Thankful Friday!

This morning I am feeling very rich! Does that mean I live in a mansion and have the finest of things? NO! But I am able to freely worship a God who is worthy of praise and does not need me, but who loves me anyway (Our morning devo time with the kids this week has involved singing "I am so glad that Jesus loves me"--the end of that song says "Jesus loves even me"--even when I don't trust Him, even when I am selfish. . .), my every need is provided for (that includes emotional and Spiritual if I just ask God),I have friends that go book shopping with me and help me with my crazy notions of having a HUGE garage sale, I have family (Mark's and mine) that spoil us rotten--thanks Mom and Barb(my sister) for a fun day of lunch and shopping :), and thanks Mom&Dad Goins for your encouragement and kindness, I am also surrounded by a lot of "stuff" that was given by generous and loving people who want to see orphans have a family. . .Can you tell my cup is overflowing? Trust me I have a lot more to say, but will leave it at that!

Thankful Thursday!

Today was the last day of Iowa testing for Ethan. This finishes up our school year with TMS--The Master's Study www.themastersstudy.org --a Classical,Monday-only school for home school students. We are very grateful for TMS. It has been a good fit for our family. Our children have benefited by learning from such wonderful teachers! We couldn't have asked for better! We are grateful for the vision that Lincoln & Linda Brill had for the school; and that the school continues to build on that vision. I feel like I have the best of both worlds--the opportunity to teach my children at home, and for them to glean from others!

A couple of days ago Ethan saw an owl in the tree. We enjoyed watching it but then Shasta (our dog) noticed something in the bushes and we found a baby owl. Here is the owl as I took it out of the bush to set it out to see if it was ok. Make sure your sound is on...

Thankful Friday!

Where did the time go this week?
Mark and I are both thankful for our Mothers!
Both of our Mothers are Christians. We are glad to have been raised to know God's Word and learn about Him. Both of our Mothers are hard workers!
Some of my best memories of my Mother are when she would fix me tea at 3a.m. when I was sick! What a servant! With each of our three children, she was here to help with laundry, dishes, reading to the kids, and fixing meals. As a kid, she spoiled me by using her hard-earned money to buy me surprises like banana flips after cheerleading practice, shoes, a boom-box, clothes out of JCPenney catalog, (The list is really too numerous to name everything--and the list continues to this day)! Thanks, Mom! Love ya, Diane
For my mom, my first thought is my mom praying...praying during her personal study, praying during communion, and praying when a child was out late. I also remember her listening to me as I paced and paced in the back room while she did laundry (funny I never offered to help :( ) And I am thankful she prayed to have a son who would be a pastor. I know she hasn't stopped...
Love ya, Mom! Mark

Just $25,000 to go!!!

We are getting to our $45,000 goal, slowly, but surely! We are in the process of applying for grants, and gathering garage sale items! We know that God ALWAYS provides what we need. Please pray for us to trust God and to listen to Him for direction in getting the $25,000 we still need! In buying our house, we were about $3,000 short before going into closing. We were given wise council to keep praying for more money! Within a few days, we "found some money hidden under a stone that we had not unturned"! Maybe there is a stone with $25,000 under it?!
Thank you to all of you who have been giving us garage sale items and encouraging us with your prayers! That means so much to us-that you would take time out of your busy schedules to pray for us in this process. We are also grateful that someone has been gracious enough to give us 20% of the profits from their new company toward our adoption! What's also nice about this is that you will receive a free $10 gift card! Of course, the hope for Mar-Lou Enterprises is that you will spend beyond your gift card! See the sidebar on the right for details!

Thankful Friday?

Today, I am thankful for homeschooling! I must admit that I am not thankful every day that we homeschool. (It is definitely not the easiest thing I have ever done!)
I like being able to use the curriculum that best fits each child, being able to go at each child's pace, being the one who teaches them to read, and having the flexibility to go to the children's museum when we want. I don't know that we will be doing this forever, but for now I am enjoying it! Also, I think it will be good for me to homeschool Katarina to get her caught up in the areas she will need help in!