together they all want the attention. We are still working on don't-talk-when-someone-else-is-talking in our family.

I will keep taking photos and documenting our journey and sharing our life with people who care. But, please remember for the thousand words each photo is worth, there are thousands more that you can't see. 

(I would like to add that Inga Finch is a miracle worker to get these photos of our family. It wasn't easy work people and she made it seem easy. Thanks Inga!)

The Yucky and the Ice Cream

I have given up most "extras" in my life right now for survival.

No TV. No internet surfing or facebook.  No volunteering in school. No lunch dates. Barely any phone calls or emails or texts.

I have not given up the weekly bible study that meets in my home on Friday mornings.

This Friday I had a bit of a meltdown.

As I shared my heart with these sweet friends and tried my best to explain the reasons for my tears I was given a gift. Not only did they not care that I hadn't done any of the homework or preparation for that week, but one of them started folding all my laundry and another started cleaning my microwave. Others offered words of encouragement and prayer. It was just what I needed. God was loving me through these ladies.

But, one of the ladies said something during my vent session and meltdown that struck me. She said, "Are you keeping a secret blog for this stuff because reading your blog seems like everything is going so well?"

I am trying to be very candid and open in this blog while maintaining a level of privacy and perspective. But a huge reason that I am keeping this blog is to offer an honest and real life picture of life for our family. I want God to use our story to encourage other families who adopt to know that they are not alone in some of their struggles. I also want our story to open people's eyes to some of the realities to this hard calling. It is hard. It is not rainbows and butterflies. I'm not going to post pictures of tantrums and yelling and crying and anger and fighting and sadness. Who takes pictures of those things and posts them? But they are just as much a part of our family photo album as bike rides and soccer games and big smiley faces and hugs. I want you to know about them. I want the other adoptive mom who is reading this to know she is not alone. I want those who are walking beside adoptive families to have a better understanding of their journey and struggles. I want all our children to read this some day and know that it has not been an easy journey but God has been so faithful.

Most importantly, I want this blog to bring honor and glory to God, and today He won't let me sleep without sharing some things.

Four weeks ago today I was stepping off an airplane with two new children into the arms of 2 other children and a husband who I love more then life.

Four weeks ago today we were all different people. We were at different levels of "yuck" in our lives but, the truth is, we were all yucky and still are. None of us are any better then the other and none of us deserves much. God made us all and loves us the same.

Two of us have started out with some very rough realities. We have not known security or known what it means to have plenty. We have not had a mother or a father or have any idea how a family might operate. We have taken care of ourselves and others. We have killed and cooked our own food or gone hungry sometimes. We have craved attention and love from anyone who would give it to us. We have fought for what we need.

A lot has changed. Now we have a bed and don't need a mosquito net. We are not too hot or too cold and, if we are, we can fix it. We have people who are making us food and there is plenty. We have clothes that look so nice and there are plenty. We have people who are there every morning when we wake up and every night when we go to bed. These people tell us about their love but, more importantly, they show us their love constantly. But this is so unfamiliar to us. This is so different from all we have ever known. We miss our old home. We crave the familiar. We are scared. confused. angry. sad. homesick.

The other four of us have started with such easy lives. We have always known what it means to have plenty. Our entire lives we have been full...physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Four weeks ago these six lives collided into one family. As with most collisions there are some injuries. People don't collide easily.

Our 5 year old (Debo) craves attention. If mom doesn't give it to her she will look for it elsewhere. This is not healthy attachment and doesn't help define family. She is hungry but it is not for food. We are constantly trying to balance defining the family/ healthy attachment and you-are-not-the-center-of-the-universe mentality. She looks to her Ghanaian brother for example and often he doesn't provide the best one. He offers her food one moment and then berates her and angrily yells at her the next. She mimics his words and gestures but really doesn't like sounding angry and bossy so she reverts to a baby-like dependence.

Our 8 year old (Gabriel) has a lot of anger. He wants to be in control of all things and he doesn't take instruction very well. In the neighborhood and on the soccer field you may see a huge smile and wonderful manners. At home we often see a scowl and a grumpy face and hear an angry voice arguing every.single.thing. We have to be so selective in the battles we choose to fight right now or we would only be fighting all the time. We are so glad he is polite and happy to you but please know that we don't often get that behavior at home. This is very good. He is learning that we are safe and he can be real with us. He is testing us. We are grateful but we are also tired and frustrated.

Our 10 year old (Cael) is sensitive and craves approval and love and attention. He is no longer the baby of the family and the attention is not even being shared equally right now. The standards for his behavior is the same as it has always been but it is not yet the same standard for his brother and sister. That is a hard reality. He can't get a story out without stuttering through most of it. We know that is stress-induced. We are loving him through it and not overly concerned. As hard as this change has been for him, we firmly believe that it is so good. He will be better for it.

Our 12 year old (Liz) is growing up so quickly. We want to enjoy every moment we have with her before it is gone. Time is precious. Some days I look at her and see a grown woman and other days she is a small child. I wish we could freeze time with her and yet I need the others to keep moving ahead right now. We can't stay at this stage forever. So...I will cherish her today and try to continue to train her while I can.

The other day Gabriel and Debo wanted to go with me to take Liz to tumbling class. We planned to watch her tumble and then go out for ice cream. Well, within minutes of the class both Gabriel and Debo began to melt down. I headed for the van as quickly as I could. Gabriel stood at the gym door, arms crossed, face scowled, refusing to move. "No! I will not go." Debo looked at him and crossed her arms, scowled her face and refused to move. Everyone was watching us. I picked up Debo and buckled her in her car seat. She kicked and screamed like I was kidnapping and hurting her. It was a sight. Then I started the car hoping and praying that Gabriel would get in. I would have sat there staring at him the whole night. Thankfully it was cold and his blood is thin. His thin blood won over his thick head and he finally got in the car. I was mad. I was embarrassed. I was frustrated. I was tired. I was emotional. I began telling them these things and trying to explain why their behavior was wrong. Following my rant it was quiet for a little bit and then Gabriel said, "Mom, I am so sorry. Will you forgive me? I beg you." Wow! Yes! "Of course I will forgive you."

I think they were slightly surprised when I drove to the ice cream place and bought them both an ice cream. As he was eating his ice cream Gabriel said to Debo, "Do you know why mom bought us ice cream?"

I held my breath for a second wondering what he might say...

He said, "Because she loves us so much. That's what she says all the time."

They hear me!!!!!

Lord, thank you so much for giving us glimpses of how great your love is for us. Thank you for your faithfulness in our lives. Thank you for sending sweet friends to do laundry and clean microwaves and for providing all the love and provision we need for today. Thank you for your example of grace and patience. Please come into our home and be our foundation. We welcome you here. We ask for wisdom and patience and healing and protection. We love you so much.