The H Family is Growing!!!!

Introducing the newest member of our family!  I haven't come up with an official 'screen name' for her yet (stay tuned)...let's just say that things happened REALLY quickly today and I haven't had time to wrap my head around the fact that we have a baby girl!  I'll be sure to share more news once I have more time.  For now, I'm off to pack!  I'm leaving in the morning to go and meet her!

1st Day of School- 3rd grade!

My baby is growing up!!!!



Operation: Bathroom Closet

I'm going to be real with all of you.  Whether you want to or not, I'm going to take you on an adventure.  What type of adventure, you ask?  An adventure that only some will understand...and only some will enjoy.  (A huge shout out to all of the other Type A's out there.) *wink*

When Papa H completed our bathroom closet several years ago, I had asked for 3 large shelves to be built.  At the time, it was the quickest way to get the job done and I had no idea what type of chaos it might employ.  Toothbrushes mixed in with bottles of lotion.  Bug spray, heating pads, and razors all in a jumble.  For my Type A personality, this shelving disaster had to come to an end.  Today!

BEFORE: 

As you can see, things were a little out of control.

PQ was clearly not impressed...

...until he got to play the 'part'.

We discarded old prescriptions and outdated over-the-counter- meds.  Don't fret...they are going to the local Drug Take Back Event that I'm coordinating at the school this fall.

Knee deep in organizing...a mama's dream!

(PQ's future wife can thank me later. *wink*)

Drumroll please...

(please note that all bins will be labeled later this week)

Hurrican Irene wasn't the only 'storm' in town today.  Tropical Storm Mama H and Tropical Storm PQ came ripping through our bathroom today.  Nobody lost power and all structures are still in tact.  Good thing nobody called FEMA on this local storm.  *wink*

Strep Throat= Lots of Honey

Well, it looks like the entire family is being treated for strep throat.  Does this give us an EAT-ALL-THE-HONEY-YOU-WANT pass?  (Glory knows how much I love hot tea with my honey...I mean, honey with my hot tea...*wink*)

Where is the joy?

For the past two months, I've been ticking away on a book titled One Thousand Gifts written by Ann Voskamp.  In a nutshell, the book has opened my eyes to a greater sense of joy that can (and should) be found in everyday blessings.  No matter where we are in life, we are blessed beyond measure.  Sometimes it's easy to see the goodness in it all...but sometimes, it's downright difficult to be thankful for everything we are going through. 

Last week I read a passage from the book that really struck a cord with me.  In our humility- our willingness to die to our own expectations and plans- God exalts us.  This is when and how we find joy.  I wrote down the exact quote in my Bible and I keep revisiting these words for comfort.  With all that has happened over the past few months with the adoption, I can't help but wonder why it all happened the way that it did.  There are days when I am at peace with it all.  I understand that it was not God's will for our family to adopt HQ.  But there are days like today, where I have a hard time finding the joy in it all.

I am honored that we were able to be there for Mama Grace when she delivered HQ.  I'm thrilled that we were able to care for HQ before he was transitioned to Mama J and Papa J.  I feel blessed to have met Mama J and Papa J- and to hear all about the many families that they have been able to bless through their service of orphans.  I smile when I think about the day when our child will finally be home.  I can find the joy most of the time...but sometimes I stumble. 

I need God's strength.  I need God's comfort.  I need God's peace.  And when I ask Him to help me through these difficult times, He does.  He is worthy of all my praise.  There it is...the joy in all of this...He is the reason why I can do anything...He is my joy. 

Just a reminder...

Cucumbers, Cucumbers...

'Tis the season for fresh vegetables straight out of the garden.  At this point in the season, most farmers (and want-to-be-farmers, like me) are up to their eyeballs in a particular vegetable.  For us, we are currently swimming in cucumbers.  As of today, we have ~25 large cucumbers in our fridge after this mornings harvest.

Over the past couple of weeks, we've eaten cucumbers with salt & pepper, with vinegar, and with mayo (in sandwiches).  We've made things like cucumber salad and we've given cukes away to our friends and family.  PQ and his friend next door have been eating them straight out of the garden when the afternoon snack-attack hits.

With the overabundance of cucumbers, I can't help but think about all of the pickles that we could make.  Mama Sunshine gave us some DELICIOUS homemade mustard pickles last week and ever since, I have been scanning the internet for a solid mustard pickle recipe that I can make (and jar for the upcoming months).  The recipe that she uses is not for canning purposes so I have been hunting for something more long term.  So far I haven't found anything that appeals to my tastebuds.  If anyone has an old family recipe for mustard pickles that require canning, please let me know!  We would love to make some pickles so we can stock our pantry for the winter.

*If you are a fellow want-to-be farmer like me, and you are swimming in another type of vegetable, please let me know what you have.  Perhaps we can fill some jars together.  I have a bunch of great canning recipes!*

Day 5...Not How We Planned

Good Evening, Everyone~ It is with very heavy hearts that we send out this email to all of you. We had hoped to call everyone directly but to be honest, we are emotionally spent. Earlier this evening we received a call from our adoption agency in Texas. The owner called us directly to advise that HQ's birthfather has come forward to claim paternity of his little boy. As of today, court documents have been filed and the adoption plan will not proceed any further. With only 5 more days to go before we could go pick up HQ in Texas, God revealed to us that this was not our situation afterall. Only God knows why we are involved in this situation in the first place. After giving it much thought this evening, we agreed that if nothing else, Mama Grace needed us to be there for her in the hospital. Having the opportunity to support, love, encourage, and pray with her was something that we will never forget. Spending 6 days with her son and having the opportunity to transport him to his nursery family was amazing. Only God knows how HQ's story will end but we are honored to have been part of it, even for only a short while. Our hearts are broken but we are grateful for our relationship with God. We are sad that the situation with HQ did not go as we had planned but we trust that there was a reason for it all. We know that if it wasn't for our faith, we would not be handling this situation the same way. It's trivial to think about how many people try and make it through life without accepting the free gift of love from Christ. It's free....it's available to each of us...we just need to believe in the hope that God provides. At this point, we have become a priority family for the agency. We will begin receiving new situations that arise and we will have our profile shown to potential families who are proceeding with an adoption plan. We know that this is all out of our hands and we know that the right situation will happen. We know that God loves us and we know that He has some pretty amazing plans for all of us. At this time, we would like to ask you to please pray for HQ and his birthparents. We can only hope that this situation will provide an opportunity for his birthparents to step up and be the parents that HQ needs them to be. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers. We could not have gone this far without all of you praying for us and encouraging us every step of the way. Love, The H Family

Pastoral Studies??

Let's face it.  There are some things in life that make us wonder what the future might hold.  Ever since May 27th, 2008, PQ has been eager to learn more about the Bible...and with that, he has been excited to share the good news with everyone he meets along the way.  He's never intimidated to ask someone where they stand with Jesus and he's always excited to hear when people love God with all their heart.


In the book of Mark, Jesus tells his disciples to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15 NIV).  In other words, Jesus wants everyone who knows him and believes in him to go out into the world and share the good news with others.  For the past 5 years, I have been growing in my faith.  I am attending Bible Studies, hosting small groups, and teaching Sunday School.  I'm actively learning more and more about God and how much he loves each of us.  I have to admit that sometimes I still struggle with sharing the hope that I have with nonbelievers.  I know who God is and I believe that Jesus came to save us from our sinful ways...but yet, I still find it intimidating to share my faith at times.

PQ amazes me.  It's that simple.  He amazes me with his gift of sharing the gospel.  He often takes our next door neighbors outside to sit near the shed in the backyard.  It's there that he finds the perfect opportunities to share the love of Jesus with these kids.  There have been many instances where I have overheard PQ telling the other kids about Jesus and how much God loves them.  Sometimes he orchestrates a 'band' and the kids sit outside singing various hymns that PQ has taught them. 

Earlier this week, I found myself marveling at PQ's continued ability to share the gospel.  Instead of working on his Bible verse for the day by himself, he invited the kids from next door to work on the verse with him.  PQ gave each of the kids their own Bible to use for the lesson.  The kids watched PQ as he taught them where to find the verse in the Bible.  PQ focused on the verse and copied the words from his Bible onto the plain page of paper.  The other kids did the same.  Each of them wrote the verse that Papa H had left for PQ in the morning and once they were done writing the verse, PQ took the time to walk them through what the verse meant.  He told them how the verse might apply to their life and as his mother, I stood in awe.  I got to see PQ being an amazing witness for Christ and it was one of the most beautiful things that I've ever seen.

I keep hinting at a pastoral career in PQ's future and at this point, he doesn't think that's his calling.  He still thinks that being a police officer, a professional athlete, or a spy are his best career options.  If nothing else, it's pretty amazing to see how God can use an 8 year old to share the love of Jesus with the world.  May we never underestimate our own power to share what we believe.  PQ continues to encourage me to step outside the box and trust God with those difficult conversations.  Thanks again, PQ...I really admire who you are becoming for Christ.

9 more Days...