Ugandan Luau!

I just gotta say....don't I have the sexiest man on the planet??
  With the African shirt...long socks and cowboy boots with spurs on, while pushing an antique lawn mower and mowing weeds.  I can tell you he has continued to get  hotter and cooler as the last 22 years have gone by, because you can't start out this hot or cool or whatever temperature he is...
This, my friends is a work in progress!!
  OH. MY!!!!

We had such a fun time at a Ugandan Luau.  It was a FUN FUN FUN  night that was a celebration  and fundraiser of the  Freauff Family adoption.
 They just adopted and brought home 3 wonderful boys from Redeemer House.  

Roo is into it!!!

Dancing, are 6 of the 7 local Redeemer House kiddos that have been adopted and live with their  FOREVER FAMILIES and live RIGHT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY!!!!!
  Micheal was a little too young and shy to join in the dancing, but he was there celebrating with the rest of the gang. They danced for us and it BLESSED everyone.
 Sweet moment for so many many many reasons.
  God is so good and we are in awe of what He is doing with these kids and families!!!

  I couldn't decide to laugh or cry...so I just did both!!!!
The crying was tears of joy!!!

Yep, that's my man in the middle...learnin' to hula!

The whole night was a success and a joy. 

 We ate and danced and prayed and visited and laughed and won some awesome prizes!! 

 We had the best Luau (and maybe the only Luau) Powell Butte has ever had...and I bet if we got a peek into Heaven there was a celebration going on up there too!! 

Because as the Freauff Family told their testimony and gave all the Glory to God...they reminded us all that NONE of this would have been possible if it wasn't for having a Mighty God that loves us and loves to bless us and bring families together!!!!

Celebration Whirlwind

God is so good and He has given us SO MUCH!!!!!  

We have celebrated graduation .....we have had parties....we have had birthday after birthday....we have traveled to Texas......we have celebrated baptisms .....we have had baby showers and we  have gone to weddings and family gatherings and welcome home celebrations and celebrations upon celebrations....and I couldn't be more thankful for all the abundance of people and things and accomplishments and BLESSINGS 

to celebrate.

And this has all been in the last 7 weeks!!!!

THIS MOM IS OUT OF BREATH!!! 

Breathless....that I get to be a part of so much blessing and celebration, and breathless from running from thing to thing and trying my head off to keep up and not miss a step.

 I KEEP REMINDING ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN TO ME THAT,

   I AM GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!!!!

and Grandma's need rest.  hehe

I would not give up one 

NOT EVEN ONE

 of these celebrations or parties for anything....I am THANKFUL THANKFUL THANKFUL....but I am asking the Lord for more energy so that I may continue in the mode of celebration.

I don't want to slow down, I want to have more energy, and I want to look and feel rested.

We have several more birthdays that MUST be celebrated and another wedding, and and and and....

it's crunch time....Kole is headed off to college soon...Lashae will have little Bowen Baby soon and I want to be on my game!!!!  

A Weekend to Rejoice!!!

It was a weekend to rejoice!!!!

Psalm 118:24

English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁴ 

This is the day that the Lord has made;

    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 Saturday, we welcomed the Freauff Family home, as they brought home 3 precious orphans...who are no longer orphans, but a part of a beautiful family. 

 Their family is not complete, but they are 3 kids closer and it was a day of rejoicing and celebrating.

John 14:18

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 

We came home after that fun and there was a full rainbow that was in full color.

 It was a colorful banner of love and promise placed  right over the pond that 6 beautiful people were baptized in the very next day. 

 Oh how God loves to give good gifts and just bless us and let us know that He is with us!!! 

Psalm 96:11-12

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹¹ 

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

¹² 

    let the field exult, and everything in it!

Matthew 28:19

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁹  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Praise God church!!!! 

 AMEN!!!!  Hallelujah!!!! 

New Favorite Song

Another Wedding!!!

This is Kelsie and Opportunity *I mean Jeff*, and they are getting married today. 

This couple has just blessed my socks off as I have gotten an up close and personal seat to their friendship, and courtship, and engagement, and today THEIR WEDDING!!

 Kelsie has lived with us since November of 2010.  This girl has become a very important part of our family.  

Our family and Kelsie have been through some huge life changing experiences together as the last year and a half have gone by. 

 Kelsie feels like a daughter to me, and also a friend to every member of our family.  She has also been a roommate to Lashae (before she got married) and then to Charsie.

When Kelsie came to live with us, we had 3 less family members and she was single. 

 Well, we have all grown and *added*  more love and loved ones to our equation.

We could not be more thrilled for Kelsie and Jeff!!!

We LOVE this couple, they are completely perfect for each other. 

 I have to brag that I had a hunch and I told Kelsie to take the *opportunity* if he presented himself...shortly after that we named him *distraction* because Kelsie was a mess.  

A happy forgetful distracted mess. 

 She made us laugh EVERYDAY with her *distracted* self.  I mean that girl could not keep track of her head, and I knew it was because she was head over heals in love and she did not even know it yet! 

 But I knew...I saw ALL the signs and they were fresh in my memory because I had just watched Lashae and Chaney take the same path.  :)

Kelsie has joined in this crazy family and has just been a part of everything and everybody.  She is a precious soul that loves people and loves Jesus.  

She has allowed me to *weigh in* on some pretty big stuff in her life and I am humbled and thankful for the privilege.  This girl listens.  If you talk, if you LOVE her...she hears!! 

I could not be more happy for her and for Jeff and even though she is moving out...(as all my people seem to be doing these days)...we are counting Jeff as an awesome addition and now when he stays he does not have to endure that horrid couch.  :)

Charsie and I agreed to pray for Kelsie after Lashae got married.

  We knew it was her hearts desire to someday be a wife and a mommy.  She was patient and willing to wait for God's timing and she thought God would just drop her man  right out of the sky...well, God dropped him at her work, and I just had to help her realize that sometimes...God brings *opportunity*  and we must step out in faith and get to know *opportunity*!!  

Kelsie and Jeff we love you!!!  

We love your zeal for the Lord and your love for each other.  Your courtship has been a fun and beautiful thing to watch and we can't wait to watch your love and your family grow.  

Thankful Thursday

Thankful for so much!!

Hubby and Kole are working together for the summer.  They will be gone quite a bit of the next month and a half.  They are working about 2 hours away, so they are going to camp at the job.  I'm so thankful for the job and the time they have together free of distraction.  

Thankful for a fun 4th of July dinner.  All my chicks were in my nest and both sets of parents. Also, Lashae's best friends came over and the joyful music to my ears of them sitting outside laughing (at nothing) erupted!!

Thankful for a home to host these fun times at the spur of a moment.

Thankful for horses.  The kids had fun riding yesterday.

God is so good, and He is KIND, and I'm in awe of the gifts He gives everyday, that I forget to be thankful for.

Psalm 100

English Standard Version (ESV)

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for giving thanks.

100 

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

² 

     Serve the Lord with gladness!

     Come into his presence with singing!

³ 

Know that the Lord, he is God!

    It is he who made us, and we are his;^[a]

    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

    and his courts with praise!

    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

⁵ 

For the Lord is good;

    his steadfast love endures forever,

    and his faithfulness to all generations.

Hook 'em Horns!!

 

Kole, Charsie, Maezie, and I have had the privilege of going to Austin, Texas to be "oriented" with UT. 

I sat in those big auditorium classrooms and felt

O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D.

  with information and emotion.

The information was a bit much for this small town girl trying to understand the college lingo that is like a foreign language to me.

The emotion was pride in Kole and happy for him.  He has done this, he is excited and determined.  I'm proud of him and his hard work, but mostly his perseverance to get to this point.  I know the Lord has absolutely directed Kole's steps - and Kole has had to walk forward in a lot of faith and

 GOD BLESSED HIM !!

Proverbs 20:24

The Message (MSG)

 ²⁴ The very steps we take come from God; 

   otherwise how would we know where we're going?

Proverbs 16:9

The Message (MSG)

 ⁹ We plan the way we want to live, 

   but only God makes us able to live it.

The emotion was also knowing that this is a big step and a long long way from home and I am going to miss this kid.
 There is a hole forming that is the size of Texas in my heart!!!!   

I observed the other parents, and wondered if I was the only parent that was having a hard time and I had to laugh at what I saw and heard.

  Hands down and across the board!!!

The moms and dads are both smiling, but for totally different reasons!!!!

Dads = Looking proud and a quirky smile on their face as if to say, "my work here is done, they are out of the nest and they are responsible for themselves".

They are asking the kids questions like....When can we move you in??  Did you get your schedule??

Moms = Looking petrified with a pasted smile on their faces.  The mom's smile is as if to say, " I have no idea how to do this, so I'm gonna paste THIS look on my face and look as good as possible".

They are asking the kids questions like....Did you drink enough water??  Did they even feed you lunch for Pete's sake??

All in all we had a great time.  We took advantage of every second. We did a ton, and did not have a lot of  "sleep" time, but I feel refreshed in many ways.

 God was so good to me especially, just letting me know over and over again that this was the path HE has chosen for Kole and it is good!!!

We got to do so many of my  favorite things!!!  

I got to drink lots of coffee, and diet cokes, go to a  few fun parks, hang out with 3 of  my kids, fly ( I love airports), drive fast, run, go to my favorite church in Austin, swim, shop, be warm, VERY VERY warm, eat lots of yummy food, and see a lot of new and fun things, and meet a lot of really great people.

Hook 'em Horns!!! 

 ( there was not one speaker at the University that did not end their speech with this saying).