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From a mother of 4 beautiful children, a breast-cancer survivor, an avid reader, and passionate advocate for adoption and Compassion International! This blog is a window to my heart as I share about some of my favorite things!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thankful "G"
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Thankful "F"
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Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thankful "E"
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thankful "D"
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Sunday, December 5, 2010
Thankful "C"
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Saturday, December 4, 2010
Thankful "B"
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BIRTHDAYS - On December 14 it will be 1 year from my cancer diagnosis. Next week is my birthday. What a year it has been. Needless to say, I am super thankful for this birthday! I have learned so much this year about myself, my Heavenly Father, my priorities, etc. I am grateful to be where I am at this moment and I am looking forward to what this next year will bring!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Thankful "A"
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Loss for Words
Friday, October 29, 2010
Magical!
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Sunday, October 17, 2010
Aunt Julie
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Blood:Water Mission
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Well, some of my friends are doing just that. Ordinary (I think extraordinary) people just like you and me that made a committment at the beginning of the year that they were going to run a marathon (26.2 miles) in November. None of them were runners, but they started with running a mile together each Saturday morning and have worked up to running 20 miles this last Saturday! They just decided together to do something bigger than themselves for someone who could not help themself. My friends call themselves the H2o Runners and they are trying to raise $7000 ($1000 for each man and woman running) for Blood:Water Mission. To date they have raised $1700. If you click on the link, it will take you to their blog site. There you can meet the runners, read about their vision, follow along on their Saturday runs, and donate to the cause. You can mail in a check or donate securely online. It does not take much...
- $1 gives clean drinking water to someone in Africa for a year.
- $25 gives clean drinking water to someone in Africa for life.
- $85 provides a family with a biosand filter to clean their water .
- $4000 builds the community a well and provides clean water for hundreds!
I am so proud of my friends and if you can join the fight, please consider a donation in their honor!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Book Club
- First, on the first Friday of each month, I think I will post a book review of a book I have read this year. This will be just for fun for me and maybe it will encourage someone else to pick up one of the books for reading. Then it's like I have passed my book along to someone else without having to give up my copy! :)
- Second, I have joined an online Christian book club! The "Bring the Rain" blog (I have a link posted at the side) does a Bloom Book Club and this month, I will be reading my first book with them. It is called "Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives," by Wayne Muller. How did they know I needed this book right now? :)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
A Mom's Prayer
- HALLIE asked me this week about where we wanted her to go to college. She is just in middle school! Hallie has a sweet spirit and wants to please. I am excited to see where God leads her. This week she made her middle school soccer team and played her trumpet in her first pep rally! She already says that she wants to spend a year in China or Japan teaching English and then come home to teach ESL in a middle school or high school. We'll see...
- EMMA is such a little mix of everything. She loves to play dress-up and is the one concerned about her clothes. However, she is my little athlete. She is running cross-country and is excited to try out for her school basketball team. Right now she is playing rec soccer and taking piano lessons. Emma is very tender right now and hears God speak to her heart...and she obeys. I pray this is always the case.
- NATHAN asked me this afternoon how he would choose who to marry. He has so many options right now. :) Deep thoughts for a little boy in Kindergarten. He also asked me if he could have 2 jobs when he turns 16. I said, "Of course." "Good," he said, "I want to work at Taco Bell and be a spy." Wow! I love this little boy. He has struggled with illness all of his life, but does not let it stop him. He loves popcorn, Scooby-Doo movies and his mommy! He is a very loving little boy and I pray He will be a strong, loving man of God.
- MICAH is our precious gift from India. Brought across the ocean to be a part of our family. He is so strong and smart and polite. Yes, I said polite. :) I know it sounds wierd, but he is the politest 2 year old I have every met. We have been changed so much since his arrival and I know God has a special plan for his life. I can't wait to see how God uses his little life.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
5K Walk/Run
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Doctor Update
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Book Signing
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Sunday, September 5, 2010
God's Children
I was at a birthday party and was talking with my friend, Chrystal. She and her husband have 1 little girl and have been talking about adopting a child through domestic adoption. As is almost always the case in families I talk to (my husband included) the husbands are not quite as ready to adopt. They are hesitant to make such a big step and have lots of questions. As they talked about adoption last week, the husband asked, "What if our child decides to look for their birth parent when they turn 18? Wouldn't that make you feel like it was all a loss?" I LOVE Chrystal's answer! She said, (in my paraphrase,) "You know, ALL our children are God's children. Whether they are adopted or biological, we have been given them to care for and train for a season!"
How awesome is that? I mean I've known that my whole life, but somehow the way she worded it just opened my eyes anew to the fact. It does not matter whether I birthed my child or adopted him/her. It does not matter if they are my race or another race. "My" child is not "mine." He/She is God's child and He has loaned them to me for a season. What a privilage to be able to kiss, hug, teach, and lead one of God's precious children!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Heaven
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Growing Up
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Summer Days
Friday, July 23, 2010
Favorite Memories
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Final Beads
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Walking on Water
Fast forward to Sunday. At church we watched a video clip and I was reminded of the passage in Matthew 14:22-32 where Jesus and Peter walk on the water. In the midst of the storm, Peter walks on water...like he was floating...as long as he looked at Jesus. The second he looked away, he began to sink and be overwhelmed by the storm. Then it hit me. I think that is a great description of how I've felt. I cannot describe why I've had a peace in the midst of this storm except that I've tried to keep my eyes on Jesus. I have literally felt like I was "floating" through this storm, or like I was walking on water with the storm raging around me. I have no doubt that if I took my eyes off of Jesus and looked at my circumstances, that I would, in an instant, be drowning in grief, sorrow, fear of the unknown, confusion, anger, frustration, etc. Jesus told Peter, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." In a way, I feel like He has said the same thing to me. So, I continue to move forward with baby steps. It's like I am walking on the water, through this storm, being held up by the gaze and arms of Jesus!
Friday, June 25, 2010
In the Mean Time
Friday, June 18, 2010
Sweet Childhood!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Going Out with a Bang!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Genetics Test
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Soccer
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Breast Cancer Walk/Benefit
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Thursday, May 13, 2010
Building a Bracelet!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mother's Day 2010!
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Saturday, May 1, 2010
Relay for Life!
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Tuesday, April 27, 2010
No Fun to be Around
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Buy a Necklace, Protect a Life!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcKcCFbUn1ZKUEq8fHMNc02vTLKalnx9zCLee1O231lDqDD_P0e8KrVC8206DfNmFv8H7ae7lDJcZKSxgYnyApLhtd1hr09asBeQMXIfmAe8zG9nkDIxe07T6C0kOBv4kzCabmlx0VxvI/s320/neklace2.jpg)
This Mothers Day, Children’s HopeChest is partnering with AdoptionFathers.com to bring you the Love Goes Around necklace. This beautiful, limited edition, hand-made necklace will make an incredibly meaningful Mother’s Day gift.
When you buy this necklace for your mother, wife, sister, or daughter, proceeds will go directly to support young women like Masha, and other girls who benefit from programs at the Ministry Centers. Each necklace provides one of the following:
- 2 weeks of direct assistance for a women in our Young Mothers Program
- Nearly 1 month of mentorship, counseling, and discipleship at our Ministry Center
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Missing Mommy.
Besides the week after each chemo when I am sick, I have decided that the worst thing about this cancer diagnosis is the "missing mommy" scenario that has developed. I honestly feel like my life has been put on hold till June when my last chemo is over. I am trying my best to be a part of everything that I can, but it's just not possible to do it all. Although I am sure the forced rest is good for me since my family is always on the go, it is still difficult to be left at home in bed and not feel like doing things I normally would.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
3 Down, 3 to Go!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Where God Lead, He Provides!
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Bracelet
Sunday, March 14, 2010
A Reason for my Hope!
- Psalms 139 says it all. God knew me and loved me even before He formed me in the womb and He knew the number of days that I would live. Nothing can separate me from His love! "How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand!"
- Jeremiah 29:11-13 encompasses so much! I know that God has a plan for my life, that He hears my prayers and that He is a God who is personal and can be known! His death on the cross gave me the hope of a future without calamity in Heaven someday and I love His promise..."call upon Me, and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart!"
Monday, March 8, 2010
Hoping for better!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
My Girls
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sweet Worship
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This morning I could not go to church as I am still not feeling well. Also, I am heading into the week where my blood count is supposed to be at its lowest and my likelihood for infection stronger, so I am just resting at home. We did, however, have our own church service with all the kids singing, Emma reading scripture, and a play performed by the kids. (Nothing is complete in our household without some kind of play production. Wonder if that is inevitable with 2 theatre majors for parents?) Anyway, the play was a version of the story of Esther in the Bible that I have never heard before and it just made me smile inside! Esther was taken by "carriage" to the "castle" where she went on "stage" to "audition" for the king. The words in quotations are my girls words. :) After she was chosen by the king, she saved his life by pushing him out of the way from something falling from the ceiling that was about to land on his head. The king was so grateful! It took me a while to figure that one out. Then my husband remembered that that is what happens in the Veggie Tale version. Needless to say, the story I heard this morning is now my favorite version of Esther that I have ever heard. :)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Laminin
Have a Little Faith
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