Water Park

For Christmas Ma and Pa got the kiddos a gift card to the Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati so we headed off Monday morning for a little break. They had a blast and want to know when we can go back. Thank you Ma and Pa!

Leap pad crossing.

Josh giving it a try.

Hanging out in the wave pool. This is where Liv and Josh spent most of their time. Every 15 minutes waves  are created to make you feel like you are in the ocean. They loved it.

Mom and Nate spend time on the lazy river.

Took a break before dinner to play in the arcade.

They got wolf  ears with their dinner.

They got their baths and jammies on and went down for some ice cream before story time.

At 8:00 they have story time for the kids at the clock tower. It was really neat.

Story time with Sparkle.

They were excited to get their Valentine Gifts when they woke up Tuesday.

After breakfast we headed back to the water before heading home. This was a raft we all got to sit on together and go down a  water slide. I was worried that Nate would be scared but he loved it and wanted to keep going.

We had  a wonderful time but all were exhausted on the way home.

Jeff+Sara

Happy Valentines Day!

"That's so  disgusting!" says Olivia
"Yeah, Daddy has a crush on Mommy. They are in love." says Josh 
     This is what we hear the other day when daddy was given momma some lovin. There's nothing better than to know and hear that your kiddos know that momma and daddy are in love. When they know that we value our marriage and put it before everything else they have the security they need.  I have shared 21 valentine days with my sweetheart and I am more in love with him today then ever before.
       No romantic dinner tonight. Instead we will be sharing a pizza in our swimsuits then off to ride some wild water park rides with the kiddos.

Just waiting...

Just wanted to give everyone an update on our adoption process. As of today we are fifth in line from getting a referral for our country. We will then know who she is which will be so exciting.
We are almost finished taking our required classes. We have 2 more to get in and I have to finish writing up our country cultural essay. Jeff has been busy typing up grants and sending them in. We are praying that we are granted at least one or two. We are also looking into doing some fundraising with t-shirts. If you have a chance go to showhope.org and check out the shirts. They are soooo cute. We contacted them today about doing some fundraising so we will let you know when we have some available. Other that that we are waiting and walking in faith. God has been so good in leading in us in every step of our process. We have already seen His hand at work and have been blessed to share our story with others.  I was contacted by homeschool mom in our area today about our process as she and her husband want to adopt too. It so neat to share our story and process with others and to tell them how faithful God is when you are in the center of His will. We have also been blessed to have Aaron and Christi by our side as they are also adopting a little girl. It will be such a blessing to watch these girls grow up together and be close friends. God is so amazing and good!
We sang this song Sunday at church and I just love it. It is called While I'm Waiting. As we are waiting for our little girl we will continue to serve and worship Him everyday.

PS- Happy 60th Birthday to my Dad tomorrow. Love you!!

Field Trips

The last two weeks we have enjoyed a couple of field trips. Last Monday we took the kiddos to the Eiteljorg Museum in in Indy. And yesterday I took them to Honeywell to see the play Jack and the Beanstalk. This was the first time Nate went to a play with us. He did really well for his first time. We have also been taking advantage of the spring like weather to get in some nature studies. It felt so good to be out and breathe in the fresh air. We have really missed this part of our day. We were all excited to see our first Robin of the year with her mate.

Here are some pictures of our trips. I took them with my phone so they are not the best quality.

Livy trying her hand at basket weaving.

Livy found a dress in their dress-up box like Laura Ingalls. She was so excited! She and Josh played store.

Cowboys Nate and Josh.

Liv and Josh building a tepee.

My three kiddos outside the Honeywell Center. It was a beautiful day.

Josh and Jesus

Josh asked Jesus into his heart tonight! We are so proud and excited for him. For the last couple of nights our topic during our family devotions  has been about the second coming. They have been asking a lot of questions about this and are very concerned about those that will be left behind during that time. Tonight Livy reminded us that she will be going because she already asked Jesus to be her Savior. Before we laid the kiddos down Josh asked if He could ask Jesus into his heart. So we all gathered around our little man and Jeff prayed with him and Josh asked Jesus to be his Savior. I don't care how old you are, when you feel Him calling you,  you should not put it off another day. It's funny because I am having the kiddos memorize Matthew 18 and  we just memorized the first 5 verses where Jesus says,: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Whom am I to tell my children they need to wait until they are older to ask Jesus into their hearts when He tells us we all should have hearts as innocent and trusting as little children. 
We love you Josh man and we are so proud that you made the most important decision you will ever need to make!

Happy Birthday Jeff

Happy 37th birthday to my sweetie today....I think it is 37....

Last weekend Jeff was filling out some adoption paperwork and I was checking over it for corrections and noticed he had my age down as 34. I tell him he needs to correct that.

He says, "That's right your 34."

"No I'm 35." I say back

"No your 34 and I'm 36." He says

Do you have one of those moments when your mind goes blank and you can't think and process anything. I'm having one of these moments at this time and say to him, "You mean for the last year I have been thinking I'm 35 and I'm only 34!"

He says, " Yeah. You mean for the last year you thought you were 35."

Ok, my mind is back and I know I am right. I ask him what year I was born and he gets that right. I tell him to do the math.

"Oh, that's right I'm going to be 37 and so you are 35." Now I'm the one laughing.

I guess the closer to 40 you get the more the mind goes. Oh well. I was hoping that maybe this one time I could admit happily that he was right. I love you sweetheart!!

Date Night

I  wanted to invite you all to our church, Upper Deer Creek, for a Valentine's Day Date Night. On February 11 at 6:30 join us for a catered dinner and telecast entertainment with singer Michael O'Brien, comedian Jeff Allen, speakers Dr. Greg & Erin Smalley, and Rev. Samuel Rodriquez.

Cost is only $20 per couple. Deadline to register is February 4. Just let me know if you are interested and I will be happy to sign up you and your sweetie!

 

Need a laugh

Ok, the kiddos are so ready for their little sister to arrive. They are now dressing up Nathan in princess clothes. Daddy is not happy....but I can't resist taking his picture. He will get a kick out of them when he's 16. Hope this makes you laugh today.

What a pretty little princess.

At this point he is asking to take it off.. But not before I get one more full size picture for laughs someday.

Schoolroom

For all  SCM moms...here's a look at the redecorated schoolroom.  Four years ago when we  started homeschooling I  had a vision of how I wanted the schoolroom to look like. I  never  mentioned it to Jeff, but right before Christmas break I let him in on my vision. The next thing I knew he was off getting the materials needed in order for it to happen and he told me to order the things I needed. So today he finished up the nature/science table and I am very pleased with the results. The room is only 11'x12' so I really took advantage of every inch of the walls I have leaving enough floor space to sit and do activities.  I really thought of how I could use every inch of space without it looking crowded  but making sure we weren't wasting space. Here's a peek of our little schoolroom.

Kiddos new 7 foot desk. Plenty of room for all of them to work at once with me on the other side teaching them. It has also been nice for painting, doing crafts and even cooking. I got their chairs at Wal-Mart for a good deal. They love them.

   Teacher's desk which connects to kiddos. Plenty of room for all my stuff.

Storage above my desk. I can't stand having piles laying around so on the shelf  I added paper trays for kiddos work and different types of paper. Under the shelf  I added some cork boards for notes, upcoming field trips,  and to-do lists.

Our morning board. To the side are  art pieces of the artist we are studying. I found the frames at the Dollar Store. Changing the pictures in them is so easy.

We got them beanbag chairs for Christmas. They have really enjoyed using them for their reading time and doing activities on the floor.  I just added the magnetic board for them to use for spelling and other activities.  I would like to add some kind of  shelving for their magnet pieces and map tools under the maps . Above that is is the  Charlotte Mason  I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will which we recite every morning. There is also wall storage above the maps the length of the wall.

Wall storage keeps all our manipulatives,  paints, books and other odd things. Above them I keep the kiddos binders that holds their finished work. I take advantage of all the wall space up to the ceiling.

Other wall has two storage cabinet with our nature/science table in the middle. On the front of the storage cabinets I attached clips to hold the kiddos paintings.

Nature/Science table.  The bottom part is holding puzzles and some activities for my preschooler,

Just sharing

I just came across this and thought I would share. Love it!!

Thanks!

On Thursday we asked for a prayer for as we decide if he should switch shifts. Thursday night before Jeff left for work we once again prayed together about it and he left. A half hour later he called me and said that they asked him if would like to go to days for a month to fill in. I know it's not exactly what we were looking for as it is only a month. However, it is a month for him to be on a regular sleep schedule and to determine if that is why he is so tired. Also, it also gives us another month to make the decision about the afternoon shift. So we want to thank any of you that prayed for us on Thursday as we feel it is an answer for the time. He's so awesome!

 “What is impossible with man is possible with God." Luke 18:27

Need Prayer

Jeff and I would greatly appreciate any prayers we could get right now. Jeff has not been sleeping well for the last month. He can't fall asleep half the time leaving him totally exhausted and not feeling like himself. We feel that after being midnights for over ten years his body is not doing well adjusting to sleeping during the day then on his nights off sleeping during the night. It has taken a toll on him. So now we have been praying if he should go to afternoons until he is able to go to days (hopefully by next year). Neither one of us feel that we have heard Him give us an answer. We are weighing the pros and cons of this undetermined change, and we are at a loss as there are benefits and losses to both options. So please pray that He will show us what we need to do. If it is to go to afternoons please pray that we will have a smooth transition and that Jeff will start to feel better soon.
"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Happy New Year

Bringing in the new year with the Zeck's and Chamber's at our traditional New's Year Eve Party at the Zeck's .Always a time filled with laughter and making great memories.

Silly girls. 

So yesterday I was reading Joshua chapter 1 where God tells him to be Strong and Courageous as he is about to go to take over the promised land. It made me think that I don't want to continue to go back to the desert taking up any bad habits, fears, etc. I want to go to the promised land He has in store for me. Pastor Joe reminded us this morning that the evil one already has his traps in place for this year. In Joshua 1:7-9 it says "Be strong and courageous. Be very careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." So this year press on to the promised land in has in store for you. He will not leave you to face those trials alone. Be strong and courageous!

Answered Prayer

Today we just want to thank God for once again answering our prayers and realize that we should not be surprised. Back when we felt led to start the adoption process, we had no idea on how we were going to do it financially. We both knew that we were suppose to do this and that if we walked in faith He would provide the means. We agreed to follow Him knowing that if this was truly His will He would provide us a way to make it work. For months we have been filling out paper work and doing  the other necessary things that need done not knowing how we were going to pay for it. Everyone kept asking us how we were going to do it financially and all we could say is that He will show us the way. We have been diligently praying together about this and trusting in Him to open the doors that needed opening in the time they needed opened. We finalized our home study last Friday which means we are able to start applying for grants and no interest loans for our adoption. However, last night we received a call from my dad. He told us that Jeff was just approved by the town board to become a part-time deputy for Walton. The money he is going to make will be just what we will need every month to take care of a adoption loan payment. (Ok, now I'm crying because He is so amazing in the way He works- He is truly awesome!) Should we be surprised that He has opened this door?  We have seen Him work so many miracles in our lives at just the time we need it that we should not be. However, I am always amazed at how powerful and how much He truly loves us. So we will continue to walk by faith in this process even though we cannot fathom at what He has in store for us.

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord! Luke 2:11

1 day of serving

So today wraps up our days of Agape for Christmas. The kiddos made some treats for the neighbors and helped me get ready get the house ready for the family to come over. Even though we are wrapping up, our mission as a family is to look for ways to serve Him not only this time of the year, but everyday. We are always praying for ways to be His hands and feet and to show agape love to those we don't know. We feel that it is so important for the kiddos to learn this in a world that teaches us to be so self centered. Pray for Him to show you ways to serve. This year I have truly  asked Him to help me to know when I need to serve someone else and for us as a family to serve. I want to lay myself aside and totally put myself out there for Him.
 So pray this coming year for Him to use you and to allow you to be an instrument for Him. Then be still, look and listen for the ways He wants you to be a light in this dark world. I tell the kiddos all the time that they may be the only face of Jesus that someone may see that day.

We are merely His instruments that we humbly abide to. He has used us this past year as a family and as individuals in ways that give me God bumps. Moments that only He could have orchestrated in allowing us to be His light. I pray, God will continue to use us in only ways that can be done through His strength. Shine your light for Him and remember to give Him all the glory in the end.  Let God completely use you in 2012!

To God Be the Glory!

If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you (Luke 6:38).

2 days of serving

I really was starting to wonder if we were going to get today's count down in. Today is one of those days when I really needed to do this; to take a deep breath and realize the precious reason we celebrate Christmas by letting others see Jesus through us. From the time I got up this morning it has been non-stop. The kiddos and I had to go to the grocery this morning and patiently get through the crowd. Put groceries away, start making cookie doughs, got Jeff up early so he could be Santa and go to Noblesville to pick up a gift, then take the kiddos out to the woods for a walk. While we were out in the woods Ally discovered something very smelly, and dirty. Of course she had to roll all in it. Once we got back home she needed a bath so Livy took on that chore. In the meantime the boys say they are freezing from the walk and want hot chocolate. So while I am helping Livy finish up Ally, Josh spills his hot chocolate all over himself. Got that cleaned up. Then as soon as I start making chocolate covered pretzels Ally throws up.  While this is all going on I'm praying for and telling God there is no way we are going to be able to serve someone else today when we are a circus act. Then while I'm thanking Him that I'm not a single mom, because I can't imagine having days like this without my hubby to help me, He lays it on my heart what we are suppose to do for today.  He  reminds me of a single mom I know who can't drive, is handicapped and her son has some disabilities. I call her up and ask her if she would like to get out of the house for the evening and go see the Christmas lights around town and get some ice cream. When we picked them up she and her son were so excited. And once again He has humbled me to realize that amidst all the craziness in our lives that we are so blessed in many ways we take for granted everyday. However, I must share that before we left Nate decided, for only God knows why, that the Lincoln Log bucket with all the blocks in it looked like a toilet and pottied in it. Also, Ally threw up again on our bed. So we had to throw the blocks into the laundry room sink to soak and the bedding into the washer before we left. Oh, the joys of being a momma!


        I heard this song today and it really sums up what these days of serving have meant for us.

3 days of serving

Ok, well I had planned on having our neighbor Jerry over for dinner this week. He lost his precious wife, Diane, to cancer in June. It has been very lonely without her next door. She was like another grandmother to the kiddos and was very involved in all our lives.  I know that this will be a hard Christmas for him and his family as her absence is so evident. Anyway, since Jeff has been sick everyday it doesn't look like that will happen until next week. So instead for today's count down we used some of our zucchini that we froze from the summer, and made bread for my grandmother in Michigan. We will mail it out to her tomorrow with some recent pictures of the kiddos. My grandfather passed away several years ago and I can imagine that every Christmas is hard for her also. So let's cherish every Christmas we have with those we love thanking Him for another year to be with them.

Making some bread for grandma Debbie.

If you have never heard this song ,The Christmas Shoes, have a Kleenex ready. It chokes me up everytime. If you ever get a chance to see the movie it's a great one to see.

4 days of serving

For today's count down we donated Bibles to people in Africa that have never had one through Bible League. I can't imagine not having my Bible. It is my source of life, my Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6: 17) preparing me for warfare, my source of strength, and encouraging words of wisdom that guides me throughout the day and this life. I know for myself, I often forget how blessed we are to live a country were Bibles can be found all around us and even freely given. If you would like to donate this Christmas go to https://www.bibleleague.org/home\\

PS- Our church did end up winning the blood drive yesterday by one!!

Show people that Jesus is the light of the world this Christmas by donating Bibles to those that never had one.

5 days of serving

Today I was able to slip away for an hour to go donate blood for the Red Cross. Our church goes in with the Methodist Church in Galveston to see which one will get the most people to donate. Unfortunately, we lost by 6 people. Maybe next time we will win the trophy. Anyway, Jeff is still feeling under the weather. He goes back to the doctor to have a follow up visit in the morning. Hopefully he will sleep well tonight and wake up feeling much better.  Have a great evening!