Reflections on turning 40

I know some women who dread this birthday but for me I am thankful for the 40 years of life I have lived. I have always had clean water to drink and bathe in, enough food to nourish my body, a home to live in, clothes and shoes to wear and a family who loves me. I have had the opportunity to be educated and graduate from college, have a career and earn an income. I am blessed to be married to my best friend. We celebrated our 15 year anniversary in Ethiopia with our FOUR children; who can only be described as gifts from God.

So I am celebrating my 40th birthday looking back on a blessed and fortunate life. I am looking forward to using all He has gifted me with to serve Him and make a difference for His kingdom with the rest of it!

Selah, "Unredeemed"

A friend and mother of an Ethiopian adopted son had this new song and these lyrics posted on her blog over the weekend. Not to be a copy cat but I post them here to share the TRUTH! Our family has been hit recently with unimaginable betrayal from the evil one. Jamie and I were completely taken off guard and were trying to process this for ourselves but at the same time wondering how we were going to talk to our kids about this. As adults, we know we will be let down and as christians we know our walk will be challenging. But if you mess with my kid then you better watch out because then you have awakened the mamma and pappa bear and we will come after you.

We prayed for nearly a week and got guidance from pastors we trust. We had the conversation with our kids a week ago and they were hurt. It was crushing to watch our children hurting because of someone who abused their position as a spiritual mentor and actually did evil, physical damage to the very children they were trusted to grow in CHRIST! Not to mention the hundreds/thousands of other kids that are now hurting and will struggle with this betrayal for a long time.

I want to share a few things that I found helpful in getting through the hurt because I think there is something here we can all take away from this experience:

1. "As you love your kids back to their feet again, let them know we don't understand many things this side of Heaven, but God is STILL in control and reigning from HIS throne."

'And so Lord, where do I put my hope? MY ONLY HOPE IS IN YOU.' Psalm 39:7

2. A child's mom and dad will someday fail them. A child's coach/teacher will fail someway. And yes, a child's hero will fail in someway. God never wanted us to have idols made of gold, silver, or even human flesh. Our hero, Jesus, will never fail!

'Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by

GOD,' 2 Corinthians 1:4

UNREDEEMED

The cruelest world
The coldest heart
The deepest wound
The endless dark
The lonely ache
The burning tears
The bitter nights
The wasted years

Life breaks and falls apart
But we know these are
Places where grace is
Soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered
Is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be
Unredeemed

For every choice that led to shame
And all the love that never came
For every vow that someone broke
And every lie that gave up hope
We live in the shadow of the fall
But the cross says these are all
Places where grace is
Soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered
Is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be
Unredeemed

Places where grace is
Soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But you never know the miracle
The Father has in store
Just watch and see
It will not be
Just watch and see
It will not be
Unredeemed

Written by Chad Cates, Tony Wood, Brian Petak

POTTY TIME

In the middle of the basement finishing project we decided to replace all the toilets in the house too. The toilet in the hall off the kitchen had a tendency to not flush well and even went as far as over flowing twice, making it "rain" in the basement, YUCK! We have a Habitat for Humanity, ReStore here in Cape and before they came to pick up the old potties we captured this. Jamie thinks it is Christmas card worthy. Please leave me a comment and let me know if you agree.

Ab workout or bouncy seat?

Phisher decided he was not going to nap today. I had a weeks worth of laundry to do, so I put him in his bouncy seat. I came around the corner and saw him using the attachment bar as handles for his ab crunches. I had to run to grab the flip cam and before I could start filming he already had at least 1,000 crunches done. He is a little tired out here but this is what I was able to capture on film : )

Alligators in our pool

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? I see a PHELIX , looking at me!

Missing Turtle

There is an unidentified "naked turtle" on the run in SE Missouri. When the BIG P's returned home from school the other day, they hopped out of the car and said "look a turtle!" Upon closer inspection, they sadly realized that is was just an empty shell : ( Paeton then says, "Oh no, there is a naked turtle on the loose!" ROTFL

I have decided that I need to start including a weekly blog post on all the funny things my husband and kids say. We thrive on humor here and use it to keep out hectic, crazy lives, balanced.

One night last week we were getting the twins ready for bed. I have repeatedly asked Jamie to PLEASE tuck the boys pj shirt into their shorts. I think this keeps them warmer, their tummies covered and I just want it this way. So on this particular evening, It had been a little hectic and I softly barked at Jamie, "would you PLEASE tuck Phisher's shirt into his pjshorts!" Jamie turns back to the changing area and says to Phisher, (to me), "Your mom says we have to tuck in your shirt, I guess you are having a formal sleep over tonight." ROTFL again

I love that guy! He makes me laugh so hard sometimes, especially when I need it most!

ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing

Feet Fettish

Friday night, new friends offered to bring us dinner. They are new to town and have a 4 1/2 yr old and 8 month old daughters. My daughter, Paeton said, "Mom shouldn't we be bringing them dinner?" Probably so, but I was not going to turn down this incredible offer. We sat the babies together to play and look over at them a few minutes later to find our Phisher sucking the toes of their sweet daughter, Caroline! Phisher loves feet! He loves his feet, he loves Phelix's feet. I hope we are able to get this under control before our next play date with Caroline

The Blessing Jar

On friday afternoon when I returned home from picking up Parker and Paeton from school, there was a gift on the front porch. Inside was the sweetest gift, The Blessing Jar. "What a blessing- a precious little one to love! This blessing jar contains 31 timeless thoughts that celebrate this special gift.

Here are a few of my favorites. . .

I love little children, and it is not a slight thing when they, who are fresh from God, love us.

Charles Dickens

Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.

Lady Bird Johnson

Babies are like sponges. They absorb all your strength and leave you limp. But give them a squeeze and you get it all back.

The first handshake in life is the greatest of all: The clasp of an infant's finger around your own.

Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it. Harold S. Hulbert

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.

A hundred years from now . . . it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. . . but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child. Anonymous

I love thinking on these things as I go about my life's work. Having been trusted by Him to raise four precious children is something I do not take lightly. With help from above I pray they will all grow to love and serve HIM!

Thank you friends for your kindness and inspiration!

Sidewalk Prophets "The Words I Would Say" w/ LYRICS

Jamie called this morning on his way to make rounds. He wanted me to listen to the words of this song and let me know that he loves me. Thank you Jesus for blessing me with Jamie as my husband. Thank you that You are the provider for my soul and send angels in my life to encourage me along the way. Thank You that Your hand is on me. . . I pray I will do great things for Your glory . . . Thank You for today

Guess Who Slept through the night??

PHELIX!! We are excited and very proud to announce that Mr Phelix slept all night long last night! He went down around 8:30 pm and woke with a big smile at 7:00 am! Phelix we are so proud of you buddy! Phisher is getting close to his twin brother's accomplishment, the last two nights he has only woke 1 time to eat! Hurray!! Jamie and I are so thankful, we are both people who need sleep to function well during the day. Jamie of course needs to be well rested to care for his patients and while I don't actually have people "under the knife" so to speak depending on me, but I do care for 4 really important little people who's very lives do depend on me. I will just say that my 4 little people love their mother all the time but they like me a lot more when I have had sleep. Even when I bark and growl at them they still say I am the greatest mom on earth because I ask them, "Who's the greatest Mom in all the world?" and they kindly reply, "you are." And sometimes after I have barked and growled and then bitten them, (this only happens occasionally to the BIG P's) and I apologize for drawing blood and inflicting wounds they say, "thank's mom, you're the best." Yes, I am stretching the truth here, but let me just say, everyone is happy Phelix slept through the night and that Phisher is getting close : )

Is it REALLY September?

I am sad that I have not blogged in a long time. I wish I could sit down for just a few minutes a day and keep you up to date with what is going on in our crazy lives, I will try and do better. Now, to try to catch up. . . the BIG P's have been back in school for three weeks now. The little p's and I miss them a lot during the day. I have an angel who comes to help me with the twins a couple days a week. Her name is Irene, she is from Kenya, Africa and has been here for 6 years. We originally met 5 years ago during VBS. She is a strong christian mother of two boys and I look forward to the days she is with us. She and her husband are working so hard to become permanent residents here in the USA, would you keep them in your prayers, that God would show up big time for them so they can continue to witness and encourage others on HIS behalf.

Our basement is almost finished, it has taken a little longer than we expected. . . dosen't it always? It is beautiful, we are so excited to be able to move back in and do life down there! We have a nice guest bedroom, an entertainment room with a big TV and stereo and Wii/Playstation 3 coming soon, a library with furniture coming soon, a full beautiful kitchen with pecan cabinets and bar, Jamies office, a craft area for me and storage area and a nice bathroom too! We are excited to have the space for gathering to study His word, and for fellowship. Parker and Paeton are already planning their birthday parties they want to hold in the new and improved basement. We pray it will help us host many a youth gathering, many family gatherings and a great place for making lasting memories with dear friends.

Jamie and Parker spent the holiday weekend in Branson, MO at the annual Kanakuk, father son retreat. They always have the best time challenging themselves mentally, physically and spiritually. They come home with the most hysterical stories, having grown closer to each other, their fellow dad/son friends and in their relationship and devotion to their GOD!

Phelix and Phisher enjoy their morning walks. Applesauce, pears, bananas, peaches, blueberries, apricots, sweet potato's, carrots, squash and rice cereal are favorite foods. Fruit and veggies mixed with chicken or turkey puree are also good. Green beans, peas, ham, and beef are rejected choices. They enjoy teething on biter cookies and are working on mastering their pincher grasp with cheerios. Phisher loves to read books! His favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Phelix loves Praise baby DVD's, he is so cute waving his little arms in the air worshiping his God! They both enjoy music and playing peek-a-boo. When they smile and laugh out loud, our hearts melt. If you have ever seen the movie, Happy Feet, with the little penguin, Mambo, you have met our Phisher. He is always moving is legs and feet, flapping his arms, this kid loves to move! He is so happy and exudes life! My favorite thing Phelix does is sign for me to kiss him. It is amazing and true, when we first met him in Ethiopia in just a few days he had a sign for kissing his momma. It is the cutest! He opens his little mouth just a little, head is tipped down (he is so stinkin' cute) when I respond and pucker up and kiss him, he places his little hands on each side of my face and holds me there for however many kisses he is wanting. I love it!

Life is good, really, really good. We are still working on sleeping through the night. Jamie and I are up several times for feedings and comforting. God is good, really, really good! We are blessed, we are happy, we are The Outman 6.

photos to come soon