Beautiful Chaos

Pictures!

2011-04-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to update for my sister with pictures of all the kids and what we've been doing. I'm surprised that I'm actually doing it! I would like to be a blogger, but it just doesn't happen. :)

Before I get to the pictures I'd like to say that I think my last post might of sounded a little self righteous! Haha! That is hilarious! I'm laughing cause if you know me hopefully you knew that I was just bragging on God and what He can do with us sinful humans. (ALL of us humans since "there is no one rightous, not even one" so says the Bible) I'm sure my sister has prayed (and is probably still praying) for me to get out of some sins just as much as I have for her. :) We've always known each other so we know when we are walking with the Lord and when we are not. Love you Jessica! :)

Ok! Back to the pictures!

Nathan reading to Raylen

Luke's impressive moves on the slip and slide

They love scaling the fence.

they just slowly make their way around the yard

everybody in on it

Anne wants to be big so bad!

The first few days these two were inseparable.

6 weeks apart...really?

packaging zip kits for the homeless so we can be prepared

Peter reading a tract

Cute as can be!!!

AID Sudan 1K race

pretty much the norm...crazyness!

(I don't know how to turn the picture...see, I'm not a blogger) I was sick that day and laying down to rest. The girls came to "rest" with me and I got Jacob to take the picture.

Scype with mom and dad! (or aunt and uncle)

I thought this was a moment I had to capture. Ray in Nathan's lap at co-op today.

us in our co-op garb

The four oldest kids are at my mom's this weekend. We met her at San Jacinto mall to exchange the kids. She just happened to be wearing red too so we got a picture with all of us.

Wow! It's been a crazy couple of weeks. These pictures just show the highlights. There has been lots of schooling, lots of crying and some fighting too. I hope Jessica, Josh and Kellen enjoy the pictures. (this might be the only time I do this)

Pray for my sister, her husband and Kellen their toddler that is with them. They need to be assigned a judge and then a court date before they even know when they can come home. They probably feel like they are stuck in Eastern Europe indefinitely. They are building bonds with there soon to be new kids. But they miss their babies back here in the states :( Pray that God gives them strength to endure to the end, and joy in the struggle.

There are SIX kids at my house!

2011-03-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

It's always strange to post after a period of silence. But I want to talk, so here I am.

The last time I posted I talked about adoption/orphan care. So I guess it's kind of fitting for the reason I'm writing to be because of an adoption.

We have 6 kids at our house! And if you are reading this then you must be a very good friend of mine and already know that it's not because we adopted.

My sister is adopting 3 sweet little children from Ukraine. The story of God's amazing provision throughout this adoption is faith building to say the least. So it would do you some good to go on over to my sister's blog and read all about their journey to and through surrendering their will to His. Amazing! Redemption is the word that comes to mind when I think of my sister. Seeing her transform from the girl that I prayed countless times to be drawn out of some mucky sins into the incredible woman of God who lives out her faith in a way that I can only gawk at has been breathtaking. Only God can do miracles like that and I praise Him for loving us so much to bring us up out of the muck.

All that to say...I have 6 kids at my house because we are keeping 2 of her kids while she and her husband (and 1 year old) are doing crazy paper work and getting to know the three kids they are adopting.

Here is a visual of these sweet babies that you can be praying for.

Josslyn

Parker

Danil

It has been such a blessing to have Luke and Raylen at our house since Saturday. They have been doing things like lizard hunting, swinging, playing run after then hide from the lawn mower, scooters, tree climbing, tea parties and tons of other fun stuff. I think what they are most obsessed with now is lizards.

We are having so much fun and I wouldn't call it hard at all. But I guess it is only the end of the second full day! I guess we will see how it's going on day 23.

conservation

2010-10-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

"For in the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." --B. Dioum

This is obviously talking about animals...but can the same be said about children?

Do we Love children? Not just our own children. Not just the cute children. Not just the well behaved children. Not just the children that we come in contact with.

But the child in Eastern Europe with no parent that loves him that will die of dehydration in an institution.
And the baby in Haiti whose mommy can't care for her so she just gives her away.
And the boy in Uganda who has been forced to kill another.
And the unwanted baby girl left to die in a ditch in China.
And the sick
And the ugly
And the difficult
And the unloveable.

That is the Heart of MY God. He loves the unloveable.

And he loves me. Me, who's heart, deep down, is as selfish and ugly as everyone else's.

Do we understand? Do we undertand what these children are going through? Or do we shut our eyes and cover our ears and hum a happy tune so that we forget. Do we zone out so that we can get the sickening images of children in unbelievable conditions out of our brains.

I have. I have for many years. I've hummed the happy tune of "Jesus loves me" in my comfortable, air conditioned home with more JUNK than I even want, let alone need.

But when I started singing "Jesus loves the little children" with my eyes and mind wide open to Who "all the children of the world" are, I wasn't so comfortable.

Have we been taught? Yes. We have been taught. We know. We know that there are so many unloved children in the world we probably can't even count or comprehend it.

I'm lucky to say that I'm in a church that I have heard the word adoption from the pulpit from time to time. And many Christian celebrities are using their platform to campaign for these precious souls. (Caring for their bodies in Jesus name IS caring for their souls)

Pure Religion is "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." As James 1:27 says this is the only "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless!"

Do we want to be accepted by God?
Is our heart aching for those that the Lord loves?
Really?
What are we doing to "conserve" what we love?
Are we leaving that job for someone else?

"To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger." Romans 2:7-8

And if we are "doing anything," are we doing it in the name of the Holy Son of the Living God with the sole purpose to make His name known and glorified in every corner of the Earth?

Or are we "doing" as a means to lift our own name, or check a box. "Doing" just enough to clear the guilt nagging our self-serving heart.

"Once our eyes have been opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:14

God is opening the eyes of the church to the suffering of the orphans around the world!

Praise God! Open my eyes God! Let me hear your voice! Let me hear the cries of help from the unloved! the orphaned and widowed! Let me go forth and love as You have loved me! Please use me to shine YOUR light in every corner of the Earth! Open my eyes and ears and don't ever let them be shut again! Use me! Use me to crush the enemy's plans to squelch the fire that is starting to burn brightly in the church!

Please pray with me about what God wants us (personally, as a family and as a church) to do in response to this awakening.

If every Christian family adopted, Heaven might be that much fuller.

And if every person that visited my sisters blog gave just $2, then she would be thousands of dollars closer to her son who is now sleeping in a crib in an orphanage in Eastern Europe as he has done all 4 years of his life.

Conserve what you love...Love what He loves.

Catching Up - Peter

2010-09-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

I'm so behind on blogging and there is so much I want to say about some things that God is showing me. But real quick, over the next few ~~days~~ weeks I want to catch up with all the stuff that has happened and I never posted about it. Like Anne's first birthday! And Nathan getting baptized! Oh my goodness! How did I miss those!

But since Peter turned 5 months on the 20th, we will start with him.

Here are some sweet pictures at the hospital.

just minutes old

he's a keeper!

love at first sight!

one worn out mama

one sleepy baby

That's all for now. I hope to do some more catching up soon with pictures of how big he has gotten.

No Poo!

2010-09-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Since this is a mommy blog I'm sure most of you are thinking I'm about to go into detail of my children's bathroom/diaper habits. Sorry to disappoint you, but this is about my experiment in quiting the shampoo addiction. And other things I'm have been dabbling in this month.

What is the purpose of not using shampoo (or "no poo" as some call it)?

Well, one reason is that using shampoo every day can strip your hair of it's natural oils and actually cause it to produce more oil than it needs.

Another reason is that you aren't using chemicals. Chemicals that end up in your body (and your baby, if you are pregnant or nursing). These chemicals can do some crazy things to your body and even cause cancer! Scary!

This is my third week, I think...mommy brain can make four weeks seem like one, and vice versa (sp?).
And to tell you the truth my hair is pretty gunky. Stephen and my friends tell me it doesn't look bad.
But what do you expect them to say? Go wash your hair!?
To me my hair feels, ummm....well...like I haven't washed in three weeks.

I'm ready to throw in the towel and sneak into Stephen's shampoo. (which happens to be natural anyway so I wouldn't feel that bad) But I did commit myself to at least two months and to tell you the truth I'm not usually that concerned with what my hair looks like....It's in a ponytail 99% of the time anyway.

And it's not like I'm just not washing my hair at all. I'm using baking soda. I'm also using baking soda for deodorant and roach bait/poison. (I know gross, but we all have them for time to time, right?) And the other day I used baking soda to brush my teeth. Really nasty, but my teeth were nice and slick :)

So, we will see how this all turns out.

I've also started a whole new way of washing my face.

With oil! I know. Yuck, is what most of you are thinking. But actually some oils, like castor oil, can be quite drying. And castor oil (which is the main ingredient in the oil face washing combination) really does a good job of drawing out dirt, oil and toxins that are in your pours. I'm still playing with the different kinds of oils to find out the right combination for my skin, but this is another thing that I'm going to commit myself to for a while to see if it really works. Here is where I read about the oil cleansing method.

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

Something else I've been into the last couple of months is soap making. Soap Making! Now this is exciting! (I know doesn't take much to get me excited)

I wish computers had smell-a-vision. It smells that good!

I first made some wonderful smelling patchouli soap with my mom and sister. My mom is a veteran soap maker and knew what she was doing.

My friend Lisa and I then made some plain soap to practice with. It was our first time by ourselves to make soap so we wanted to do something simple.

This week Lisa and I got together again to make soap, this time joined by our good friend Erin. We decided to get really fancy and make peppermint colored with green swirls. Fun! And my whole house now smells like peppermint! I love it!

Beautiful!

I have the soap curing in the boys bathroom and it really helps the whole stinky boy bathroom smell.
Anyone with boys knows what I'm talking about ; )

NINE years!

2010-08-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long!? Things have been anything but easy. But I'm so grateful for what has happened during these 9 years.

God has made beautiful children through us! How amazing!

I'm so excited to see what God has planned for the years ahead.

I have a lot to say to my love, but I'm saving that for his ears alone.

Happy anniversary! I love you!

some things I learned today...

2010-07-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

- It's not a good sign if you pick up your Bible to find dust on it.
- Don't shake out your dust rag right out side you door.
- I'm lucky that 2 of my 4 kids take naps.
- Your kids will not be so upset when you lock them out if you set up the baby pool.
- If you keep the porch swept then your floors will be a lot cleaner.
- Letting your 5 year old sweep the porch is so worth it (even though it's worse after he finishes)
- Cleaning the part of the house that your husband will appreciate is better for you than cleaning the part that you will appreciate.
- Blog post always end because there is either a fight, a spill, a crash or a baby crying.

Super Mom?

2010-06-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

According to Kelly Corrigan, in her book, The Middle Place, "if you have four kids, you don't really have to do anything else, ever. Three kids is a handful, but one that many people manage to hold. If your a mother of four, you definitely don't have to have a career or volunteer for the school fund-raiser of even bring an appetizer to the dinner party. In fact, people give you a lot of credit for wearing both earrings and knowing how to spell chaos and antidepressant. Four kids gives you a pass for every forgotten birthday, overlooked appointment, and missing form. Plus, you can be late for everything the rest of your life and never return phone calls. Who's going to blame you? It's like having nonthreatening cancer, forever."

Even though I don't really think that this is true, it does make me laugh. It also helps me admit that I can't do it all. I can't be the best at everything. And if I'm doing anything half good it's only by the grace of God. I'm also learning that I need to accept help. I'm still telling the bagger at the grocery store what I tell everyone..."I got it!" Even now that I have Peter in the papoose, Anne in the overflowing basket, while I crane my neck around making sure Jacob or Nathan don't walk out in front of a car. What I need to say is "Yes that would be wonderful!" when people ask if I need help. I have never wanted to inconvenience people. And I guess, if I had to admit, part of it is pride. I want to impress people, and look like I have everything under control...not just Super Mom...Super Woman. Well...I'm slowly learning to cut myself some slack and let go of perfection. Bless people by letting them bless me. Cause you know what? I'm not Super Mom. And that means I'm going to have to lean on the Lord, and other people.

Welcome!

2010-05-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world baby boy!

We can't wait to see what God has planned for you.

I know it's going to be awesome!

Peter Charles Andrews

April 20, 2010 6:38pm

6 lbs 8oz

19 inches long

Nostalgia

2009-10-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

At small group the other week we had a ice breaker question.

We do ice breakers a lot, even though our great group doesn't really have much ice to break. They are fun anyway, and help us get to know each other.

The question was: " What is the change in weather reminding you of?"

I love that question! I love it because I think that our brains are so cool that the littlest things like smells, tastes, words, sounds, songs or even the weather can bring back so many memories and distinct feelings!

Anytime I smell a old book it immediately brings be back to my Grandy and Mammaws house. Standing on the green linoleum in the tiny room connected to their garage that we called "the library." I loved that room! Lots of books with sermons that I never read but I'm sure I opened many times just to smell. And lots of my dads old books and magazines that he read when he was little. I don't remember all the books but I do remember reading Archie for hours.

This was my answer to the ice breaker.

I love to open up the windows, and the first chance I get every window I can get open is open. Sometimes even the doors! But it has to be a big change in the weather cause in SE Texas opening the doors invites in the mosquitoes as well as the great cool air.

One of the houses that I lived in growing up had an attic fan. So we had the windows open a lot, even at night, which sounds scary to me now, but it wasn't then. We probably turned off the AC and used that fan more than half the year! I have since wished that I still had an attic fan even though people now have AC and there is not really a need. But I love them!

I also said that the cool weather reminds me of high school football. My dad was a high school football coach. So I guess that's where that comes from.

It's also so cool how when you think of something, the high school football games for example, you can immediately experience what you experienced long ago. Aluminum stands, popping popcorn, peanut shells, tobacco, mud, sweat and cigarette smoke. All things that I can distinctively feel and smell.

It's funny how the Fall, and the change to cooler weather brings good feelings and good memories. Holidays, sweaters, sweet spicy smells, stews, cozy blankets! I love it all!

But I really just love the fact that no matter when...spring, summer, fall, winter...there is always a memory waiting around for the trigger that will bring us back to who knows when.

They Actually Listen Sometimes

2009-09-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! Tonight we are going to see the Nederland High school Bulldogs play football in Friendswood. (Nederland is where Stephen went to school.)

I love high school football. I grew up on high school football. My Dad was a high school football coach for most of my childhood. I love it! And I haven't been to a high school football game, any football game for that matter, in years.

A little while ago I was going to get Anne up from her nap. Jacob was going with me. Usually when I go in her room to get her up I leave her in her crib while I walk around her room pulling up the shades, turning off her fan, etc. all while I talk to her about her good nap and what I'm doing and how it's sooo good to see her. I excited about the game so I decided to pick out her clothes. Of course I'm talking the whole time and I say, "Lets pick out something for you to wear tonight!" Jacob says, "Pick out her prettiest dress!" I think nothing about it cause the boys love to pick out cute clothes for Anne to wear. I lay out two outfits for Jacob to pick from and he picks the pink one. He says "that one, cause Luke might be there." (Luke is my sisters son that is Nathan's age.) I ask what he means cause I wonder why it matters what she wears if Luke is there. And he surprises me by saying, "you know, like in Charlotte's Web."

We have been reading Charlotte's Web in school. Nathan always sit next to me and pays attention while I'm reading. Jacob on the other hand always plays around the room. I never make a big deal about it cause Jacob is only 4 and I don't want to force him to sit still if he's not interest.

That's why I was so surprised when he mentioned the book.

I questioned him to get what exactly he was trying to say. He said that Fern wore her "prettiest dress" to the fair because "boys were going to be there."

I was pleasantly surprised that Jacob is actually paying attention! Jacob who will hardly sit still. Even when he is sitting on the couch with us reading a book, he is still rolling around and doing somersaults.

Just gos to show that they pick up on much more than you think they do.

News!

2009-09-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

We have news! Good news!

We are pregnant!!

Yes, pregnant! Yes, Number 4! Yes, Anne isn't even a year old yet! Yes, we do know how this happens! And yes, we are excited!

I'm not sure what people are thinking about us right now (crazy, brave, insane...these might be some of the thoughts) and I really don't care. I'm so excited right now. And I know that this pregnancy is EXACTLY what God wants for us right now.

I know that the chaos in our family is going to increase exponentially, but I say "bring it on!" cause to me there is nothing that could be more beautiful.

my day so far..

2009-09-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

This morning has been full of blessings.

I was so tired this morning. I was lying on my bed watching Anne play in my room while Jacob was at the table eating a blueberry bagel for breakfast. Nathan wasn't even up yet. Anne was playing with my exercise bike and she started crying. I don't know what happened cause to be honest I had my eyes closed. (am I the only one who does this?) I wasn't super alarmed. It wasn't a "I'm Really hurt!" cry. It was just a, "I think I'm a little hurt and I'm mad" cry. So I say (without getting up) "Oh Anne, Are you OK? What happened?" What was so sweet about all this was that Jacob runs in, starts hugging Anne and whispers to Anne, "Are you OK? It's OK Anne, Bubba's here." My heart just melts. And I start to feel a little bit more guilty for being a slacker. He continues to crawl around with her with his arm around her, patting her back form time to time, saying "Bubba's here." In such a sweet, soothing voice.

Jacob is such a sweetheart, and in love with his baby sister.

Later this morning, after finishing Bible and History/Geography (while trying not to listen to Anne cry in her bed instead of nap) Nathan gets up and says with a pale face, "I'm going back to bed." I tell him that's fine cause he feels warm and when my kids ask for a "Tupperware," I know it's serious. Stepping over piles of laundry, toys and trying not to crush the cheerios that are on the floor before I have a chance to sweep them up, I rush to get something for him to puke in.

I'm actually pretty upset that he is sick because he is taking antibiotics for the first time EVER. He has always been so healthy and always gotten over sicknesses (always miner) at home. Well, last week I took him to the dentist and she had to pull a tooth that had an abscess. (aftermath of knocking it loose two separate times) So he is on antibiotics for that and even though I know that he needs them I'm still really sad that he has to take them.

I was planning on a trip to Kroger today...Not sure how that's going to work out. I think I am going to go get him some probiotics though.

Well, this is the half day of a mom of three. Exhausting (before it even starts), heart wrenching, but so uplifting...

and I love it!

And the Oscar go to...

2009-08-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if Jacob just doesn't remember or if he's playing a game of control.

I had just changed Anne's diaper on the living room floor and left the room when I hear Jacob say with what sounds like genuine surprise. "Anne Just Rolled Over!"

Anne is 10 months old! Anne has been rolling over for months!

Jacob is always saying things like "Anne Pulled Up!!" or "Anne Is Crawling!" And I don't know how many times I've heard, "I Saw Teeth!!"

I think he is just playing a great joke on us and is getting a huge kick out of it. Cause it never fails that one of us say with equally enthusiasm, "Really!? She rolled over!?" or "Oh My Goodness! Really?!"

Either he needs an Oscar for his convincing act, or we need to take him to the doctor to get his brain checked out. Maybe we are the ones who need our brains checked for playing in his little game.

Bravo, Jacob, Bravo!

I Got My Hair Cut!

2009-08-07T18:06:00.000-07:00

Some of you know that I've been wanting to cut my hair in a Mohawk. And those of you who didn't are probably shocked right now and wondering why I would want to do such a thing. Well...cause I just wanted to. I didn't go as short on the sides as I had planned. It's more of a Mohawk/faux-hawk/mullet. But I like it and it is more feminine that a pure Mohawk.

Every time I talked to the family about it before hand Stephen would say "you can do whatever you want." Jacob would say "Yes mama! Do it!" And Nathan would say "no! I'm not going to take pictures of you with my camera any more if you do. It won't look good." (Nathan bought Stephen's old digital camera for $1. Quite a deal!) So I was worried about how Nathan was going to react.

When I got home I saw Jacob looking out the window grinning. When I opened the door they were all standing there waiting to get their first glimpse. Nathan instantly ran to his room as soon as he saw me. Everyone else was slowly taking it in and saying they liked it.

I was really worried at this point. Then Nathan returns with his camera! He had 4 pictures taken of me before I had been there 5 minutes! He even convinced me to cut HIS hair in a Mohawk! (Nathan's hair is how I originally planned to cut it.)

Here are the pictures!

Before with my goofy/nervous face (my mom is thinking "my beautiful baby!")

After! (and now my mom is cringing)

Nathan's do (Mohawks are harder to cut than they look!)

side view

Us Punks

We convinced Jacob that the "cool" thing to do was to have the longest hair in the family cause we love his hair. He has wanted a buzz cut like Daddy's for a long time.

Family Photos

2009-08-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

My wonderful friend Lisa took pictures of our family yesterday. Here are some of them.

8 Years!

2009-08-04T14:17:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's already 8yrs!

Seems like such a long time.

But I have a sneaky feeling that the fun has only just begun.

I love you, Stephen!

Happy Anniversary!

what am I doing??

2009-07-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been contemplating starting a blog for quite sometime. And even though I don't know what I'm doing (and with a blog I feel the pressure to be clever, cute, funny and interesting) I decided to take the plunge. Being at home with three small kids day after day is sooo rewarding but can get pretty insane. So I'll try to be as real as possible and if you like you can join me in this chaotic adventure.

Bear with me though..I'm a slow learner and technically challenged. Quite a combo for blogging. Oh well, have fun. :)