Tuesday, February 28, 2017

A Big Day!

We're celebrating three years of life today for this sweet little baby!
(Party is coming . . .on Thursday!) 
And tonight we'll gather with many fellow pro-life friends from all over our area to rally for all the babies that are at risk of not even having a chance to have a birth-day! 
The 40 Days for Life Kick-Off Event is tonight at 6:30! 
Please pray with for Caroline as she leads it,
and for an encouraging and blessed time for all who come! 
And pray also for the The 40 Days for Life prayer vigil that starts tomorrow! 

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Check out What Caroline is Up To in Today's Newspaper . . .

You can read this little intro or skip down to link to the newspaper at the bottom . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
Caroline has been a busy girl these past few weeks, 
as she takes on leading a 40 Days for Life campaign in our nearby city!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
I think most of you dear readers know about Caroline's testimony of not being aborted when she and her 3 siblings were at their youngest stage of life . . .  7 weeks-old in my womb.   We had just watched their four little hearts beating on the ultrasound screen, when we were handed a business card by the nurse as she said, "Don't worry . . .he will take care of it."  Then, a little while later at our first high-risk OB appointment, it was also recommended that we "reduce the pregnancy to two"
 . . . . babies?  

We are sooooo thankful that we knew the Creator of Life at that time, and that we could trust Him to see us all through the pregnancy!  We always think about had we not had this knowledge in our hearts at the time, and had followed the medical advice we received . . . . 
which two of our beautiful children would we not have today?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So fueled by her personal testimony, and her developing passion for defending life and offering hope to moms in crisis, she has followed the Lord's prompting to step-up
and lead this 40 Days for Life campaign in Centralia.  
You can read more about her story and about the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil in today's local newspaper at:  Today's Article in The Chronicle

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Also, for more information on the 40 Days for Life campaign, you can do so here: 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Please keep Caroline and the campaign in your prayers for the next 40 + days! 
Thanks so much!

Friday, February 24, 2017

Cuteness Overload!

Oh my!  Lydia just sent us these pictures from yesterday,
when Ben and Brielle hung out on the farm all day with her!
 Cuteness overload for sure! 

 Awwwwwww.....
 These days are such a blessing for Ben and Brielle . . .
not only to have this special time with Lydia,
but also to enjoy all the critters and all the fun there is to be had on the farm! 
 Looks like Lucy enjoyed having their company too! 


Tuesday, February 21, 2017

More Encouragement from the Lord . . .

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, 
who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope, 
encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed."  
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17


I'm so grateful for and excited about how the Lord continues to answer my prayers for encouragement in this new work that He has for us to do!  I want to continue to journal these things so we don't forgot what the Lord has done for us, and for all our future, faith-stretching journeys!  The Lord is so faithful in encouraging and strengthening the hearts of His people for every good deed He has planned for us!  So be encouraged! 

Two more tangible ways the Lord has encouraged me recently: 

1.  As part of our church's Pro-Life vision, our pastor arranged for a few of the sessions from the Evangelicals for Life conference in Washington, D.C. to be shown at our church on a Sunday afternoon in January.  I stayed home to watch the little ones as it was going to be a couple hours of sitting still.  But when the family got home, they were all excited about me viewing one of the sessions in particular as they thought it would be of great encouragement to me!  The session was on valuing life by taking care of orphans in foster care!  (Kind of an unexpected topic I thought, during a Pro-Life conference!  But I was excited to view it!)  So, we were able to load the session on our computer at home.  The talk was given by Jim Daly, the current president of Focus on the Family.  He said everything I've been feeling about the difficulty of this work.  He actually said something about how 1/2 the time his own family wondered why they were doing foster care because it was so challenging, and the other 1/2 of the time they experienced the joy of seeing GOD doing His work before their eyes!  He talked a lot about the charge the Lord has given us to be busy about His work and not dwelling on our desire for a comfy, cozy life. The abundant life He has given us doesn't mean that we will have a comfortable life.  He gives us work to do, and usually it is not easy.  It is challenging.  Sometimes He gives us more than we think we can handle, so that in our weakness He is made strong.  And He is glorified in the process. This life is about God, His good plans, and His glory . .. not about us and our comfort!!!  So Jim Daly was really encouraging God's people to support orphan care and get involved somehow!  And he said wouldn't it be awesome if there were no children waiting to be adopted in the US, because Christians have adopted them ALL!   This was all so encouraging to me!!!  (Especially coming from such an unexpected way!)

2.  On our recent vacation, while sitting at the water park watching the kids, another mom pulled up a chair next me.   We talked for about two hours and shared soooo much in common.  She is a strong Christian, homeschooling, adoptive mom that moved from CA to Idaho to get their kids in a rural environment.  Her husband also works from home. She could totally relate to everything I shared about our family's journey with foster-to-adopt, as her family has adopted two children out of foster care.  Their older son still has some very challenging behaviors, and their younger son has significant special needs.  Yet, they are looking to adopt again!  Since her family recently moved from California to Coeur D'Alene, her foster-to-adopt experiences were in California, and we compared notes about what our experiences have been like, and comforted one another in our trials.  I had just had a very discouraging day the day before we left with something that happened regarding an email from W. and G.'s social worker.  So, I just felt like this was such a special and timely answer to my prayer for encouragement!  What are the chances that such a meeting would happen on that day? Only by the Lord's good plan!!!  Thank you, Lord, for this encouragement!  This mom and I exchanged contact information, so Lord willing, we will be able to continue to be of encouragement to one another! 


Friday, February 17, 2017

Mid-Winter Vacation ~ Part 2

Second day . . .
we did more of the same as the day before! 
Just a few more pictures . . . . 
(minus pictures of the hours at the water park!) 



















Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Mid-Winter Family Fun Vacation! Part I

We left home while it was still dark! 
First stop . . .donuts and coffee! 

Yes, it suits you well, Kyle! : -)  LOL! 

 The place is an amazing indoor family fun park!  Lots to do!
The pictures are just a sampling of all that there is to do here! 


















 That's better! 
 Couldn't get pics inside of the laser tag area . . .
but these are the scores of the first game. 
Guess who was the winner . . .  even over Daddy? 
Victoria! 
















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