At Last.....

At last, school is out. At last I am able to enjoy my days being Mama. At last, we've had a free day of nothing but fun. At last, I've had the opportunity to sleep late. At last, I've had aleisure quiet time with Jesus.


 At last, we've had unscheduled moments!! And, where should we spend that time? Why....in Grandma's pool of course!

All Four All Smiles

Finally learning to smile for photos!

Had to crop out JT. One eye was closed. She would have been angry had I left it as is.

To think that they first jumped in a pool EVER just 3 weeks ago, makes this photo of TOTAL enjoyment priceless.

Almost Always Smiling!

If you're swimming at Grandma's house, there is one person you should invite.

Moose!!!!

I don't know another young man who entertains children any better than he does. I don't know another young man who has such a servant's heart. He plays with my children, he plays with his nephews, he plays with children at church. If you remember, he played with the children of Shayandima in Africa. His Aunt Robbie believes God is calling him to children's ministry, but he hasn't heard that from God yet.

Moose, whose name is actually Josh, loves to jump from the diving board, making cannon balls into the pool. His Uncle Stan gave him the nickname Moose because he is a BIG boy! And, when a moose does a cannon ball into the pool, the waves created make little people feel like they're riding the waves in the ocean. it makes for hours of fun.

And, then there's the Moose Monster! Flippers, mask, and snorkel, complete the sound effects of deep breathing make another round of fun.

The Monster in Grandma's Lagoon

It has been a blessed day!!!!!

Lessons From the Dark

The last week has included many dark days for me, circumstances not appropriate for our family blog. I have found it difficult to pray, and had trouble distinguishing God's voice.

The week ended, rather appropriately for a dark week, I suppose.

God got my attention!!

Since I will have a new position next year at school, I must clean out my classroom. (All you teachers out there, you know how much "stuff" we have!)

And, all of you GA teachers know about the new CCGPS. Since our system is using our only 2 post planning days for unit writing, we have no post planning days to clean our classrooms. And, with circumstances from our dark week, I have not devoted enough time to cleaning.

All of that said so you understand why I went to the school late last night. I put the children to bed and had hopes of getting much work done for about 2 hours, with NO ONE around, no one to ask questions, no one to distract me.

I have a key to the building and a key to my classroom. I let myself in the building, then entered my classroom. I locked the door to my classroom, so....if any big bad wolves or other monsters entered the building, I could make a swift get-away through the back door.

I had accomplished about 10 minutes worth of work, whittling away at the easy, most obvious tasks first, to make it feel like I had much to show for my time. That's when a quick job stared me in the face. There sat a cup, with the remains of a grape slushy, and inside the cup were 3 house flies having a royal feast. One more easy task so I could accomplish many little things.

I opened my back door to empty the contents of the cup....totally focused on the flies I was also trying to rid my classroom of.

I'm not sure of the details of this part of the story. All I can tell you is the door closed behind me....and there is no way to open our classroom back doors from the outside. My keys were inside. My cell phone was inside. There was NO way in the building. There was NO way for me to call for help. I really had no choice.

I had to walk home.

In.
The.
Dark.

I tried to shorten my dark journey by visiting my sister's house. She lives directly across from the school in my grandmother's house. The walk was a few football fields in the dark. I wasn't too nervous or worried, until I saw her car wasn't home. I knocked and shouted, all the time her dog barked and barked. She knows me, but she wasn't expecting me to appear in the dark, dressed in my church clothes, and knock on the door when my sister wasn't home.

That was it.

I had to walk home.

In.
The.
Dark.

As I began to walk, I said, "Okay, God, you must have a lesson here for me in all of this." I was often distracted still, though, by the dark days of the week behind me.

But, I did notice the stars shining brightly, no clouds, no moon either. But the stars gave just enough light for me to make my way down the dirt road while able to see where I was going. It reminded me that if we will let our light shine, there may not be many others with bright lights shining, but just that little light helps someone who is struggling to see the path.

Then, I took note of the sand. This part of the road remains dirt, like it was when I was a little girl, many, many years ago. The sand is nearly white, and the white sand was reflecting the light from the stars. I never stepped in a rut. I never had to step cautiously. I could always see the path. And, if we as Christians reflect the light of the Son, others may see the path, and keeping their eyes on our reflection, keep out of the ruts.

I thought, too, about how I was walking on a road near my home. I love two SCC songs, "We are Not Home Yet," and, "It's Just a Long Way Home." I was not nearly as fearful because I was near my home. And, the closer I got to my home, the less fear I had. So much so, that, when I entered the first part of the back drive, I just sat down.

I sat down.

In.
The.
Dirt.

In.
My.
Dress.

And, I said, "Jesus, I am close to home. Speak."

As hard as I tried to listen, I only heard, "Be still and know that I am God."

Be. Still.

Know that I am God.

I am God.

Be. Still.

If you are travelling through dark days. Make sure you stay close to home, close to Jesus, close to the Heavenly places where He carries you. Sit down and remember to be still. Know that He is God.

Eleven Things You Might Want to Know

I know...I haven't been keeping up with posting...it's been CRAZY busy....as the school year comes to a close...here's a few tibits.

• Qing Zhuang has learned to say, "Excuse me," when he burps, and tonight he reminded Ellie to say, "Exuse me," when she burped.
• Qing Zhuang has learned to say, "Please," when he asks for something. Tonight Whitney asked her daddy to pour her some tea. Qing Zhaung looked at her and said, "Please."
• I had a wonderful time at the Great Oaks Church of God Tuesday night.
• I will have a new position/title at school next year. I am quite excited to be a math/reading specialist.
• The boys continue to LOVE the pool. Qing Zhuang is still quite cautious, but Zhuang Zhuang has become a brave little monster. Wearing arm bands and a swim ring, he will jump off of the diving board and go down the slide. He comes up screaming and wiping the water out of his face, as if he is terrified. Then he laughs and heads back to do it again.
• Since I play the piano at Youmans Chapel, Qing Zhuang has made his own connection. Everytime I put on a dress, he pantomines piano playing...really.
• Ellie will be in the talent show at MES next Tuesday.
• Josie-Tatum does not want to be in a talent show.
• Brandon is coming home from college for the summer. He is on his way as I type. Zhuang Zhuang and Qing Zhaung keep asking about Ge Ge Brandon. I may need to call and suggest he speed just this once. I am sure he usually drived the speed limit.
• Whitney has been an awesome big sister/Nanny for the boys. Now she needs a paying job. Anybody out there willing to hire her.

And....requiring his own paragraph....is Caleb. He has left on a mission. We're actually not certain if he is out yet, but we know he has reported for duty. He cannot tell us when he leaves, or where he is going, or when he will be back. Please pray for him and his team. Pray for Casie. And, pray for Mama, too!

I'll try to post photos this weekend!!

Adopting Again!!!

Gotcha...no, not us.

But, I'm thrilled to be following two blogs over the next two weeks. Our friend the Wheelers are in China, adopting for the second time. I graduated from HS with both Hank and Anna. You can follow their journey here .

And, if adding one more precious child from China to our small community were not enough already, there is another local family in China as well. They will be bringing home TWO precious children, a son and a daughter. Follow them here.

I may have mentioned this before, but, when these two families come home, there will be 21 Chinese adoptees in the two neighboring rural communities where we live. God is awesome to have connected each of us and provided and support for us and our children.

As you pray for these families, please pray for me. I have the opportunity to share our miraculous adoption story at a church in another community tomorrow. May He receive honor and glory!
In other news, our boys continue to do well. We've just been busy with end of school year stuff and having fun for me to post. I promise I'll try to upload photos soon.

Only 9 more days for the boys to have to stay home without their Mama and jiejies.

Praise the LORD!!!!!!