I found this and thought I would share it with you all.
You may not know me, but I know everything about you
I know when you sit down and when you rise up
I am familiar with all your ways
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered
For you were made in my image
In me you live and move and have your being
For you are my offsporing
I knew you even before you were conceived
I chose you when I planned creation
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live
You are fearfully and wonderfully made
I knit you togehter in your mother's womb
And brougth you forth on the day you were born
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love
And it is my desrie to lavish my love on you
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could
For I am the perfect father
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Because I love you with an everlastting love.
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore
And I rejoice over you with singing
I will never stop doing good to you
For you are my treasured possession.
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul
And I want to show you great and marvelouse things.
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.
For it is I who gave you those desires.
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.
For I am your greatest encourager.
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles.
When you are broken hearted, I am close to you.
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.
I am you father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
He is the exact representation of my being.
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
Jessu died so that you and I could be reconciled.
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.
come home and I 'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.
I have always been Father, and will always be Father.
My question is... Will you be my child?
I am waiting for you.
Love, Your Dad
ALMIGHTY GOD
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
my own mailbox!
at our house, during valentines we have a fun little mailbox we try to fill up for each other.
"here you go mommy, your mailbox is full"
caleb created this envelope for me to keep all my mail in!
he is soooooo creative! he taped and stapled (both necessary, of course) 2 pages together and slit a line in the top of one almost from end to end, but not all the way across so the papers would stay in!
thank you caleb for this treasure! i love it! i will keep my bills in it so i can look at it all the time :o)
"here you go mommy, your mailbox is full"
caleb created this envelope for me to keep all my mail in!
he is soooooo creative! he taped and stapled (both necessary, of course) 2 pages together and slit a line in the top of one almost from end to end, but not all the way across so the papers would stay in!
thank you caleb for this treasure! i love it! i will keep my bills in it so i can look at it all the time :o)
Saturday, February 09, 2008
a great morning
This morning I woke up and headed to church for our Second Saturday. The second saturday of each month, we have mission opportunities available from 8:30-12 for anyone who wants to serve. I invited my 6th grade girls in my small group to come serve and any parents who wanted to join. Last month, Peter and Caleb served at Feed My Starving Children We decided we would do the same since they needed lots of help there and we need it would be appropriate for the girls. We packed dehydrated veggies, over 20 vitamins, rice, and soy protein in a meal pack, sealed them, and boxed them for shipment to over 50 countries. "Our food mixture utilizes the latest in food technology to meets the needs of the most severely malnourished children around the world." The meals cost $.15! yeah 15 CENTS!!
We had an amazing time. it was very overwhelming to think how little these children eat and how little it costs to feed them. In the 2 hours we were there, approximately 100 people put together enough meals to feed 56 children for an entire YEAR!!!!!!!
we are so very spoiled in america. i wanted to spend the day there doing what i could be a part of preventing 18,000 children from dying each DAY of starvation.
Caleb was bummed he didn't get to go this morning. Last month daddy bought him an m&m canister with the mini m&m's they sell at FMSC. These containers hold $14 in quarters. Caleb has been collecting and earning quarters to fill up his container and wanted to bring it back to help pay for shipping the boxes to the starving children.
I think Caleb is going to bring a friend and we will be going back soon!
what a blesssing to serve!
We had an amazing time. it was very overwhelming to think how little these children eat and how little it costs to feed them. In the 2 hours we were there, approximately 100 people put together enough meals to feed 56 children for an entire YEAR!!!!!!!
we are so very spoiled in america. i wanted to spend the day there doing what i could be a part of preventing 18,000 children from dying each DAY of starvation.
Caleb was bummed he didn't get to go this morning. Last month daddy bought him an m&m canister with the mini m&m's they sell at FMSC. These containers hold $14 in quarters. Caleb has been collecting and earning quarters to fill up his container and wanted to bring it back to help pay for shipping the boxes to the starving children.
I think Caleb is going to bring a friend and we will be going back soon!
what a blesssing to serve!
Friday, February 08, 2008
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
a visit from more cincy friends!!!!
we were so excited to have the Heimlich's visit us these past few days!! These are the kiddos who are like my own, i have been watching them since shortly after henry was born. all of the kids are great friends and were so excited to see each other.
we played, watched the superbowl, played, slept, played, ate chicago pizza and culver's custard, played, and played a little more!
enjoy the pics
the girls
the boys
these two jumped on the couch together, henry read to micaiah and she decided to put her arm around him (sorry joseph, you might have a little competition:o)
the girls and their "babies"
playing hungry hungry hippo
we played, watched the superbowl, played, slept, played, ate chicago pizza and culver's custard, played, and played a little more!
enjoy the pics
the girls
the boys
these two jumped on the couch together, henry read to micaiah and she decided to put her arm around him (sorry joseph, you might have a little competition:o)
the girls and their "babies"
playing hungry hungry hippo
Monday, February 04, 2008
my husband is brilliant
okay, so i will back up a little.
a good friend of mine has adopted 2 children from ethiopia and has 3 biological children. her eldest adopted child is 5ish (not for sure do to lack of info from ethiopia). he has been home for over a year and a half and is really struggling with his skin and looking different than mom and dad. we have been praying for him a bunch, trying to imagine a 5 year old struggling like this and wondering if micaiah will do the same (or when?)
so my kids wanted to watch tarzan tonight. we were watching and came across the most amazing scene, my husband pointed out that this little guy needed to see it! i jumped up and called my friend. now we are praying that this might bring him some peace in the midst of his personal struggle.
i tried like crazy for the last 25 minutes to find the clip on youtube, and i found it, in every language imaginable, except ENGLISH! so here is the translation of an excellent clip for our adopted kiddos to hear! (it's about 33 minutes into the movie if anyone tries to find it)
tarzan: why am i so different?
mommy: because your covered with mud, that's why
t: no curcheck said i didn't belong in the...
m: close your mouth (she's wiping mud off his face)
t: curcheck said i didn't belong in the family
m: nevermind what curcheck said, hold still (still wiping mud off his face)
t: LOOK AT ME!
m: i am tarzan and do you know what i see, i see 2 eyes like mine and 1 nose somewhere, aahh heere, 2 ears, and let's see, what else?
t: 2 hands
m: that's right...close your eyes, now forget what you see, what do you feel?
t: my heart
m: come here
t: your heart
m: see they are exactly the same, curcheck just can't see it
t: i'll make him see it, i'll be the best ape ever
m: oh i bet you will
a good friend of mine has adopted 2 children from ethiopia and has 3 biological children. her eldest adopted child is 5ish (not for sure do to lack of info from ethiopia). he has been home for over a year and a half and is really struggling with his skin and looking different than mom and dad. we have been praying for him a bunch, trying to imagine a 5 year old struggling like this and wondering if micaiah will do the same (or when?)
so my kids wanted to watch tarzan tonight. we were watching and came across the most amazing scene, my husband pointed out that this little guy needed to see it! i jumped up and called my friend. now we are praying that this might bring him some peace in the midst of his personal struggle.
i tried like crazy for the last 25 minutes to find the clip on youtube, and i found it, in every language imaginable, except ENGLISH! so here is the translation of an excellent clip for our adopted kiddos to hear! (it's about 33 minutes into the movie if anyone tries to find it)
tarzan: why am i so different?
mommy: because your covered with mud, that's why
t: no curcheck said i didn't belong in the...
m: close your mouth (she's wiping mud off his face)
t: curcheck said i didn't belong in the family
m: nevermind what curcheck said, hold still (still wiping mud off his face)
t: LOOK AT ME!
m: i am tarzan and do you know what i see, i see 2 eyes like mine and 1 nose somewhere, aahh heere, 2 ears, and let's see, what else?
t: 2 hands
m: that's right...close your eyes, now forget what you see, what do you feel?
t: my heart
m: come here
t: your heart
m: see they are exactly the same, curcheck just can't see it
t: i'll make him see it, i'll be the best ape ever
m: oh i bet you will
Sunday, February 03, 2008
thank you thank you thank you!!!
i think i received one the of the best gifts a mom could ever receive yesterday!!!! Chris and Emily so graciously offered to take the boys for an overnight!!!!!!! they had an absolute blast, stayed up extra late, ate lots of yummy food, wathced the Incredibles, played games and went to the Children's Museum. They had a blast! (I think Chris and Emily did too). We did not get them back until 5:30 yesterday. AND.... Grandma took Micaiah for the day! they made cookies, went to the library, did puzzles, read books, and had McDonalds!
what a treat! I went to bed exstatic and excited for Saturday! We woke up, I went to the gym (for almost 2 hours!!!!!!!!!) usually i just run in and out because my kiddos are in childcare and we have to pick up caleb from school. then peter and i made a quick stop at menards and spent the day working on the house. peter got the ceiling patched and painted trim while i painted our hallway, stairway, entryway, and upstairs hall.
we got sooooo much done and we had a blast! we love to work on the house together and we really enjoyed our mini vacation from kids. especially knowing they were being loved on and spoiled by family.
thank you all so much for your generosity and love for my children. we feel so very blessed to have you for family and to be living close enough to do life together!
by the way, this is the FIRST time we have ever not had all three of our children for the day, just to do what we wanted to do!!! what a TREAT!
we are so very grateful and appreciative of you all!
what a treat! I went to bed exstatic and excited for Saturday! We woke up, I went to the gym (for almost 2 hours!!!!!!!!!) usually i just run in and out because my kiddos are in childcare and we have to pick up caleb from school. then peter and i made a quick stop at menards and spent the day working on the house. peter got the ceiling patched and painted trim while i painted our hallway, stairway, entryway, and upstairs hall.
we got sooooo much done and we had a blast! we love to work on the house together and we really enjoyed our mini vacation from kids. especially knowing they were being loved on and spoiled by family.
thank you all so much for your generosity and love for my children. we feel so very blessed to have you for family and to be living close enough to do life together!
by the way, this is the FIRST time we have ever not had all three of our children for the day, just to do what we wanted to do!!! what a TREAT!
we are so very grateful and appreciative of you all!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
rellenitos de platano
micaiah and i tried a new guatemalan recipe today!
Micaiah stirring the refried beans (which we made from scratch! thanks shelley)
here it is plantains with refried black beans in the middle
"OOOOOOOOOO" Micaiah said when she peaked over into the pan!
taaaadaaaa! they were delicious!
Micaiah stirring the refried beans (which we made from scratch! thanks shelley)
here it is plantains with refried black beans in the middle
"OOOOOOOOOO" Micaiah said when she peaked over into the pan!
taaaadaaaa! they were delicious!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
music to my ears...
there are a few phrases every mother dreams of hearing...
i love you
can i help
whatever you say mom
sound great right? well, i heard one even better than that yesterday from Elijah (my 3 1/2+ year old)
mommy, i want to be superman today.
i bet your thinking, what's so great about that? well here it is...
after that he said, and i can't wear a diaper. just socks and the superman costume. to that i said, well you do you want to wear big boy underwear? and he said....
YES!!!!!!!!!
i informed him that if he wore them he would have to go in the potty.
today is day 2 and he wants to keep at!!!!!
could this finally be it?????
i love you
can i help
whatever you say mom
sound great right? well, i heard one even better than that yesterday from Elijah (my 3 1/2+ year old)
mommy, i want to be superman today.
i bet your thinking, what's so great about that? well here it is...
after that he said, and i can't wear a diaper. just socks and the superman costume. to that i said, well you do you want to wear big boy underwear? and he said....
YES!!!!!!!!!
i informed him that if he wore them he would have to go in the potty.
today is day 2 and he wants to keep at!!!!!
could this finally be it?????
Monday, January 21, 2008
more fun than anyone could have...in just 28 hours!
the kids and i took a quick trip to South Bend Indiana to see some of our bestest friends, the Walatka's! Shelley is one of my closest friends, as are Keith and Peter and our kids love each other to death and get along better than the best of kids. Tommy, Hunter, and Caleb have known each other since they were just 6 months old. they have spent up to 2 1/2 days living together before and they never fight, argue, complain, or get bored. The Walatka's and the Sutton's dream of planting a church one day and living in a duplex with one very large kitchen and one large living space with everything else being seperated for each family. oh what a blast it would be! enjoy the pics tommy, hunter, ben, joseph, and anna!
joseph, ben, tommy, caleb, hunter
ben and micaiah
ben and elijah (they really became good buddies this trip)
joseph was posing for me
the village people
joseph and micaiah, i think there is a crush going on here!
don't you think?
ben, tommy, caleb, hunter
just the girls
all smiles, micaiah and anna
aren't they all so adorable
elijah and ben, saying good bye
joseph, ben, tommy, caleb, hunter
ben and micaiah
ben and elijah (they really became good buddies this trip)
joseph was posing for me
the village people
joseph and micaiah, i think there is a crush going on here!
don't you think?
ben, tommy, caleb, hunter
just the girls
all smiles, micaiah and anna
aren't they all so adorable
elijah and ben, saying good bye
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
check this out!!
this is a snow drift on our back deck!
this is a picture taken on the ground of our back patio door, look at all that snow!
here is the damage, all of these pics were taken inside our house!!
thank GOD we have received a grant from the city of elgin for home improvements and will be replacing our windows at no cost to us!!! yeah GOD!!
this is a picture taken on the ground of our back patio door, look at all that snow!
here is the damage, all of these pics were taken inside our house!!
thank GOD we have received a grant from the city of elgin for home improvements and will be replacing our windows at no cost to us!!! yeah GOD!!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
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