Story In Pictures - Happy Heart Day

I Love Valentine's Day

Not because we do anything fancy at all

And definitely not for the pink pancakes that we made pink
with Kool-Aid because I forgot food coloring, ha!

But because I get to love on the ones I love most

in a fun, creative way!

Besides, it always reminds me of when I was younger
and my mom would do the same fun things for us:)

Fun Facts For Friday

I love waking up to the sound of birds chirping in the morning.

  Couldn't be more excited for Spring this year.  Especially after the weather we've had this week!  We've been outside ALL WEEK LONG.  Don't get me wrong, it was a fabulous winter, but it's time.  It's time to run around barefoot and naked (No, no, not me!)

in sun dresses and bathing suits,

drying my clothes outside on the line with all the windows open, and doing silly things, like running in the sprinkler with superhero costumes and backwards bicycle helmets

and lounging by our new pool!

Yes, we got a new pool for this year.  We figured it was time to upgrade this year from the $9 pool to the $12 pool (don't worry I got it 75% at the end of the season last year!).  It's getting harder and harder to do laps with all these kids of ours, ha!

Speaking of kids...

I wonder if we're actually ever going to end up adopting.  Sometimes I forget that we are even in the process since we've kind of been at a stand still for so long.  Not much has happened in about 5 weeks as we continue to wait for our Home Study approval.

We finally made it to the library.  We've lived in this house since LAST November and just now visited the library for the first time.  The kids have loved having new books to read.  Don't be fooled, though, just because it's a "kid book" doesn't mean that it is a short read.

I started reading these Strawberry Shortcake books and after 20 minutes, and realizing that I was only half-way through, we had to take a break to finish the next day:)

Zeke and Micaiah decided to trade jammies last night, ha!  What in the world...they are 3 years a part!

I have come up with a new Olympic sport.  I'm still trying to come up with a clever name for it, but Josh and I will take on any one of ya'll!  Our speed and agility in changing late-night "accident" sheets is untouchable.  We get it done quick alright, I can just never get back to sleep afterwards...

Well, I need to go start making my rounds to open all my windows.

Have a great weekend ya'll!  I know I will:)

You Sure Can't Change The Man You Married

Even after almost 9 years!

(remember THIS post?)

Leaving me the last bit of ice cream

empty ice bins and trays

But you can choose not to resent them for all those cute little things they do that remind you everyday of the one you DID marry:)

Besides, I'm sure if you think hard enough about it

there is probably something that you do that drives him crazy

To me it is the perfect accent to our bedroom.

The him it's the ugliest pillow known to man.

We all have our things;)

Choose your reaction wisely...
Love him the way you want to be loved!

Guest Blogger: Robbie Litke (My Mom)

Family resemblance is a curious thing.  I have thought about it a lot the past couple of months as I have observed our children with other family members.  More than once people have confused our oldest daughter and me when talking on the phone.  In a passing glance at our second daughter I saw my sister and another time a likeness to her cousin.  Our son is the most uncanny in that not only does he share physical features with his cousins, they have some of the same idiosyncrasies, and they don't even see each other very often.  As we were recently looking at photographs of our nephew, we saw features of both his mother and father.  The whole gene pool thing is pretty mind-boggling.

Even more amazing is how, as Christians, we are conformed to the image of Christ.  As we grow in our relationship with Him, we become more like Him: we yearn for time alone with Him, we develop a heart for the things that He is passionate about, we become less me-centered and more others-centered.  And, as that happens, others see Him in us.  Oh that our resemblance to Him would be striking to everyone in our sphere of influence.  Oh that we would have our Father's eyes.

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, 

are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, 

which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

11 Corinthians 3:18

Head and Shoulders, Knees and...

...nose

Sacred Marriage

I just finished reading Sacred Marriage: Celebrating Marriage as a Spiritual Discipline by Gary Thomas.  What a GREAT book!  If you need a book to read together with your spouse or even by yourself, this is a must-read.

I could never give this book total justice by trying to tell you about it in my own words, so let me put a couple of my favorite excerpts from it on here so you'll see how wonderful it is and go get it.  I promise it will transform your marriage!

" 'Stocism' has never been a Christian philosophy.  

If truth be told, we serve a passionate God who feels deeply.

Our passions are what make us come alive.  

The apathetic person is a pathetic person.  

While we often fear our passions 

because they can carry us into an affair, 

a fight, or some other destructive behavior, 

the solution is not living a less passionate life 

but finding the right things to be passionate about."

So often, I think that emotions and passion are looked down on.  It supposedly portrays weakness and lack of self-control.  But, I have learned to embrace my emotional side.  I truly feel that the Lord has given me a deep passion for others and emotions to share with them.  This book has totally confirmed this emotional embrace that I've found.

"Let your relationship with your spouse point you 

to what you really need most of all:  

God's love and active presence in your life.  

Above all, don't blame your spouse for lack of fulfillment; 

blame yourself for not pursuing 

a fulfilling relationship with God."

Ouch!  Okay so how are we supposed to do that?!

"Marital dissatisfaction, on whatever level, 

is best met with the prayer, 'That's why I need you, O God.'  

We are reminded of the transcendent ache in our soul 

that even this one very special person 

can't relieve entirely on his or her own.  

As odd as this may sound, 

I have discovered in my own life that my satisfaction 

or dissatisfaction with my marriage has far more 

to do with my relationship to God 

than it does with my relationship to Lisa (his wife).  

When my heart grows cold toward God, 

my other relationships suffer, 

so if I sense a burgeoning alienation from, 

or lack of affection toward, my wife, 

the first place I look is how I'm doing with the Lord.  

Lisa is, quite literally, my God-thermometer."

Ok, I've got one more that is by far my favorite section!

Francis De Sales wrote, "Let us be what we are, and let us be it well."

"In other words, if we are married, we are married, 

and we must not try to live as if we were otherwise.  

Francis noted that by living with this attitude, 

we 'do honor to the Master whose work we are.'"

"To accept this counsel entails that we do not make the mistake 

John Wesley made-get married, 

but then refuse to adjust his life accordingly.  

Wesley said he was adamant that he wouldn't let being married 

slow him down by even one sermon.  

This kind of vision is unrealistic, 

and even unfair to our spouse, to be sure." - Thomas

De Sales also wrote, "If I ignore God's daughter/son to do God's work, am I honoring God?"

Thomas expounds on this by saying, 

"Christian men in particular might be tempted 

above all others to let ambition erode their marital devotion, 

even to the point of using religious language 

to justify shortchanging their spouse, 

but de Sales warned that even spiritual devotion 

can be taken 'out of bounds.' ... 

God is not served well if we turn off 

everyone around us in our selfish pursuit of devotion."

Wow, I thought Josh and I had a great marriage, and quite frankly I still do, but boy do I have a lot of maturing to do...

Now, on to my next book!  I've been waiting for this one:)

Our Love Chapter - For The One We're Waiting For

We are waiting patiently for you

We promise to be kind

We pray that you do not feel like you need to envy our other kids, but feel just as part of our family as they are.

We will boast only in the One who gave you to us.  Our heavenly father knew that you were born for our family!

We pray that the Lord will melt any pride that we feel as an adoptive family.  We just want to obey God's call on our lives to adopt.

We promise not to dishonor you, but to learn about the culture you came from and allow you to find who you need to be in Christ.

We pray that we will not be self-seeking, but instead, keep your best interest at heart.

We promise not to get easily angered.  But, knowing that we are human, we promise to seek forgiveness for the times we are wrong.

We will keep no record of wrongs, and I promise that if you have a children's yard chair in the backyard that I won't sit on it and break it:)

We do not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  You can rest assured in this one, little girl.

We promise to always protect you

always trust you, although we know times will come where it will be difficult

always hope and pray that you will find the personal relationship in Christ that he desires from you.

always perseveres as we pray for daily direction to be the parents/family that you need!

The Love Chapter - 1 Joshua 13:4-7

Josh is patient - he has a wife who, on average, finds a new "home" for an object at least 2 times a week.  Poor guy...he had to call me the other day, after being sweet enough to start some laundry, because he couldn't find the clothes pins.

Josh is kind - except for when he steals my covers every night!

He does not envy - he rejoices with others in their blessings.

He does not boast - he actually gets uncomfortable when people talk about his accomplishments. I may struggle with this one a bit more...okay, so I'm just a little bit proud that he's MINE!

He is not proud - Josh is one of the most humble men I know.

He does not dishonor others -  he is a very loyal friend. He thinks through his words carefully so as not to say something he should not.  Another reason why I love him.

He is not self-seeking - except for when he steals my covers every night!

He is not easily angered -  in fact, people often ask me, "Does Josh ever get mad?", "Has Josh ever lost his cool?", "Does Josh ever raise his voice?", or "Is Josh always so laid back?"  My answer is always "No", "Once" (the Henderson youth group knows the one time Josh got mad, ha!), "No" and "Yes".  This is just one reason why I love this man of mine!

He keeps no record of wrongs - except for that blasted children's plastic yard chair that I sat on and broke in Charlotte.  For some reason he thinks that is just SOOOO funny.

Josh does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth - this is evident to all who know him.  He lives this out on a daily basis.

He always protects -  it's almost crazy how this happens sometimes.  When we go out as a family, Josh gets in "protective mode", as we call it.  He gets really quiet, almost on guard, as we walk through the store, making sure that we are all okay.

always trusts - no matter how many times I fail, he never holds it against me, waiting for yet another failure.  He trusts in me and encourages me to be the woman God made me to be.

always hopes - he will never lose hope each day, as he waits to see if he is going to "get lucky", ha!;)

always perseveres - he works very diligently at the tasks laid before him from the Lord.

The Love Chapter - 1 Micaiah 13:4-7

Micaiah is patient - he has two older siblings who think that they are his mommy and daddy.  They are always bossing him around.  Now, because Cai can't communicate with words much yet he is forced to "let them know" how he feels in other ways;)  He will learn though, right? Right.

Micaiah is kind - he has grown a lot since the bubby battles that occurred in his early age.  He has started realizing the precious comfort that Zeke's bubby and Areyna's bear give them and freely seeks them out to give their lovies back to them. 

He does not envy - okay, okay...but he is only 1 1/2:) He only wants what someone else has, ha!

He does not boast - he can't talk yet, silly, but he does squeal with delight when he finally masters a task he has been working on!

He is not proud - alright, well this one is a bit of a stretch too.  He thinks he rules the roost and you'd think he really did if you saw the way his classmates at church run in fear when they see him... (that's another post for another day, like sometime next week?)

He does not dishonor others -  yeah, well, he's a 1 1/2 year old boy...we're stilling working on this one too:)

He is not self-seeking - gosh, maybe I shouldn't do these kinds of posts for Cai until he matures a little bit, haha...

He is not easily angered -  Oh man, here we go again...this little pistol of a boy is a firecracker...but I love him.  When he blows up I just squeeze him tight until he calms down.  I just try to think of it as extra cuddle time:)

He keeps no record of wrongs - thank goodness he wasn't around for the time I sat on that blasted children's plastic yard chair in Charlotte or he'd never let me live that down either!

Micaiah does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth - when he must be disciplined he is quick to apologize to the victim (yes, usually it involves chasing Zeke up and down our hallway with his drumsticks) and calming his heart to embrace love, which is Truth.

He always protects -  unless he is having one of his aforementioned occurrences where he is chasing Zeke with drumsticks or pulling Areyna's hair while she screams

always trusts - he knows that when his daddy gets home that it is time for wrestling!  He trusts that he will always have this boy time every night:)

always hopes - this boy loves him some food and he always hopes that I will give him some throughout the day if he bangs on the cabinet doors enough or protests in front of the refrigerator long enough!

always perseveres - this is one very encouraging thing I have to say about my Cai...he always perseveres.  He is a very determined little boy.  If he falls off the steps to go up the slide he stands right back up, even before his crying dies out, and climbs right back on that slide until he has mastered how to get to the top, pull his legs around from behind him to sit at the top and slide down all by himself.  He works and works until he accomplishes what his mind is set on, like the big step down from the kitchen to the car port.  He will go up and down and up and down until he can do it without falling down.  I love this about him!