Happy 16th Birthday Zack!!!

So I have a couple of more Africa stories, but today goes to my oldest who is 16!! It's hard to believe that it has been 16 years since this amazing young man came into the world... He is such a joy to parent... he's fun... smart... has a strong faith and knows how to live by his convictions... transformed and not conformed!!

Thank you Zack for all of the laughs...smiles...and honest, open conversations!! I love the way you love children, how you're never too old to play with them... I love how you stand by your convictions and are not swayed when you're friends tease you... I love how you give a 1000% on the soccer field, even when you're team is down 4-0... you never stop giving it your all... I love how you lead with your heart...I can't wait to see what God has in store for your life!!

We actually celebrated his birthday last night... He really wanted his best friends family to come over and they were going camping today... We had a blast... What a great family!!

I got some great shots of Zack at the soccer game the other night... Considering how much he loves soccer, it's a perfect way to honor his birthday! On my photo blog, I'll post more from the game the other night, it was a very physical game and tons of fun to photograph... The photos are grainy because it was dark...

This is my favorite...

Happy Birthday Zack!!

Happy Birthday Abby!!

This time last year, all I could do was make arrangements to have a cake delivered to Abby in China... she had no idea who we were, but our hearts had been longing for her...

This was my journal entry from that day...

Dear Abby,

As I write this, I think it's about lunch time for you and it's your 6th birthday! It makes me sad that we aren't with you to celebrate it, but next year we will be!

I hope you received your care package today and your birthday cake! Do you like your new stuffed animal puppy and your books?

The papers they gave us, that told us about you, said that you love books and puppies. I hope they were right and that somehow you can feel our love for you from so many miles away.

I can't help but wonder if today was the day that you found out that you're being adopted? I'm not sure when China tells the foster parents, so our letter to you and your foster parents could very well be the first time you hear about it.

I wonder if you're scared or sad? My prayer is that somehow God will give you peace and that you'll know deep in your heart that everything is going to be ok...that you might even be a little excited. I hope this is a good birthday surprise for you!

I pray that when you look at our faces in the photos that you will somehow know how much you're loved...I pray that when you read the letter that you will somehow feel our love for you packed into every single word.

You are a very special little girl, so many people are praying for you and waiting for you to come home so they can meet you.

I pray that today is a wonderful day for you and I also pray that God is protecting you and preparing your sweet little heart to meet your new family.

Happy Birthday, sweet one!

Love,
Mom

I didn't actually get to send this letter to her, it was just an expression of what was in my heart that day... My sweet friend Dawn, who has also adopted from China surprised me and brought over a birthday present for Abby, little Ava had picked out the most adorable pink princess dress for her and a really cute outfit...

So here we are one year later and we are having a very special princess birthday party for Abby!! She has a new Cinderella dress and crown... a beautiful princess birthday cake and can you keep a secret...Sleeping Beauty is coming to her party! I can't wait to see Abby's face when she opens the door to find Sleeping Beauty... More later...

Happy Birthday Mackenzie

Today is our sweet Mackenzie's birthday! 11 years ago, it was Super Bowl Sunday...the Denver Broncos played the Green Bay Packers and Mackenzie was thoughtful enough to be born in time for us to make kick-off! I'm not really a huge pro-football fan but Scott appreciated it!

I'm so thankful that 11 years ago, God blessed us with the most amazing daughter! She is sweet and generous and not only do I love her, I REALLY like her too! I love spending time with her and talking to her!

She's fun, she has the greatest laugh, she loves to play outside and she's not too old (even though she's 5'3") to sit in the rocking chair with me! She's so beautiful, inside and out, and she doesn't even begin to realize how beautiful she is...she blushes when someone tells her how pretty she is. She is a wonderful big sister to Abby, and she has been such a help to me. She is such a joy to us!!

It's been a fun weekend... We're kind of funny how we celebrate birthdays. We always do a family celebration with cake, a special dinner and presents, and then on their 10th, 13th, 16th and 18, the kids can have a big birthday party.

But with all the changes she's experienced this year, we agreed to let her have 2 friend's sleepover. So on Friday, Mackenzie and I made her birthday cake. She will take a homemade cake over a store bought one any time, even if her mother's not the greatest cake decorator!

On a side note, she wanted a basketball theme because her school had a fundraiser and she played in a basketball game for fun (she's never played basketball before) and at their practice, one of the dad's recruited her to play on his team! On a side note, she had her first game yesterday...they won, 9-6 (looks more like a football score) and she scored a basket!!



The girl's had so much fun... I found these really cool mugs at Micheal's, they're ceramic and you color them with permanent markers, we made chocolate candy, ate cake and ice cream and then they were off to do their 'girl' thing...











Today, she opened her presents from us... She wanted Molly from American Girl (She loves to play dolls with Abby now) and 2 gift bags FULL of books (she loves to read)!!





Happy Birthday Sweet Mackenzie...you are such a special young lady!!

Happy Birthday True Love...What I Love About My Husband!

What a perfect day to tell you what I love about my husband…

I love his eyes…sometimes green…sometimes blue!

I love that he never raises his voice when he’s angry…

I love the way he loves me…unconditionally with amazing grace and patience…more than once he has taught me what my heavenly Father’s love is like!

I love the way he loves our children...

*How he takes the boys to breakfast every once in a while to discuss ‘manly’ things with them…

*Or how he takes Mackenzie on a date night to her favorite restaurant…

*Or how he’s not afraid to paint Abby’s toenails for her!

I love that he loves my family (his in-laws)…that he likes to hang out with them!

I love that he serves with no thought of himself…he gives and gives and never asks or expects anything in return…

I love how he offers me so much perspective when I’m upset about something…

I love how he listens to me and doesn’t try and fix me or the situation…

I love that instead of criticizing me, he waits and prays and lets God do His work in me…

I love that he will ask me great questions, leading me to a course of action, instead of just telling me what to do…he lets me own it and make it mine…

I love how he supports me in the ways I serve in ministry, even when I know there are other things he would like for me to focus on more…

I love how he listens to my lectures every week, so I can practice, and he never seems to get tired of them!

I love that he is willing to surrender his will and walk in faith and obedience to wherever He believes God is leading him, even when it flies in the face of long thought out plans. Like when we adopted, that just wasn’t in his plan, but he prayed with a surrendered heart and stepped out in faith.

I love that we love the same movies…that he’s great at Trivial Pursuit, Boggle and Scrabble and that he would rather be hanging out with his family than any where else in the world.

I love how he respects me and loves me…I know with all of my heart that he is a beautiful example of Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” He lays down his life for his family everyday…setting aside his wants and giving us each what we need.

Today is Scott’s day to receive gifts, but he is a gift to us everyday! I am so thankful that before eternity began, God planned for our lives to intersect and that He chose me to be his wife!

P.S. There's an adoption post from this morning below...

Happy Birthday Zack!!

It's hard to believe (he'll kill me for saying this) but my baby is 15 years old...I'm seriously thinking about taking out an ad in our community newspaper to warn everyone when he starts Driver's Ed!

Zack is an amazing young man! High on his list of 'loves' to do is soccer...that's why I decided to post only soccer photos! But the thing that is so special about Zack, is he likes his family! He likes to hang out with us...go hiking...play Blokus...he will even challenge his brother to a game of Chinese Chess from time to time.

Not long ago, he said ''Mom, I don't understand why some of my teachers and some of my friends tell me I will eventually 'hate' my parents.... I like hanging out with my family." (I want to know what kind of teacher would say something like that?)

The other day, he plugged in his IPOD to the car stereo and wanted me to listen to a couple of songs... He wanted to know if I thought they were Christian songs or not? I guessed they probably were, but they were heavy metal Christian songs...I actually liked them though! And when I could understand the words, I liked their message too!

But what impressed me was when he started telling me that his soccer buddies were surprised that it is was Christian music. I said, "Zack...you had a conversation with your teammates about Christian music?" He said, "Mom, I don't keep that kind of thing a secret!"

I know some people have a problem with Christian 'rock' music, because honestly, it does sound just like regular rock music...but here's the thing...if kids are listening to Switchfoot, Reliant K and some of the real heavy rockers that Zack does, then at least they're hearing the gospel message! God's word never comes back void...even if it's sung to heavy metal guitars! And look at what a great door it opened for him with his friends!

I am so proud of the person that Zack has and is growing into...

Happy Birthday Zack! I am so blessed to be your mother!

I love you!!