Saying goodbye.

My heart is hurting right now. We said goodbye to Dali and her sweet family today. I can't tell you how much we grew to love her over the past few months. Sam and Amelia connected with her deeply, and I really mean that. They would just melt into her and even when they couldn't be comforted by anyone else, Dali seemed to often quiet their spirits. Knowing that they will, Lord willing, have a brother from Ethiopia made the relationship even sweeter to me. She and her mom and her four kids will get on a bus Sunday and ride for two days to meet her husband in South Dakota where he got a job at a meat factory. It's hard to see them set off with basically nothing, into another unknown place while we live here in our nice, neat bubble of a world. Oh, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings swirling around. For now, I'll just share some pictures of our time with Dali, her cousin, and her two youngest at Wheeler Farm today.








I know Amelia will ask multiple times tomorrow, as she does every day, "Where's my Dali?" Boooooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooo. All for now, Jen

Things I am loving and things that I don't like at all.

Things I am loving:
1. Fall. Seriously in love with these perfect weather, changing leaves, lay on a blanket in the cool, sunshiney afternoons kinda days. It is the perfect season for our little explorers:


2. Being with family. Getting to know baby Isaac, having a bustling house with people coming and going, it has been wonderful. Crazy, but wonderful.

3. Having a bathroom in our room. I took a long shower this morning without toddlers peaking in or asking me for something or whining for my presence. I simply locked the bathroom door. Ahhhhh.

4. The babes expanding vocabularies. They were playing with worms (again) yesterday and Sammy said to Joel, "Look at my little buddy! He's my little buddy!" While hiking in the mountains the other day, Joel and Amelia were going up a pretty steep hill. He must have looked worried because she said, "I trust you daddy." WHat?!?!?!? I don't remember ever talking about trust other than singing "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus" but apparently she heard it and adopted it into her being. Sweetest thing ever. Other great phrases heard lately are, "What's happenin?" "What ya doin?" and many. many more.

5. The little park right down the street. It isn't big but it has plenty to occupy the babes for a long time and is literally a two minute walk. My friend Stephanie takes her little ones there almost every afternoon and we chat while pushing swings and kissing boo boos and laughing at antics. Living life along side others is essential for me I am finding. And so I am thankful to live right by a friend and right by a little park:)

6. Craigslist. I bought white, wooden indoor shutters for our living room, dining room, our bedroom and two hall windows for less that it would cost for ONE pair of shutters retail. So awesome!

Things I do not like at all.

1. Testing, testing, one two three. It seems the babes are testing every single limit and boundry they have ever known to make sure it still applies at the new house. It is hard to find the balance of grace and empathy (new house, family in town, etc. etc. ) while providing the structure and boundries that I know they are (literally) crying out for. God give us wisdom and strength!

2. Not being able to walk to the grocery store. I really do miss that.

3. We have fallen out of rhythem. Obviously I expected that the move would rattle our daily life for a while, but things still feel disoriented and I know the babes do as well. I am ready to find our new routine and dread that right when we do, it will be time for our winter trip to Texas. Ah well, such is life.

4. Our friend Dali is moving to South Dakota this week. Oh how I will miss her and her companionship and her love for the babes. She has taught me so much. She and her family (refugees from Eritrea/Ethiopia) have awakened my heart to the harsh reality that millions live in throughout the world. It was a painful but good awakening.

I guess that's all for now. Joelie and I are spending time out together today and we are ready to move on from the coffee shop to the outdoors. Hope you all are well, Jen

Simply In Season...

After reading several books about eating locally, seasonally,etc. I bought a cookbook called, "Simply in Season" that I just love. It breaks the recipes into seasons and that helps me so much! My first recipe that I made is called "Autumn Vegetable Soup" and I thought I'd post the recipe here. MMMMMMmmmmmm.

Autumn Vegetable Soup
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
In soup pot saute onion in 1 T olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add garlic and saute 1 minute.

1/2 cup each kale, cabbage, carrots, red or green sweet pepper (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon each salt, dried basil, dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Add and saute a little, then turn heat down to low, cover pan, and let cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2 cups bean cooking liquid or vegetable broth
1 cup tomato juice
3/4 cup cooked beans
1/2 cup corn
2 teas. dried instant barley
2 teaspoons orzo
1 1/2 TBLS red cooking wine
Add and bring to a gentle boil and simmer about 15 minutes.

1/2 cup tomatoes (chopped)
1 TBLS fresh parsley
Add tomatoes and parsley, simmer another few minutes.

Here are some Fall pictures to go along with it:)

I truly believe that it feeds your soul...

My nephew Isaac and his mama and daddy are here for a visit. Meeting and getting to know him for the first time has been such a joy. He is so sweet and snuggly and I have just loved getting out a sling and wearing him when the babes are sleeping or occupied. He fell asleep yesterday almost immediately in the sling yesterday and I lay on the couch and read some of my new cookbook and I literally felt like my soul was being fed. A sleeping baby on your chest is one of the sweetest, most pure joy feelings of all time I think and I just soaked it in. Poor little Isaac (and Shanyn) are weathering sleepless nights here due to him catching the babes cold:( I hope all of the house is feeling better soon!! All for now, Jen

We moved.

Whew. We are in our new house! The move went really well, though there were definitely some lows--think overly tired Sam freeeaking out over the CD player being in the wrong spot during the move--trying to pull it out of socket and throw it across room. Mama goes outside to get reinforcements and Sam runs after her tripping over his pajama pants and flipping down the concrete steps. He is fine but mama literally cries for an hour and a half. Wowsers. Anyway, the majority of the move was pretty drama free ONLY because we had so much help from Joelie's mama, from sweet Dali, from Joelie's friends that helped move the boxes. I am so,so,so,so thankful for all of the help because I seriously had no idea how impossible packing/cleaning/unpacking would be with two 2.5 year olds to entertain, feed, clothe, etc. I am so ready to be settled so that I can get out of the "oh, there are those children again! Don't they know there is so much to be done?!" Seriously, I think has been my least favorite part of the whole move. I am so ready to plop down on the floor and read some books, go to the park, explore our new neighborhood. Soon, soon. Tonight we are getting ready for Shanny and baby Isaac who are coming tomorrow, then Tim and then Jim. I LOVE having family here. Love it, love it, love it. I do look forward to getting back to "normal" and start the business of finding our new rythem, but for now I am just going to try and enjoy time with family, time getting settled, time transitioning from summer to COLD (ahem).

Hope you all are well! Jen

At least there was a little fun to be had during the move:) Sam was in "big truck" heaven.

No time for play children. Pick up a dish rag and start washing!

Lots of tired stares going on as we all figure out how to transition to Sam being out of his crib (Amelia taught him how to climb out), the move, family visiting, etc.

First successful nap in their new room.

I look veeery forward to resting here tonight and for many nights to come:)

"Catchin' Cookies"

I went into the kitchen the other day and saw her reaching up into the snack box with a stick. I smiled and knew exactly what she was doing--fishing for treats! She looked back and saw me and said, "Catchin' cookies mama". Adorable with a capital A.

In other news, my mom-in-love is here and we are sooooo enjoying her being here! She is such a fun companion to have during our days and also a complete and utter lifesaver when it comes to this move. Did I mention that we are moving on WEDNESDAY? Yes, we are.


Also, these two wonderful people were here for a visit last week. We had such a relaxed, fun time together. Every night that they were here I went to sleep feeling so happy and full hearted after our day together. We miss you already Bub and Birdie!



I couldn't help putting that last one in:) It's Bub and I when we were little. Does it remind you of another little pair you know?

Lastly, Sam has started bossing Amelia around and we think it is sooo funny. "Mena come here!" "Mena, get in the tunnel!" Mena, just drink it!" After all of the bossing around that she has done in their 2 and a half years of life, it is about time that he turns the tables a bit:) Here's the little boss himself:


All for now! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood and I'm ready to go enjoy it! Oh, and pack. I guess I should pack some more! Jen

Making up for lost time...

Amelia stopped co-sleeping with us at around 10 months I think. She was nursing like every five minutes and bouncing and rolling around like a ball in a pin ball machine and none of us were getting much sleep. So into a hammock in the nursery she went. It was bittersweet and it took her a loooooooong time to learn to fall asleep on her own and then to go back to sleep on her own. It was traumatic for us all but I didn't know what else to do. Sam slept really well with us until a bit over a year and transitioned easily to a crib. We missed him and his cuddly ways, but having our bed to ourselves did feel luxurious for a while. Fast forward to almost two and a half when Miss Amelia starts climbing out of her big girl bed and into ours. At first she was flipping and flopping and so we fought it. We gave consequences if she didn't go back to her bed. We groggily woke up and put her back and put her back and put her back. Then suddenly, things changed. We would wake up in the morning or in the deep of the night and there she would be, sleeping soundly in between us. No flipping. No flopping. We didn't even know she had come to bed! So, we stopped fighting it and started embracing it. Well, as the nights went on her arrival time into our room became earlier and now she comes in between 11-1 usually. And we love it. We giggle as we hear her open her door and then slam shut. She staggers into our room with her crazy hair and sleepy eyes and plaid flannel gown. She climbs into our bed and curls up silently and is greeted with kisses and squeezes from both mama and dadoo. And I think about how we fight things, sometimes, like little ones sharing sleep with us or "having" to rock them to sleep. I mean, I get it. Sleep deprivation is not fun. I have been there, done that and I realize that co-sleeping, etc. can sometimes make for tricky transitions. You have to find what works best for everyone. But sometimes, I think we push independence way too soon and we miss out on the gift of allowing our children to depend on us, to rest in our arms and close to our hearts. And so, our Amelia, she has realized that if she is still (which she now is most of the time) she can rest with us and share sleep peacefully and make up for some lost time.

That's affirmative!

Finally, oh at long last, the babes have started answering us with affirmatives! Words that have laid dormant for their entire speaking lives have suddenly popped up in their vocabulary--words like yes, mmm hmmm and okay have made their debut and they are literally music to our ears! "Sam, would you like some more water?" "Yes mama" instead of "WATER! WATER!" "Amelia could you go get your shoes?" " Okay mama". I know it may not sound like much, but when all you have heard is either a repitition of your words or a "no" even when they mean yes, it is monumental. It makes me oh,so happy. So does Amelia's recent additions of unprompted, " I missed you! " and " I love you."

Sweet times,
Jen

Summers End...

We took a last minute weekend getaway this weekend to Capitol Reef National Park. Our friends, the Hyers, went with us and we had such a great time picking apples, driving through the incredible mountains and cliffs, hiking and just hanging out. It's a challenge to travel with toddlers that are tired and whiney and grumpy because of less nap time, etc. but worth the challenge for sure! Here is to family adventuring and celebrating the close of the fabulous season that is summer. Autumn, here we come!




Lots more pictures of our time here

Capitol Reef National Park--September 2009

. Now it is back to the fullness of life at home. This morning alone I had calls from our realtor who I am meeting tonight to tag paint touch ups that need to be done before we move in, our current land lord/friend who wants to come by Wed. to show the house to several people, our adoption case worker who will be coming tonight to look at the new house to amend our homestudy....better get packin! Jen

Come along with me...

I wish you all could have been with us on our trip to the mountains this afternoon. Oh man. It was just beautiful! So, since you couldn't be there, I thought you could come along through some little clips of our time. Actually, it's a pretty long video and there are no high action clips. Just our little family,loving the breeze and the rocks and trees and the water and each other. There are so many things I could say about these clips. The way Amelia breezes through the trees dancing and laughing while Sam is just so industrious. It just amazes me how profoundly "themselves" children are. Anyway,make sure to make it to the Joel/Amelia Mountain Jamboree:)

Even in the beloved mountains, it isn't all sunshine and love. Amelia threw one of Sammy's favorite little dump trucks into the stream and it swam away and then later (as you saw) Sam got very, very upset when it was time to go. After a warm bubble bath and some dancing with dadoo,though, all was well with the world again. Happy, happy late summer Saturday to you! Jen

P.S. If you are adventuring into the forest any time soon with your little ones (or even if you aren't), I highly recommend this book:

I found it at a yard sale the other day and I think my mouth may have fallen open when I saw it. It is written by the author of these favorite books ever of ours but I had never seen this one before! Anyway, it tells the story of three cousins who visit this huge, old oak tree in each of the seasons and it is just beautiful!

So "Clozy"...

After our dear friends Sara and "tiny baby Claire" came for a visit the other day, Amelia reveled in getting to be a baby again and get "clozy" (cozy) in the their old Moses basket. She stayed in there for a surprisingly long time:) Not too big of a surprise though, as the girl does love to snuggle.

Lately....

Lately I have been starting posts that go left unfinished and then forgotten. Too much to say right now, I guess, and not enough energy or time to say it well. So, here is a a little summary of bits of our world that I have been wanting to record....

Lately,

* I have had a little girl attached to my side every where I go.

* Their wonderous words have made me smile. "Deeeelicios" says Sam whenever he drinks a cup of milk. " The way they call the pet store "Pep Store!" The way they jabber to each other in the back of the car, "Look, Sambo there's a crane right there! Big crane workin' so hard." .....

* Amelia's thankful heart. "Thank you mama," is such a common phrase from her these days, but it makes me smile every single time I hear it. Creating the habits of "please and thank you" was the first "railroad tracks" I worked on laying with them. Amelia has obviously formed the habit, we are still working on it with Sammers:)

* Watching Sam go to sleep is one of my favorite parts of these days. Listening to him recite his favorite stories in the dark of the room like, " Sun came out and POP! He hate one apple, still huuuungry! Ate two pears, still huuuuungy!" .....FAT Caterpiller! " Then his 'Jesus loved me" recitation, then he just lays down and looks up with his eyes open and then slowly, slowly he drifts away to sleep. I guess because Amelia is just so opposite from this, it seems like a small miracle every time I see him do it:) Be wary of one size fits all sleep training methods, you new mamas out there. Sam and Amelia are living proof that you can do things the same way with two children and they just have different sleep patterns/preferences/tendencies. Don't freak out if your six week old isn't sleeping in six hour stretches (or whatever those books promise)--you may just have an Amelia on your hands. In the same way, don't get puffed up if your infant does sleep for long stretches and think every other mama out there must be doing it the wrong way--you may just have a Sam:)

* There is an excitement in the air about moving into a new house on the first of October. It is bittersweet, of course, as we have loved this home and walking every where, every day. But this new home, it is closer to our church community, it is next door to a sweet adoptive family, it is in a very diverse area. It is bigger than we thought we wanted, but it is a clean slate and we are happy about that.

* I am so thankful for our new family mentor relationship. We had such a great experience with Taleb and Khoula and hope to see them still even though our official mentoring time is over. They are in English classes all day now and are pretty tired at the end of the day.Such a precious couple. The new family is a refugee family from Eritrea and have been living in Ethiopia for 9 years before coming here! Daili is the mama and she has been coming over twice a week to train to be a Mother's Helper. Um, I cannot even tell you how fabulous it has been this week with her here. To get to help someone with their English while being productive along side each other. From the two days she was here I now have three meals and three dozen muffins in the freezer waiting for our upcoming guests! And the companionship is so sweet and welcome. It has furthered my belief that we are just not meant to do life alone! She is so warm with Sam and Amelia and I love to see how their play also becomes so productive when she is here and we are working together. I am so thankful to have them in our lives! Please pray for her and her family if you think about it. She has four children (9,8,3,2) and their government assistance for housing has run out. They are desperate for work but have been unable to find it with their limited English and the present economy. Her husband and father just traveled by bus to another state following a lead on a possible factory job.

* Sam and Amelia have been bickering over things/space often:( I guess it is just a new stage in our journey and I'm trying to find new and effective ways to keep the peace. So thankful that this is a new issue and for the looong stretch of general sharing and caring we have experienced between them:)

* All I have time for for now. Hope you all are doing well! Jen

Repeat after me, "Jesus love me".

Sammy is quite the repeater. If he is thirsty he will say, "Sambo wants water. Sambo wants water. Sambo wants water. Sambo wants water please. Sambo WANTS water." All the while you are getting the water, but that doesn't seem to matter. Anyway, it can be very waring on the nerves, but lately he has started one repetitive phrase that found it's way into my heart.

Every night these days I rock Amelia to sleep. It is beautiful in many ways, and frustrating in others (another post for another day, perhaps). One of the things I love about it, though, is that Sam is sitting in his bed right next to us and I get to hear all of his little chitter chatter while we are rocking away. Quite a few nights in a row he was repeating to himself the phrase, "Jesus love me. Jesus love me. Jesus love me." Over and over again. Then he would just curl up in his blanket and go to sleep. Oh the sweetness. As I sat there I tried to think about ways to describe to him what Jesus's love looks like in our life every day. Little did I know, He would give me a living example for myself in just a few days...

Joel took the babes to play at a friends house and I stayed home to clean. All was well and I was really having a great time until, suddenly, my inner critic reared it's ugly head. " Good grief, Jenny, why can't you get it together and get a cleaning routine together? Then you wouldn't be running around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to catch up! You say you want a tidy, clean home and yet you never do anything about it...." and on and on until a heard another little voice. Sammy's. Straight from my heart came his little voice saying, "Jesus love me." I sighed and sat down, soaking in the fact that despite my weaknesses, Jesus does love me--without reservation. I plunged ahead with my cleaning until the critic came again to say, "I really don't know why you are wearing work out clothes. Do you consider pushing a vacuum cleaner exercise? Seriously, there are so many mom's around you who manage to find time to take care of themselves...you really need to grow up and learn to prioritize." Then suddenly I heard Sammy's voice break through again, "Jesus love me." "But I really do need to grow up." "Jesus love me." "But I really am lazy." "Jesus love me." "But,"

"Jesus love me".

I gave up and just rested in the fact that He does love me, He does delight in me. He wants to encourage and refine, yes, but He also just wants me to rest in that love and that grace. That grace that washes all of our sin away and makes us new. That grace that recognizes our weaknesses and uses us to spread His love anyway.

Oh how I thank Him that He speaks to us, straight to our hearts.

So, little Sammy, you keep on repeating that truth and I pray that your soul will come to know that your Maker, and Savior, and Friend does love you indeed.

Down by the river...

So, today I took the babes to Sugarhouse park to play at the playground. As I have written before, playgrounds are NOT my idea of mothering fun. I would much rather find a big field and let them explore anytime. However, now that they are a bit older it isn't as stressful to try and keep up with them, make sure they aren't falling off of high surfaces etc. and so I take them in an effort to be well-rounded:)

So, last time we were at Liberty Park Amelia had a scary incidence on a slide with big kids. I think they may have pushed her when she wasn't going fast enough and so she got really scared and upset:( So, when I announced that we were going to the park today she said, "Melia not slide. Kids not nice." So sad.

I'll just fast forward in this story to the point this afternoon where Amelia was headfirst down the highest tunnel slide frozen in fear because two big kids were behind her. She was freaking out and so I finally climbed up and pulled her out by her feet. When we got down she said, "Sambo" and I told her we would go get him. Then she pointed and I looked out to see Sam halfway across a big field heading toward a river (or maybe it's a stream)!!! I really thing he has an internal radar pointing him to the nearest rushing water. So, we caught up with him and (after we sternly talked about him not leaving a playground without mama) headed toward the river. And there we sat for a long, long time. They sat perfectly still while I waded into the water and brought them piles of rocks to throw back into the water. Every time I would bring them a new handful of rocks Amelia would say, "Thank you mama" and it just warmed my heart.

Anyway, all of this to say that I think we mamas and children each have our places where we thrive. For some it might be at playgrounds meeting new mamas and kiddos, for others it may be at play groups. But for us, we'll take a river bank and a pile of rocks, a big hill to climb or a field to lay in the sunshine, puddles to jump, bugs to find. It has been this way from the very beginning of our journey together. Fussy hour? Head out doors.

These are the places where I feel like all of our souls are being fed and where harmony is pretty easy to find. Except when it's time to leave. That's another story altogether.

All for now, Jen

A little peek into their play...

I am still amazed and delighted every time I hear the babes playing on their own, leaving this mama able to get one or two things done around the house. I usually can't help but peek around a corner, though, and eavesdrop on their little conversations and watch them play. It is so interesting to see their play diverge as they get older. As boy/girl twins they were offered equal access to dolls, trucks, balls,etc. from the very beginning and though they do overlap, it is very obvious that Sam has had a love affair with trucks and things that go from super young and Amelia is a nurturer and relational in her play. Give Amelia two sticks and she will turn them towards each other and say, "Hi, good to see you!" Give Sam two sticks and they will be flying across the sky as planes. It really is amazing.

Anyway, here is a peek for you into their world of play and conversation:

Puddle jumpers...

Rainy, cool morning here...perfect for puddle splashing!

Praise God from who ALL blessings flow ( pun intended:) .......

Even blessings like pee pee and poo poo. I'm sorry. Really, I am. But this is day five of potty training Amelia, and I just can't NOT talk about it. Let me just say that over all it has gone well. I think by the end of the week accidents will be pretty few. However, it is really exhausting. Seriously. Other mamas told me that but I think that I didn't believe them. I mean, what can be so exhausting about teaching your little one to go to the potty? Ahem. I have learned my lesson for sure. I have almost cried and wanted to quit about fifty times! I have been at the end of my potty training rope several times and raised my voice, pleaded and begged for her to pee pee, etc.! But then there will be a little victory that reminds me that the intense training won't last forever and on we go!

I wish I could put some super cute pics of Amelia on her little pot, but I am wary of putting pics like that on the Internet, so here are some pics of Joel and Sammy's weekend road tripping to ID for a visit with Bub and Robin(stole them from your facebook Robin, hope you don't mind:)! They had such a wonderful time.

Weekend adventures...

Joelie and Sam are off on their first overnight trip together! They are heading to Idaho to see my brother and sis in luv who are there with the band that Bub works for. They'll join them at an outdoor festival(that may get rained out) and just soak up some time together. It is so obvious when Sam is ready for some guy time. He just starts climbing all over me and getting aggressive and I'm like, "Help!!! Sam needs some guy time!!!!" That's one of the reasons it was great having Evan living with us for these past months (dropped him at the airport today to fly to his bride and come back to UT a married man--yay!) b/c Sam had an additional guy to rough and tumble with! Anyway, here are some pics of their departure...

See? Here is Joel trying to download some music on his ipod for the journey...


Bye bye sweet guys...


He knows something special is goin on...



Then he realizes "Mena" and Momma are not getting in the car! Then there were a few tears.


I'm sure he recovered quickly and was back to this sweet smiling face before long:)


While the boys are away the girls will.....potty train! Yep, that's the big plan for our day tomorrow. I read the book "Potty training in less than a day" in preparation. Anyone want to tell me some successes they have had using the principals from the book? Anyone? I'll let you know how it goes.

All for now, Jen

Sometimes life swirls...

Since the babes were born, we have tried to be pretty intentional about keeping life outside the home low key. Parenting twins through their beginning ages and stages provided plenty of chaos, and I felt that by focusing almost entirely on home I felt the freedom to spend my days mothering and trying to have as peaceful a home as possible. So, not many commitments, no huge changes, not a very full schedule (other than Joelie's work and even that has slowed down in recent months). In the past couple of months,though, it seems that as life with the babes was slowing down in a sense , life outside the home has started to swirl around us a bit more. Mostly in good, challenging, heart-stirring ways. It was like we were swimming under the ocean water for a couple of years, focusing on our little family and the beauty around us and then God said, "Hey little ones, come up for a breath of air. Come look around and see what I am up to beyond your family (precious to Me and to you as it is, and should be)." So, we stuck our heads up and suddenly we are in the middle of a new church plant, planning on moving to the West side of SLC and possibly buying our first home, and adopting a baby from Ethiopia! WHAT?!

Okay, okay, I'll write about the last one first. It is, after all, the one dearest to our hearts. Adoption has been a part of my heart for as long as I can remember. In silly little ways (while other little girls were playing princess I insisted on playing nothing but make believe scenerios about orphans) and in deeper ways I think God has been preparing me for adoption all of my life. Joel and I decided early on in our relationship that adoption would be a part of our life together, and we have just been waiting for the right timing. For many reasons that I hope to share as time goes on, we feel that now is the time. So, our agencies have been chosen, the paperwork has begun, our home study is complete. It is a long process. I honestly don't know what our timeline is (financially we will need to be creative and are accepting that this will make the process even a bit longer), but I hope that in about 18 months we may have a little one added to our family. Our hearts are full of joy but there is joy and soberness. Joy that we will be adding another precious child to our family. Joy that God cares for orphans and has given us such a beautiful example of adoption by accepting us into His family ("Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and
to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27). Soberness in the fact that there is an orphan crisis in the world that sometimes necessitates children being removed from their culture, language, and first family. So, I hope you all know that we are not making this decision lightly. We have discussed it for years and feel so much peace that this is right where we are supposed to be (daunting as it is sometimes:) . So, join us on this next step in our story. We are glad you are walking with us. I know there are probably so many questions that you have and I promise to try to answer as many as I can along the way.

The rest of the life swirls I will try to catch you up on as well. But for now, I'm trying to keep our days peaceful amidst the changes and that means a little less time for computer stuff. Today the babes and I walked to the park and I watched as they plunked rock after rock into a little stream. It was over cast and breezy and and my heart felt content and I was reminded that even though this is a season of change, I still want Joel and I to be present in the present...ya know what I mean? All for now, Jen