Henri's Story

So we decided to get this little guy. We haven't had the best track record in pets lately.. so we did so with caution and hesitancy. (never a compulsive moment here..)
I like animals. I really do. They are nice. I can't wait til heaven to see what our Creator intended our relationship with them to really look like. I think it will be nice.
Ailah is (pet)rified of dogs. You would be too if your first was Gus. Enough said. But she liked him. She really liked him. All the kids did. And Josh really thought it was a good idea to bring him to bed with us.. really.

Henri's history: he was born into a mean pet shop. Ms. Craigslist rescued him. And from her into our family came a timid, sweet little pompoo.. (which just is a wrong name for a boy..) & within a few days we turned him into a scrappy, crazy, little guy. He fit right in..
But then.
He snuck out on an adventure.. silly open gate... and our little white puff ball was gone in residential suburban usa.

Stink.
Hours later.. we still didn't find him.
He was without tags.. microchipped but registered to the mean pet shop.
What then?

The kids spent the entire day handing out over 200 fliers. Picture this: five kids house to house in the snow with a wagon.. supported by their almost brother and sister.. lacking snow attire ((which we thought was safe to leave in exchange for presents in IA))

A boy with a duct tape fedora. Robby with Josh's boots on. Oli in the wagon with gloves on his feet.. the froggy rain boots didn't cut it. Mission lead by four little determined girls-to find Henri :)
We met people who prayed for Henri- and followed up by phone. We met our neighbors.
But at the end of the day, no Henri.
Dang.

I pulled out the worst possible scenario card and the poor poor pity me card. At times they started to trump Maja's FAITH card.

And first thing the next morning Henri came home. Found 5-6 blocks away..
Identified by a crumpled up flier delivered in determination and love.

Who knows where the little guy spent the night.. & im sure that he fought off at least an armadillo or two..
Dumb me. I have been disappointed by this fallen world so many times that sometimes life seems as hopeless as a lost white dog in a cold white winter. It takes my baby's faith to bring it around..

So often I walk in fear having no idea what the scenario will be. But do I trust Him that gives and takes away? Dark and hopeless.. but the Rescuer has come & is coming again.
Ya I know.. it's all about a little puppy. But ill go with Tina.. wisdom from "Up": life is lived in the little things.

And so Henri returns to our nutso family. Back to little sweaters. And chewing on polly pocket heads. And the adventure continues.

ps:

a New year.. a new Addition

im pregnant!!!
well.. no.. not really.
but it's kinda like a baby announcement.
introducing:
*henri*

he's pretty ferocious.

oliver.

"loves the lazorbacks"..
otherwise known as razorbacks.

"the speed limit!!!" with a crazy grin and both fists in the air.
every time we gun it.. ((not that it happens ALL that often..))

"Nebrakas!"
anything at ALL to do with football. every team.. well except the lazorbacks. poor guy.

& it's the time of year where he sees "the three little mans" everywhere.
to isabel they are the wise disciples.. history referred to them as "the three wise men". which triggered maja's report.. "The Real Three Little Mans."

he is so excited for Christmas.
merry weekend before Christmas to you.

Round 2: Bring it on..

Each of the kids chose one thing that they wanted to make for Christmas treats..
Mr. second born, witty, duct tape obsessed, recycler, hoarder, servant, completely visual, door holder, smart alec, tender hearted, out-of-any-box.. picked Turkish delight.. of course he did.

We tried.. really..

But after hours.. literally a green slab of.. ???

It was as hard as the rocks my brothers used as ammunition in their sling shots. I mean we didn't try chucking it like that.. and have to hide behind the mailbox to survive.. and yikes I'm starting to freak out.. enough fond childhood memories..

The kids tried to be supportive, their teeth not so much so... altho it wasn't a complete loss, the kids licked the powdered sugar off..

Today is the day. We are moving in.. watch out you little white delicacy. We've prepped emotionally and physically...

PRAY for US!!!!

It's going to be the Christmas Noah battled the Turkish delight.

Little Seeds.. Big Harvest.

Last night we watched Home Makeover. Part of the episode was spent going to different inner city homes and remodeling children's bedrooms. They couldn't build a new home for each of them. But their purpose was to bring hope to each child's life in the way they could. A refuge in the middle of a scary place. A seed of hope, showing they mattered.

Along with beautiful Caribbean Island sunsets and warm beaches, lately this little one has been on my mind.

A little girl living at the worst orphanage we visited in Uganda. The pastor there couldn't turn anyone away, there were bright eyed welcoming children everywhere. She is peaking out from one of the two rooms that 70 children shared. "Mattresses" side by side thrown on a dirty floor, without beds, without bed nets.

If your a friend of mine on facebook, I probably recently recommended you to a page for a ministry called Seeds for the Fatherless. It was originated by a friend of ours who choose to act upon his convictions, to his responsibility to orphaned children. You can find their website here.

The ministry has moved from one person's heart and has partnered with ministries and individuals to intentionally plant seeds of hope. Seeds that offer eternal hope in the lives of children. It may seem like a small seeds such as a child's first bed, backpack, or trading their inner tube in for a real soccer ball. It might mean a home makeover and having furniture in their childrens' home for the very first time. Regardless of the tangible seed that is planted in their lives, it is given in the hope of our tangible Savior- Jesus Christ. It is showing they matter, that they haven't been forgotten, and a Christ-centered relationship is developed.

It's not a just a ministry. It's a tool the community of Christ can use to plant seeds of hope into the lives of children such as this little girl.

Seeds for the Fatherless' heart is planting seed of hope and love into the lives of fatherless children, regardless of what continent they call home. If you know of tangible needs or prayer requests that Seeds for the Fatherless can outreach to, please forward them to the email on their website.

For me, it's a transfer of a burden into a way that I can act. And I like that.

joy today.

Life is just tough sometimes. It's been crazy hard on my dad's family the past year. Two of my uncles passed away this fall. The latest did so right in the center of a blizzard. Josh and I talk a lot about death and Bill makes fun of us. But losing people who chose to love you and formed who you are sometimes pushes you to remember what's worth fighting for. My uncle Leon was the type of man who inspired me in so many ways. He was faithful. He was joyful. He was hopeful and expectant.

His acceptance embraced you with a smile the moment you met him. There were no games to play in status when he repeatedly offered you his gentle jokes accompanied by a grin.

One summer when my family went to Canada on vacation, I being too little, stayed with my cousins. My dad returned disappointed that I was calling uncle Leon "daddy". He wasn't my dad. Yet he was there when overnight I lost my dad and was no longer a child. And he and his wife were there the night when a few miles from their house my big brother died. I can't imagine that it was easy for him to drive my mom the the hospital.

He told me once about a dream that he had. About Heaven. About the colors that he dreamed that He had never seen before. And the Glory. And there my dad was. That meant a lot to a messed up 17 year old fighting a war she didn't see.

And there Leon is, in the middle of His Glory.

Right in the center of death in the middle of a snowstorm he found eternal life with the King that he loved and who adores him.

Lately I don't know how well that I've been battling. It seems that I've been stuck in a lot of junk and been unprepared and unequipped to face much. But Leon's life reminds me that God's plan of hope is to prosper us and not harm us. His joy is really my platform for battle and strength. Leon's life pushes me to fight for that joy, hopeful and expectant.

What did one eye say to the other eye?
...There is something between us that smells...

Uncle Leon, you will be missed. Can't wait to party with you.

Construction Sight:

"check out p. 1508 of your Bible.. Transformed by CS Lewis..."

My husband texted me this six times this morning. Either his connection was crazy, or he is. Perhaps both, but apparently he felt it noteworthy.

Transformed
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of- throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

So what do I really think Mr. 6Xs texter? I think that the abominable snow monster really got a bad rap. The pain that comes with your house being completely redone is incredible abominable. I think my house must have looked something like Pete & Shorties originally.

Many days that cozy cottage just is so appealing, to me. It's overwhelming to live in an unfinished frame. It's so vulnerable, desperate, and abominable. My ideal blue prints are irrelevant. I hold onto little things that are nothing next to His glory. Again and again I forget, it's not for me.