The Sexy 7-10

a little background perhaps, may be necessary with this hot title!

it all started *ahem 10 years ago- 

or somewhere around there, 

that i met up with these crazy girls that became roommates, 

apartment groupies, and connoisseurs of all good and outstanding men...

{which, by the way, we are all equally blessed to have found and married one.} 

*a shout out to one in particular-ben nash- ;)

 now, for the real reason for this post.

 it's to introduce 

this precious group of  rumble. 

 17 children (4 were out of town) the last time we got together. 

21 kiddos total. 

 it really isn't that insane-it's completely manageable.

and so much fun!

 the number that really blows me away 

is

 6.

6 of the rumble are adopted.

 4 of the 6 were adopted within the last 3 months into 3 separate homes!

it is mindblowing to think it all began as college besties, 

figuring out so much about life.

and, during that time...God knew the plans He had for each of us.

while we were just trying to make life work for us...He was seeing the bigger picture,  

of what real life was going to look like when college life was over.  

our priorities, at that time, were all over the board.

like, making sure we had a lower level dorm room. 

who knew that it would have such great advantages! 

i mean, really..it had a fantastic view of the campus bell.

that was rung every time a couple got engaged. 

priceless *and somewhat humurous at times*
to see so many happy people 

climbing that pole striving to ring that bell in blissful glee 

of pronouncing their undying love to one another. 

it also gave us great 24 hour access-

which, we were very cautious to use this access 

only in emergent situations.  

*ahem, anyhow...

we were planners.

we stratagized every aspect of life possible:

we made sure we wore the trendiest styles, 

got jobs at the same restaurant so we could

carpool to work together,

 ensured a few of us were chapel checkers-

so that none of us missed chapel. (:  

experimented with hair dying kits,

megan's nickname still remains sunshine to this day.

we witnessed each other's nail biting break-ups
and celebrated some of them too! ha!

we had the full college experience. 

and now, we share this life. 

our grown-up, beautiful, colorful lives.

i love that when i get together with the sexy 7-10 and their children, 

that Will, will have other playmates -that are a constant in his life. 

that share more than a similar skin color-

they will share the beautiful story of adoption.

and one of the most beautiful pieces of our story 

is that we have this rich history of friendship
 that started way back when.  

 and, our story, in my book, is just beginning to unfold. 

 God started something amazing
when He brought these girls into my life.  

overscheduled?

are your kids overscheduled?

i'm finding myself working toward this thinking-
 of spending regular amounts of time as a family.

if you ask anyone whose children are in their twenties, 
or older, they will advise the same.


"spend as much time as you can with them...before you know it, they
will have gone and grown up on you."

i don't know about you,
 but i used to smile and nod my head at advice like this...

now, i'm starting to see the wisdom in it..and heed it for our family.

we are allowing our children one activity, per season, to participate in.

i love that they learn discipline, committment, teamwork and participation.

those are all such good things.  
and, the great news is, 
they can learn all of these qualities by participating in one single activity!!

i worry the only downtime our kids have  

is when we go on vacation. 

it seems with so many activities, we are raising mini-adults.

why are we over-committing our mini-me's?

life is to be care-free for them-full of playtime, 

free time and maybe some chores around the house...

oh yeah, and they do have school too, don't they?  (:

in all liklihood, our children's children will have triple 

the opportunities that our children have. 

triple the activities as well.  

and, i don't know about you...

but, i would like to spend time with my grandchildren. 

we are stepping away from filling up our calendar 

with so many playdates and activities.

we are heading in the direction of spending more time with grandparents,
 aunties & uncles and their much-loved cousins. 
 and of course continuing our friendships with our precious friends...
just working at putting family first.

now, if you are my age, or younger, raising children...

you may or may not agree with me.

i'm okay with that.  

you have to do what is right for your family.  


i guess i have overscheduled myself for years, 
and the stress that comes from that can have huge effects.  
i long to break the habit of busyness for my children.

i am in a place of listening to those who have been there, done that....

the ones with experience..

the ones that regret the times that have come and gone

 and that they can't get back those precious years.  

and when they use that phrase-verbatem-i see the regret in their eyes...

and i can feel their warning...without trying to intrude. 

but with so much at stake...i invite one of my dear friends into this area of my life.  

because she has adult children now-

so, i consider her an expert! 

 i give her full permission that if she sees something

 that might be a little off-balance,

or a lot off-balance-

that she can say something.

she did make regular time for her family...and the fantastic part about that, is that her adult children, by their own choice, still make it a point to spend their time with family.

let's give our precious children their childhood, 

and let's fill it with good old fashioned time with family!

olivia's excerpt from the tooth fairy's travel log...

The Tooth Fairy Travel Log
Welcome to my travel log.
It would be really nice if you could sign it.
That way everyone can see where in the world I have traveled to collect teeth.
(I already have 150 entries in my log.)
Thanks!


Love from the Tooth Fairy

Your Name: olivia
Your City: grand rapids
Your Country: usa
Teeth Lost: 1

Message

dear tooth fairy,
can i please have my tooth back in 2 days?
because it is my first tooth that i lost.
and i almost swallowed it when it fell out!
goodnight,
olivia
Date Monday, June 27th 2011 - 05:22:12 AM

the tooth fairy travel log

will-i-am

i'm not sure where i even begin in talking about our newest bundle...
i'm equally unsure and greatly overwhelmed {in the best sense} of the outpouring
of love, talents, sacrificial time, gifts, essentials, dinners, phone calls, messages,
visitors, prayers-you- i guess what my deepest expression of gratefulness is to thank you for being you! for giving in the amazing way that you do. each of you gave so uniquely with such unabandoned love. we continue to feel your support and are humbled and exited to have you join with us in welcoming will into our family.

speaking of will-i-am...oh my goodness..was he made of complete sugar- or what??

okay- i'm pretty sure i'm allowed to brag about him because
he is the most amazing gift from God and from our incredible birth mom.
he was chosen for us...for this place and time and we get to use words like,
both and kids and ours when referring to our family.

and then there is my husband, this 6 ft. amazing man who swaddles up our little 6 pounder and holds him for hours-speaking more words like,
let's watch the game tonight...
wait until i show you how to throw a football,
and then its about basketball, soccer-
and, his favorite word to whisper to will-SCHOLARSHIP. :)
he's dreamy isn't he and i am so in love with this man.

and then, there is big sister...
who uses these phrases,
mommy, WE'RE finally parents!
and, has your baby met my baby?
and, how do i answer people when they ask me how i feel about my new baby brother?

my response- i know- i wonder too olivia...how do we explain how deep and wide our love is for will? it is hard to put words to it. but, i'm sure they already know that you love him so. "yep, i even think i'll pick him over daddy to marry someday!"

wow...that probably says it the best liv. :)

my words for my sweet will are mainly songs...
my fav these days-He's got you and me will in His hands..he's got you and me will in His hands..{and i can't get to the 3rd line of that song because i'm too teary} He's got the whole world in His hands.
and He does-doesn't He?
i'm amazed at those words and i get choked up-because the God of the Universe takes the time to hold will and i in his hands.
what an incredible, intimate, huge God we belong to.

One who calls us His own.

it's a boy!!!!!!

containing excitement-not happening at my house!!

so, we have 2 weeks to get ready for

this precious life that will change 

our lives forever...and we cannot wait!

home is....

since we have moved out of our amazing, beautiful, spacious home about a year ago...i have tried retrieving some sort of saying or feeling of what home really is. i think one phrase i've tried to cling to is the one about home being where your family is. peace and sparkles to that one.
it was supposed to make me feel better-but it felt so pat-so cliche. **gag*

last sunday...i came up with my new definition of home.
-a little background first.
my rockstar husband left for church early-he had to do a few things beforehand. liv and i headed off to church 10 minutes later- only to discover the booster seat was missing. plan b was in full swing.
{we don't sit still long enough to actually plan plan b...we just moved and plan b took shape.}
we walked ourselves up to a nearby restaurant and ordered some johnny cakes and chocolate milk. it was delightful. our server even joined in on our fun. we got to know her a bit...someone new to this area..she has a daughter the same age as mine. by the end of breakfast, we had talked about church. she asked if i was the type that thought if you weren't in church...you would go to hell type of people. i replied, "well, we are skipping church this morning and i sure don't think i'm going to hell for it." she then asked if we could set up a playdate for our girls and we set up a time to get together.

my conversation with God on the way home..."you really do know what you are doing...don't you?" i'm sure He was laughing with me when that light bulb went off.

so, now..back to my new definition: home is where He leads you. it's that simple for me-and yet it took me a year to see it-to understand it.

when we decided to sell our house-we felt a strong pull to pray that God would place us in an area where He wanted us. that we could just be beautifully honest with people around us about who He is to us. we are so blessed by His stedfastness and pure pursuit of us. how could we not follow where He was leading? **side note-my heels did dig in...i think i had a tantrum a time or two* change is really very hard for me. :)
we are not deserving of this kind of love-yet we are better people because we have tasted it and it has changed us.

it is hard to explain to people why we have moved so much...why we haven't built yet. i even get caught up in questioning it myself. this week it all came together for me. and even though most people may not get it...that is okay. it took me a year to get it. eventually, we will build...we just aren't in this rush because it's what we "should" do. we trust Him and that He led us to trail east (our last home we built) and, we feel confident that He has led us to where we are now. that there are adventures here-lives that hopefully our story will touch and we will be changed for the better by their lives as well.

His plans are for us...His plan is for YOU too.
next week-end is our playdate!
looking forward to making new friends in our new place.