Winter Wonderland and Shriners

We had a long day but the kids are in bed now and I'm trying to relax. Yeah...right.

The kids had a one hour delay which was going to make us late for Shriners but when I called they wanted us to come anyway.

When we pulled out onto the road, we were amazed at the beauty. Oh my goodness...it was like being in a winter wonderland! I know I have talked about the beauty here, but it's definitely the prettiest place I have ever lived. I had my camera and I took photo after photo--each bend in the road seemed to bring a more beautiful scene than the next! It was seriously breathtaking. I know the camera doesn't do it justice, but I want to share some of the photos with you anyway. The quality isn't the greatest because they were all shot through my dirty windshield. I kept using my washer fluid but then some car would pull in front of me and get it all filthy again. How rude!

And then we arrived at Shriners...

Today is the day that Zoey was able to try her new leg! It's not completely done, but it's getting there.

We were supposed to bring both of her shoes today since she was going to try out the leg. In the mad rush to get out the door, I forgot it.

Parenting fail.

ugh.

This was Zoey's reaction when I asked her if she was excited to try out her new leg. She was a combination of fear and excitement.

The first fitting was without the foot attached. First a white sock goes on then a liner, then a knee-high panty-hose to help with friction...and finally, the leg itself.

Her new leg was measured next to her other one and we were sent to the playroom while the foot was attached at the perfect height.

And then...it was ready.

She's up!

{They had to provide the shoes--and then told us to keep them. Now I have guilt.}

She takes her first tentative steps with Mama, Jake and Kate offering encouraging words behind her.

Now she tries it alone, without holding onto anything!

A look at herself in the mirror...

Big smiles that she is walking on her own!

We were then sent to walk around the hospital so that she could be checked for any places her leg might start to rub. Within fifteen minutes, she was trying to run.

She's a maniac.

I cannot express how amazing it was to see her standing on two legs that are the same length! Since the day she was born, that has never been the case.

If I was a crying kinda girl, I would have cried.

But I'm not. So I didn't.

But I could have.

Just sayin...

We were not expecting to take the new leg home today, but they decided we should so that she could wear it and they could adjust it better next week. Unfortunately, we will have to leave it there next week. I don't think she will like that too much. I think we can go back the following week to get it.

She also decided she wanted the 'skin' look and we are just going to have one flower put on above the ankle. A good compromise.

She couldn't wait to show her siblings but that moment was rather shattered by the fact that Kate got carsick about five minutes from home and threw up all over herself, her carseat, etc.

GROSS.

It was one of those days. You know the kind. The kind that make you want to run away.

{More} parenting fail.

She did finally get her moment...after I cleaned up the barf and calmed down.

She wore her leg for most of the evening, but wanted to take it off when it started to rub a bit. A little while later, I was happy to see that she had it back on again--had put everything on by herself--and seemed to be getting very attached to it.

She didn't want to take it off and announced she was wearing it to bed. Mama had to be the killjoy and make her take it off.

Snow Day!!

Oh yeah, baby.

We woke up to a foot of snow. And it was still snowing. And blowing.

The kids couldn't wait to get out in it.

The dog went first and didn't last long. It's kind of hard to pee-pee when the snow goes up over your head. Just sayin...

Our windows were so covered that we couldn't see out

I had to open the sliding glass door to get this shot. Our deck looked amazing

The kids thought it was very funny to see their swings sitting on snow.

The kids headed out but the littler ones suddenly noticed that the snow was up to the top of their thighs.

"Look out world! I'm goin' in!"

At that point, I made a decision that Zoey was not going to be able to navigate the snow. It was just too deep for her. She couldn't hop in it...she couldn't walk in it...she couldn't crawl in it.

So, even though she was all dressed and ready, I had to tell her that she was going to have to come inside with me.

She started to howl.

And sob.

And my heart hurt.

So I asked her...do you REALLY want to try it?

She did.

Well, who am I to say what she can't do?

She stood here for a bit...hesitating and unsure how to proceed.

And then...off she went.

I thought when the snow went up her sleeves, she would turn back. But no...

She crawled around the side of the garage to where the other kids were. I heard her shout, "HI GUYS!"

Jordan contemplates eating a table-full of snow.

Zoey is still hanging in there!

Kate is all smiles--although her face looks a little frozen.

Molly...are you in there?

Still going strong...

Jillian is looking very fashionable

Finally starting to feel the cold but too stubborn to go inside

"See? I can still smile."

Chloe tries to blow the 'snowflake' off her hat.

The teen revs up the snowblower.

Snowblower fail.

The kids sit on a snowbank to watch their big brother move snow.

The little kids had a tough time getting off the snowbank.

Notice that Zoey has lost that lovin' feeling with the snow.

When Zoey decided to go in, Jake was going to follow but said,
"Actually...I'm not. I'm staying out."

{'Actually' is the little kids' new word.}

So Jillian put a flowered scarf on him and he was good for a few more minutes.

Finally, tired of the driving wind and snow, we headed indoors. While the little kids watched a video, some of us spent the afternoon doing this...

We are hoping for another snow day tomorrow, but so far, we only have a one-hour delay. What a rip!

Zoey is supposed to go back to Shriners in the morning, but that is not going to work with the school delay, so we will have to reschedule.

Just as I was about to post this, Taylor came to tell me that I might want to go check out the kitchen sink.

His devious grin warned me that he was up to no good.

Amazing the amount of ingenuity and motivation it took to fill the sink with snow. We're letting it sit there until morning to see if it melts by then.

He makes me smile.

Unlikely Hero's

Two years ago last week, I was sitting in a small office building in China, signing paperwork that officially made two little girl my daughters, {Zoey and Kate}. They were our ninth and tenth children. If you had told me 12 years ago that I would someday be the mom of 10, I would have fallen down laughing.

But here I am.

And I’m not laughing anymore!

I have been a Christian since I was a little girl but when I was in my 20's, I started to wonder if there was more to the Christian life than just living right and going to church.

Twelve years ago, I went to a women’s retreat where we were challenged to pray, “Lord break my heart with the things that break yours.” I went home and began to pray that prayer and it wasn’t long before God showed me something that was on His heart.

Orphans.

Little orphaned girls in China, to be exact. And soon He had my husband and I on an odyssey to redeem the life of one of those precious baby girls. After only two months home with her, He let us know that He had another one that belonged with us. Over the years, He sent us over and over again to China and once to Guatemala.

You know…I was willing to adopt but I was puzzled. I had always been taught that we should figure out what our gifts and talents were and then plug into our church, or into a ministry that was a match. And yet…God had called me to be a mom to 10 kids and guess what? I don’t even like kids! I wasn’t particularly good at mothering either. So what was the deal?

I asked God about it repeatedly because it seriously bugged me. Finally, He gave me my answer through the story of Gideon in Judges 6.

Gideon was hiding out from his enemies, threshing wheat underground in a wine press. I've always thought that Gideon was kind of wimpy. He wasn't exactly an in-your-face-brave kind of guy.

An angel comes and says to him, “The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior.”

Gideon had to be thinking…um…seriously? I’ve never fought anyone. Why are you calling me a mighty warrior? But God saw what Gideon WOULD BECOME, not who he currently was.

And suddenly, I got it. God didn’t see me as good-mother material. He only saw that I would be willing to obey Him. So He shared His heart for orphans with me and filled me with His spirit and compassion for them. I was just a tool…or a piece of clay if you will.

For many years, I had it all upside down and backwards. I was going by what I had already seen God do through me—my gifts and talents—and assuming that those were what I had been given for the rest of my life. I had my own agenda and could tell God where I thought I should serve Him.

We don’t inform God what our gifts and talents are because we are clay in the Potter’s hand. Clay is moldable, yielded, and becomes useful only in the Potter’s hands. And those gifts and talents can change! I could be a 'plate' for one assignment, get squished into a ball afterwards and then into a 'cup' for the next assignment. If I said to God, “No, I can’t go be a cup because You've already used me as a plate…how dumb would that be?” I’m just CLAY. He can use and form me any way He wants. Of course, I can refuse. And if I do that, I end up as a useless shard on the floor of the Potter's shop. He gives me the choice.

Henry Blackaby, one of my favorite authors says this--

“God is not limited to working with OUR strengths!!!!

If His assignment needs humility, he finds a servant willing to be humbled. When His work requires zeal, He looks for someone He can fill with His spirit.”

It’s GOD’s agenda, not ours. He’s writing the story. Not us!

There is a song on the radio by Matthew West called “The Motions” and the chorus goes like this:

"I don’t wanna go through the motions

I don’t wanna spend one more day

Without Your all-consuming passion inside of me.

I don’t want to spend my whole life asking

What if I had given everything

Instead of going through the motions."

So how do we stop going through the motions and get to the heart of God? Ask Him to share his heart with us and then be ready to obey with action.

Here's Henry Blackaby again...

“When was the last time God spoke to you about what He wanted to do and you were scared to death by its magnitude?”

“Would you dare to believe that God, who called you to Himself and equipped you with His Spirit, could work mightily through you?”

If we limit God to what WE think are our strengths and talents, we can totally miss our purpose in life. We will miss the passion and the adventure that He created us for.

In Hebrews 11, there are many hero's of the Faith listed. They were just ordinary men and women like you and me. Unlikely Hero's who were filled with God’s spirit and passion. We ALL have potential to become hero's of the faith!

Abraham, Noah, Esther, Ruth, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David, Paul…

There are two common themes running through their stories.

1. In the eyes of the world, they weren't the best candidates for the job

2. They trusted and obeyed God.

We will not obey a God we do not trust.

One major barrier to trust is our fear of not being in control of our lives. But seriously…are we REALLY in control?

Of course not.

It’s just Satan’s way of keeping us from obeying God.

So…let's see...we 'give up' a control we don’t really have, to the One person in the world who has our best interest at heart and DOES have the ability to control everything in the universe.

Hello?

That is a big fat DUH moment, ya’ll!!

Jim Elliot said it better, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

Jesus said, “He who saves his life will lose it but he who gives his life will find it. Unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." {John 12:24}

It sounds counter-intuitive, but when we jump into the arms of God with reckless abandon, we come alive in a way we can never know if we stay huddled in our comfort zones, hiding behind our excuses.

What is God speaking to your heart about?

What is keeping you from actually doing it?

If you don’t feel that God is speaking to your heart, take this challenge—pray that He will break your heart with something that breaks His. And then be ready to obey His call. I promise you will not regret it!

He is looking for willing hearts. He will do the rest.

{Isaiah 6:8} Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Let God make you into an unlikely hero to a suffering, hurting world, where the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Things heard around our house lately

Just after the ball dropped in Times Square on New Years...Molly said,

"I haven't changed my underwear since last year."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

SaraGrace was playing with the new toy computer she got for Christmas and it says things like,

"Good job!" and "Well done!" when you get a correct answer. She was happily working on it when I heard the computer say, "You're smart!"

SaraGrace responded, "I'm Kmart smart!"

What?!?!??! I was cracking up! She doesn't even know what Kmart is because we don't live near one.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And little Zoey cannot say prosthetic, despite many tries. So instead of saying prosthetic leg, she says, "When am I going to get my pros-other leg?"

It's so cute.

Now all of the little kids say Zoey is getting a pros-other leg.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And because all posts need some photos...here are a few wintery ones that I took this weekend.

I love this old broken-down barn. I bet it has a lot of stories to tell.

This is my one of my favorite parts of the drive home from school.

It would have been nice if a bright red cardinal had come to sit on this fence while I was there.

My youngest treasures

{taken a week ago when it was 60 degrees outside!}

What in the world?

So...as usual, after eating Christmas cookies and other yummy seasonal treats, my jeans have shrunk.

And as usual, I decided that I needed to do some exercise so they will fit again.

This year I actually went beyond thinking about it and got to work. I snuck off to my room to try to avoid an audience. Alas...the kids' radar signaling Mom-has-left-our-space went off. Since my kids won't even let me use the bathroom alone, they quickly gathered to watch the spectacle.

"Mom! WHAT are you doing?" they asked incredulously.

It's like they have never seen anyone exercise before.

Gah!

I tried to sneak away tonight but they crowded around, trying to mimic my every move and collapsing in gales of laughter.

It doesn't do a lot for a girl's confidence, I tell ya!

Sweet little girl needs a home

When Zoey was having surgery, we met an adorable little girl from China who was learning to walk on two prosthetic legs. Zoey and I were totally smitten with her--she was four years old and so cute and spunky.

Last week when we returned to get Zoey's cast removed, the same little girl was there again. She was making good progress using her two new legs.

She made me think of another little girl who is still in China who I have seen featured on many blogs. She is in great need of a family. The agency who has her file has named her 'Bree.' She is four years old {today!} and has two legs with congenital defects. She will most likely need a double amputation and faces a very bleak future in China.

She looks so sweet! And she needs a family! Could it be yours?

She is listed with WASATCH adoptions.

First Prosthetic Fitting

Miss Zoey had her very first fitting of her prosthetic today. It was not her actual leg--but a preliminary piece that will be used to make her leg this week. Next week will be a fitting of the leg and they will get her up and walking in it! She will still not go home with it at that fitting because there is another part of the leg-making process after that.

She was a pretty tentative about standing on it--which we were told is fairly normal. She has not wanted to put any weight on it at home, even though the length is still the same as it was pre-surgery, since they left her heal. She tells us that she is afraid she will fall. She is getting amazingly fast at hopping on one leg. It's pretty comical to see her catapulting herself across the room.

Here is what the leg looked like today. It was a clear piece that fits over a long white sock. She will always have to wear the sock when she wears her leg. I wonder if it will get quite hot in the summer.

Zoey stood in it for about five minutes so they could see if there were any pressure points. Thankfully, there were not. It fit very well.

Jake and Kate found a way to entertain themselves while they waited.

They had stomachaches after this...I wonder why?