Deuteronomy 6:5-9

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Stay tuned...

March 13, 2011 marks the day that we "officially" started the process of adoption. That was the day we filled out an application with LSM. Loving Shepherd Ministries is a non-profit agency that helps narrow down the adoption options for your family. We highly recommend them. Thank you Jenn who recommended them to us.

You may know that I have wanted to adopt for as long as I can remember. Martie has always liked the "idea" of adoption, and was ready to pursue it for our family around the first of the year. He was teaching through the book of James and he got to chapter 1 verse 27, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

Adoption is important because it is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us. We were once children of wrath, but Jesus came and willingly laid down His life and poured out His blood so that we could be called sons and daughters. I love Romans 8:15, "15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" We go to God and cry to Him as Daddy! Isn't that awesome! That's why we can call fellow Christians, brother or sister. We are the family of God if we have trusted in Him as Lord and Savior.

While moving in the adoption process we discovered that I am now pregnant with our sixth child. We were very shocked but are confident in God's Sovereignty. We know that He has called our family to adopt and so we will continue. We are trusting in Him for everything! The Lord has provided for us time and time again. My husband said something in His sermon Sunday that has stuck with me, "by faith we obey." I truly feel that's what we have done and are doing. We are just obeying our convictions and trusting in Him for the rest. We are so thankful that He has found us to be worthy to raise another child for His glory!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Garden update





The garden is looking good. I forgot to take a picture of the 330 gallon water tank that Martie bought. We're hoping that saves us money this summer. It was almost full after just a couple of good rains. I will have to take a picture of it. It is quite large.

We planted watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, green beans, sugar snap peas, tomatoes (many kinds), bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, field peas, and okra. I think that's all. The boys are a huge help this year. They both really understand when, where, and how to dig, weed, and plant. I am so proud at how hard they both have worked. Taylor hasn't helped much outside, but she will be picking, cleaning, and canning right along side of me. She would rather do the kitchen stuff. ;)