First Week of School!!!

What an amazing week we have had ~had to get the hang of online school
the first day or two but after we caught on, we love it!

We had really been praying about what to do for school this year with two new little ones coming home 1/2 way though the school year. We have always sought the Lord each year about what His plans are for our kids schooling. Our deepest desire is to pour Christ deep into the heart of each of our children. 

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:5-8

LOVE Jesus with all that we are

IMPRESS His Ways on our children

TALK about His Ways ALL throughout the day...morning, noon and night

KEEP His Word always before us

The more we pondered these verses, we wondered if we could really follow them as the LORD desires that we do if we had our 3 bigs in school all day, then sports practice after school, then rushing home for dinner and homework.....
then time to put the littles down. 

Where would we squeeze in His Word? 

How could we really disciple our bigs and pour Christ into them if they
were gone or doing HW 10-12 hours a day?

The more we prayed, the more our hearts began to see the importance of keeping Jesus first and really the only way for us to do this in this season of life
was to have everyone HOME.

I knew I couldn’t school them with two new kiddos coming home
and needing to be loved on. 

So we are doing Clovis Online School for Kennady and Keegan ~ its the exact curriculum that they would have at their schools but they get their work done
in just a few hours a day at home. 

Kolson is doing a workbook driven homeschool curriculum called ACE, it’s a program where he can work independently for the most part and just get my help when needed ~ he can also work at his own pace, which he loves. It's pretty easy work compared to what he is used to, so since Mrs. Ashley is teaching 5th grade this year, she will be helping me supplement his schooling with added Math and Creative Writing (the subjects that I feel are "light" in his homeschool program). 

This way we have MORE TIME in God’s Word together!! It has been such a blessing......truly as I prayed about what curriculum we should use, I felt as if the Lord said, “My Word will be their curriculum this year!” We have time for devotionals, scripture memory and studying a Christian Hero together
(Corrie Ten Boom is our first hero). 

Kennady ~ Freshman

Keegan ~ 7th Grade

Kolson ~ 5th Grade

Kaylee ~ Pre-K

Of course all the bigs miss their friends.....
so a weekend sleepover should help that ;)

We will also be making a couple of trips to Haiti to see our kiddos,
so online programs work perfectly for this :)

We are looking forward to an AMAZING year of seeking HIS FACE together!!!

Missing our Kids!

Sis and I have been home a couple of days now and we are missing our kids big time! We are all ready for them to come home ~ Brodie and the boys are already planning their next trip :)

Sis and Little Brother waking up the hill to Duet, the sister orphanage of our crèche 

Kennady eating street food (she was much braver this time.....not me!) Could be why she came home with tummy issues :-/ 

Daddy FaceTimeing with his baby girl. Just longing to have them home!!

Sis with some of her buds

And her "bestie" :)

We traveled with a super fun team ~ these kids became like siblings :))). So fun!!!

Mommy and Little Brother ~ can't wait for the day to show you all pictures of their faces~ just look at those dimples! 

On our way to church! 

There was a Gospel Parade where churches gathered and walked the streets singing and sharing the gospel and encouraging those in the community to join us for church. We got to join the end of this beautiful procession :)

Kennady and I had some special travel time :). Such a blessing! Ready to go back!!!

Thank You Jesus for allowing us to go and visit our babies. We know You love them more than us! You hold them and care for them ~ thank You, gracious Heavenly Father! We ask You to comfort them and make a way for ALL of these waiting children to come HOME soon :). We ask these things in Your Holy Name, Amen

Day 4 in Haiti

We are having a great time with our kiddos! Such great bonding time ~ it's going to be hard to leave them!!

They are so joyful and they keep us laughing all day :)))

We are already thinking about the next time we will be back! 

It has been so nice being here with the New Harvest team again. We also met up with our friend, Torie who is living here for a year. 

She served at a different crèche so it was a nice break for her to hang out with friends and see how another crèche is run. Such a blessing to encourage one another in Jesus! 

Haiti Bound

Sis and I are blessed to be spending the week in Haiti loving on our kiddos!!! We're just arriving and can't wait to see our babies in just a few hours!!! 

We are traveling again with our NH church family!!! Love that we can serve our Lord with friends and get to visit our babies at the same time! 

Lots of young ones on this trip to keep things LIVELY! 

We may have irritated a few passengers with these crazy ones sitting next to one another on our last flight ;)

But it was entertaining for those of us who were near them, lol! 

Apparently fanny packs are back in??? Or at least these two are hoping they'll make a comeback ;)

Early morning Starbucks ~ ready for the day now!!

Beach Trip

Towards the end of summer we always do a beach trip 

We love our time at the coast! 

Last summer Kaylee would barely touch the sand......this year she acted like it never even bothered her! 

One of our favorite parts is that we always go the same week as a group of our great friends and we all meet up ~ we've made some of the best memories over the years! Kaylee's getting a  volleyball lesson from Lauren :)

And boogie boarding with her friends!

The big kids had a major spikeball game going! 

Such a fun group of kids!! 

And moms :)))

When we got home Sissy died a strip of her hair pink ~ it looks adorable! Just in time for our Haiti trip next week :))). Of course Kaylee Grace asked to have pink hair like Sissy ~ she'll have to wait a few years for that! 

All 4 kids had dental appointments and look who sat in the chair and got a full cleaning all by herself!!! She did amazing! And NO cavities! 

Got to FaceTime with Belay tonight one last time before he leaves for Ethiopia! Praying for Jesus to move mountains as he presses forward in changing orphan care in Ethiopia through Hope for the Fatherless! Can't wait to watch Jesus move!!! 

God is so good ~ looking forward to a day set aside to worship Him tomorrow! 

Happy Birthday Kaylee Grace!!!

Our girl is 5!!! We are all so proud of this girl! We praise Jesus for the joy of being her family and we stand in awe of His great love. 

Happy Birthhday sweet Kaylee!! She was ready for a big girl bike so it made the perfect gift :)))

Auntie Jo and Grandma came in town the day before and brought birthday gifts!

We were up at the cabin with the Giordanos and went on a hike up the falls this morning ~ then had some fun on the lake tubing

 

Mommy and Daddy also got you a tennis racquet and bag

You chose Chinese for your birthday dinner and loved the fried shrimp!

Kaylee Grace, we love you! Jesus has made you special and we are so thankful that He chose us to be your forever family! You are so brave!!! You have faced so many fears head on and courageously overcome them! You make us laugh and your sweetness is a gift to all who meet you! It has been our great privilege to see you beginning to learn to love and trust Jesus. May Jesus grow you up in His love this year!!! 

His Little Feet

We had another great week with the kids and staff from His Little Feet! Busy and full but so much fun! 

We started our time off with a late night swim :). Their bus broke down on their way here a couple times so they were ready to cool off

Kaylee almost sang a song with them (her dream!!) but decided at the last minute she'd like to wait till next year :)

We celebrated Kima's birthday

Had school time

Swam....a lot! 

Played and played and played :)))

Had a day where we did VBS and sports camp here at our house and let the staff have a fun day at the lake with Brodie

They did tug of war

Ate lunch 

Water games

Tennis camp

Thank you, Coach Neil! 

Bible Story

Helped them with school work

We wore this group of kids out!!

We took the bus to yogurt last night :)

We got to catch up with Belay - we are blessed to be his California Family :))). Belay grew up as an orphan in Ethiopia and now the Lord has given him a few awesome families across the U.S. that love him! He will always be a special part of our family :) We got to hear about the amazing work Jesus is doing through his ministry in Ethiopia - Hope for the Fatherless- and we are so excited to come along side him and be a part of God rescuing and restoring orphans in Ethopia....we can't wait to watch the Lord work!!! Soon enough, if the Lord is willing, we will get to visit him in Ethopia!! 

Went to our favorite yogurt place :)

Brodie and Mikey in the front of the bus :)

Keegan and his buddy, Yosef ;)

Dear Jesus, please cover each of these children as they get ready to go back to their home countries. Please provide the perfect forever family for each child. Thank You that each one of them now personally know and loves You- all glory to Your Name!!! And bless the new group of kids that are getting ready to come and spend a year traveling America to Speak Up for orphans all over the world! Prepare their hearts as well to come to know You!!!