{new every morning}

The steadfast love of The Lord never ceases...

His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning

Great is your faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore, I will hope in him. 

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of The Lord.

Lamentations 3:22-26

God's Goodness in Pictures!!

God's Goodness

God is so good. I am relishing His goodness as I watch JoyAnna lay on her tummy as peaceful and content as can be. I wonder what she is thinking, what is going through her head. But what shines through is happiness. Joy. Her namesake. And gratefulness. If I was in her condition, I can say that I'd have a lot to learn from this precious girl. She is so perfect in her Father's eyes. She is fearfully and wonderfully made. A daughter of the King. One thing is very sure: Our Lord has great and mighty plans for her; more wonderful and amazing than we can ever imagine or grasp!
I am amazed as I watch Jerry plant kisses all over her face. He has such a love for her.... its like they were always meant to be siblings... because God in His goodness had planned it out long ago! I am amazed at His plan for Zoey... because if it wasn't for her, JoyAnna would not be in our arms today. And as sad as that time of her going to heaven was for us, it, too was all part of our Father's plan. "All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
Every day is a challenge and a new test from the Lord and I look forward (as do others) to when the littles go down for their naps :) but we are grateful for God's grace and strength for each moment!
Mom is slowly getting the house back into the order that it once was...oh so long ago. (LOL)
Jerry and Rosie are always at each other....:) They are actually a lot alike. And at the same level in many areas.
JoyAnna has already come a long way since being home. She makes new sounds, plays with her hands and tries to sit up on her own. She does better with a bottle and is now starting to graduate to a sippy cup!
Jerry is starting to understand very minimal simple English words. Like please and thank you, I'm sorry, yes and no, etc. I would say that Grace does the best at communicating with Jerry. Since she spent two weeks with him when they brought him home, she was able to catch on to more Bulgarian than the rest of us, even Mom and Dad.
He has become quite familiar with the chores around the house and farm, but he is still a bit afraid of the goats. One thing I don't understand about his logic is how he tries to let the goats out to run free if he is so scared of them!
Every morning he wakes up and is so excited to see every one. He wants to give me a tight, squeezy hug and a big, sloppy kiss on each cheek!
When we sing a song, he tries to mimick us...its so hilarious!

Another update is that preparations for our Lamplighter Homeschool Theatre 2014 production are underway! We are doing The Hounds of the Baskervilles! All Sherlock fans, mark your calandars, and those who aren't, prepare to become such! We have a great group of kids this year and a lot of hard work is going into this production...its going to be a great show! Be sure to follow the blog which Holly, the director and I will be writing for http://lamplighterhomeschooltheatre.blogspot.com . Also, be sure to check out and consider supporting our group by purchasing one of our LHT Tees or Hoodies! http://teespring.com/lamplightertheatre-2014
All proceeds after the cost of making them goes straight to LHT. Its a great way to support us and to advertise and get the word out for our show. If you would be so kind, share the links on your facebook, blog or with your homeschool groups. (All three is great, too!)

I will be posting pictures soon, too! (I have to do that from my other device.)

A new look!

While they were in Bulgaria, Dad and Mom bought me this beautiful painting. Now to tackle where to put it in my room...

Here's my corner of the room now....

Stay tuned for the makeover which I hope to tackle soon! 

P.S. Mom has never liked the picture of the two of them when they were dating. She thinks its time for it to go....but I've always loved it! I don't think I could part with it! Lol

Finding Balance

God has been teaching me a lot of things lately. Humility is one of the things. I have had...let's say...hands on experience with it in the past few days. I am reminded in all of the things going on around me that Gods grace is always sufficient, it is enough. When I fail Him, He is there, He takes the broken pieces and mends me. 

One thing that I've been wrestling with lately is finding a balance. Between spending time with The Lord, family, ministry, work, friends, and all that goes with each of those elements of life, I sometimes feel like my plate is full. Being a very one-track-minded person, it's sometimes hard for me to find a balance. A lot of times I focus on one thing, and then the other things suffer. When I have my entire focus on work, family suffers, my friends see I am disconnected, my ministry is dry and I feel empty because am missing out on the most important part of my day, my time at the Saviors feet. The same happens, with different scenarios. It's hard to keep a balance. That's why in my own strength I am not able to keep it all in perspective, and to keep my priorities straight. I need His strength in place of my weakness. His mind in place of my one-track one. His heart in place of my selfishness. His beauty resting on me, to replace my ugly sin.

May the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day

By His love and power controlling all I do and say.  

May the love of Jesus fill me as the waters fill the sea 

Him exalting, self abasing. This is victory. 

May the peace of God my Heavenly Father rule my life in everything

That I may be calm to comfort sick and sorrowing.

May His beauty ever rest upon me as I seek the lost to win

And may they forget the channel, seeing only Him.

Catching up

Here is a quick update on what's been going on around here. Dad Mom and Grace just got back from a 2 week trip to Bulgaria, bringing home with them our two newest additions, Jeremiah and JoyAnna. It was a great celebration when they returned... And it's been a few days but overall the adjustment is going well. Yes, I stayed home with the kids during the time that part of the family was away. Aside from a few minor cotastrophies, everything went well (LOL!!!!). We definitely would not have made it through, first of all, without The Lord's unending grace, and secondly, the support of family and friends. God is so good. When we thought we would give up during this oh so long adoption process, and we stopped holding on, He held on to us. He said, "I have brought you this far, and I won't let you down now." Yes.... There were times when our faith was tested. There were times when doubt crept in. There were times when the devil had us down. But looking back over it all, I can see that He is faithful, and He is always there, encouraging us, getting us onto the next step. Even when tears stained our pillows through endless nights. When joy was shadowed by sorrow. When waiting became harder and harder to do. He kept whispering assurance to our hearts. Giving us encouragement. Hope. And....finally, after heartache and heartbreak, waiting....and ..... More waiting.....prayer after prayer after prayer, the joy unspeakable of finally being united as a whole family is worth every ounce of hardship, every sleepless night. 

Lord, thank you, thank you.....