ANIMAL LOVERS

We have some very serious animal lovers in our family...

...always at the chicken coop...

 

...serious puppy love...

 

 

...all creatures, great and small.

 

 

Though, the whole chicken thing is still growing on Bea.

But look how far she's come!

Beck...loving it all!

"See Bea! Chickens are FUN!"

Animals are so great for children...

(teaching Happy "sit")

(reassuring Silas with each new addition)

Animals provide non-stop therapy, companionship, and responsibility...

They're also fun with friends.

I'm not sure who will join our family next,

but I am quite sure there will be more animals for these animal lovers to LOVE!

"The righteous care for the needs of their animals."

Proverbs 12:10

LILY

She needed a home...so how could we say no?!

And Nova's lifelong dream just came true.

"It is pleasant to see dreams come true."

Proverbs 13:19

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY NOBLE!

Noble is...kind, obedient, gentle, a hard worker, thoughtful, sweet, eager to learn...a noble kind of guy.

Did I mention, he's amazingly buoyant too?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOBLE!

We ALL love you very much and thank the Lord for you!!

"But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands."
Isaiah 32:8

SURGERY #2 UPDATE - BECK

We set an alarm for 2AM, a new every-6-hour rotation addition to our medicine routine...and the alarms ring also throughout the day, reminding us to take good care of our Bea and Beck. He's doing so well, sweet little Beck, as he has transitioned back to home. It's so wonderful to have him here! He's such a cuddly member of our family and I can feel the increased tenderness we all have had for him.

(heart monitor in his pocket)

We had a heart monitor this past week. We will see what the results are at Beck's next appointment, but at his last appointment his cardiologist here was very pleased with the outcome of his surgery! We couldn't have asked for more in terms of surgical success.

Thank you, Lord!

(breathing treatment)

At 8AM and 8PM Beck gets his breathing treatment in addition to his round of meds and one of the older kids sits with him for this. They also help with all of the meds for both Bea and Beck throughout our days and we love that they get to serve their siblings in this way. I was just reading in Mark this morning and was struck, yet again, by the words of Jesus to care for those in need, lay our lives down for others and especially the needy. I'm so grateful for this road we're on, one of service and learning to do hard things.

Thank you, Lord, for stretching us! I can't imagine having missed these opportunities!

"And [Jesus] sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, 'If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.' And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 'Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.'"

Mark 9:35-37

(helping with the chicken coop this week)

Poor guy has a big lip in the photo above because he was quite wobbly the first few days home. He was falling down a lot and one day hit his lip on the ground from just walking. He's on blood thinners and we couldn't get the bleeding to stop. He ended up with a huge blood clot across his upper gum and finally after laying down a while, the bleeding stopped. My heart hurts for Beck, to be so little, but deal with so many big people things. He's much more stable now though, thankfully, and he seems to have found his balance again. He's eating more and gaining some much needed weight back. He's all smiles and has more color to his naturally dark skin.

Our Beck is slowly returning!

(big brother, big love)

And life goes on for Beck and for us all...we do regular things again and it feels good to be "normal" here at home. Brodie set back to his regular work schedule today and it's an adjustment, but it's life and its where we are right now. We want to do it well.

Lord, please help us to run the race of these regular days in ways that please you! Thank you for the success of Beck's surgery and the prospect of new life! Thank you for the new life you offer to us all, in spirit and soul. Thank you for the growing pains of this past month as well. May they produce good fruit in all of our lives as we reflect upon what you've done.

"And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"
Matthew 25:40

MOTHER'S DAY

Mother's Day...

For so many years it was a day that reminded me of loss and the sorrows that come along with goodbye. But to find myself here and now in a season full of JOY, even amidst the challenges that accompany the beautiful mess of motherhood is...healing.

And, I see it in Him, how His brokenness bled wholeness, how His death brings life. I see Him more clearly through the lens of the loss and I can even be thankful for it now. It is well with my soul and eternity feels all the nearer for the loss of my own mother so young. Brevity of life and the ministry of motherhood fuels my heart to run the race as best as I can and that's all I have to offer...just my best.

"By his wounds we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5

So, on this Mother's Day I offer up all of me. May the sacrifices and challenges and joys of the journey be pleasing in His sight.

"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."
1 John 4:12

It is a Happy Mother's Day indeed, filled to brimming and overflowing with LOVE.

"Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him."

Psalm 127:3

MIGHTY WARRIORS

You never know who you'll unexpectedly find tromping 'round these parts.

Mighty Warriors.

Silly Billies.

"The great day of the LORD is near-- near and coming quickly.

The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter; the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry."

Zephaniah 1:14

CHICKENS!

Introducing our newest 19 family members...yet to be named.

After waiting such a long time and finally crossing the heart surgery hurdle, we are eager for some new projects around home.

First stop...chickens!

They are SO cute!

So fun for EVERYONE!

They'll be indoors for a little while, under a heat lamp at first.

Project begun...chicken coop in the works.

Fortunately, we have our top helpers on the job!

Big and small, one and all!

Oh, the things we do differently in our new home!

To be continued...

"He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge."

Psalm 91:4

HOMECOMING

They lined the driveway cheering as we spotted our loved ones driving down the winding road in the distance.

And it's a great word...HOMECOMING...conjures up emotions of gratitude, savoring that which we hold most dear to our hearts.

My heart swells as I reflect upon welcoming my son and my husband home.

I kept thinking about how on the day they'd left all I wanted to do was sit and hold Beck.

And now I finally could.

He was ours again.

(For Bea, it was as if she had found her long lost other half...She was so sweet with her brother!)

We had Beck's favorite dinner: spaghetti with meat sauce, Caesar salad, and garlic bread.

Elka made chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

We shared stories of our experiences this past month over dinner and just delighted in being...together.

After dinner we enjoyed our usual evening routine back to something we'd all been craving...normal: baths, books, devotion, bed.

(Boden couldn't stop kissing his brother's cheeks!)

And my mommy heart is full again.

And my protector, partner, best friend is home.

(Good things happen over coffee.)

The next morning we enjoyed a slow day together. At one point I found Beck sitting on the hillside by himself where he had apparently decided to take a shady break with his horse. It's not unlike Beck to find a quiet spot to sit, but I wondered what all was mulling through his reflective heart just then. So I gently joined him and asked some questions. We pondered together all that he'd been through. Elka at one point came running over with a phone and snapped a bunch of photos (which in hindsight I'm thankful for).

I just listened...and Beck just shared what was on his heart, sweet guy. It was a nice moment of closure that I'll cherish.

How do I thank you, Lord, for these gifts that you've given other than to offer them all back to you?

Thank you for my family. Thank you for carrying us while we were apart. Thank you for a blessed homecoming.

"A longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

Proverbs 13:12