Today...

There is so much to learn from our experiences.  God doesn't want us to push the "hard times" aside, He wants us to grow.

Today, I will do my best at my job and love my family and APPRECIATE all I have.

I HOPE that Mitike will find healing and that my husband will see all that he is capable of.  I hope that God will show us how HE is moving and what HE has planned for us.

Be encouraged...Yesterday is DONE and today is fleeting, but tomorrow is for eternity!  In tomorrow we will see Him face to face.  

A Normal Day...

Ana and China went with Aunt Kim up to the Grandparents today.  Matt, Mitike, and I met with the VR representative and discussed plans for getting back to work and ways they can help!  We then went to Mitike's new school.  I got to have a nice chat with the principal (whom I am VERY impressed with).  I think she will be supportive.  The one problem is that Mitike has to walk to school and that means someone probably should walk with her :(  Public elementary schools don't start until later because of busing the middle and high schoolers to school.

I got in a little time at Shepherd and some good time in on my classes (which finish up in just a week and a half!!!).  We've been on edge for so long on normal days I just wait for something terrible to happen BUT thanks be to God, He just gave us an ordinary day today.

Thanks for praying!  

Update...

The interviews appear to have gone well.  The DCS staff seems to be satisfied.  We spent three hours at their offices this afternoon.  They will be coming to tour our house tomorrow.

Matt also has his brain scan tomorrow morning!

THANK YOU for praying!!  Although this was a very stressful ordeal, we did feel a lot of peace!  A very kind family lawyer came and spent the afternoon with us.  We are so thankful for how God provides for us in every way.

(After we were done, we went to Steak and Shake.  As I haven't eaten well for the last three days, I made up for lost time :)!!)

Keep praying, there are some major decisions to be made in the next week.

Today...

from one of my favorite bloggers... Lil Blue Boo

The whole post can be seen HERE.

The Moonless Seas

As I sat down to breakfast this morning I grabbed a book from the shelf, "Keep a Quiet Heart" by Elisabeth Elliot.  Here's what I read...

Some of you are perhaps feeling that you are voyaging just now on a moonless sea.  Uncertainty surrounds you.  There seem to be no signs to follow.  Perhaps you feel about to be engulfed by loneliness.  There is no one to whom you can speak of your need.  Amy Carmichael wrote of such a feeling she, as a missionary of twenty-six, she had to leave Japan because of poor health...I have on my desk her original handwritten letter of August 25, 1894, as she was en route to Colombo.  "All along, let us remember, we are not asked to understand, but simply to obey...On July 28, Saturday, I sailed.  ...the chill of loneliness shivered through me, like a warm love-clasp came the long-loved lines---'And only Heaven is better than to walk with Christ at midnight, over moonless seas.'  I couldn't feel frightened then.  Praise Him for the moonless seas--all the better the opportunity for proving Him to be indeed the El Shaddai, 'the God who is Enough.'"

Let me add my own word of witness to hers and to that of the tens of thousands who have learned that He is indeed Enough.  He is not all we would ask for (if we were honest), but it is precisely when we do not have what we would ask for, and ONLY THEN, that we can clearly perceive His all-sufficiency.  It is when the sea is moonless that the Lord has become my Light.

"Keep a Quiet Heart" pg. 57

Appointment Is Set...

with DCS (Department of Children's Services) for Monday at 1:00.  They will interview both girls and maybe China.  We are not allowed to be in the room.  My heart is breaking because Ana will have to relive issues that happened in China.

PLEASE PRAY for
-no misunderstandings
-that we will be allowed to present our many documents (which frankly they don't seem that interested in at this point.)
-God's Will will be accomplished in Mitike's life.
-Ana's well being
-good rest!  This weighs heavily on our hearts and minds.

Praise God for an experienced attorney who has worked with DCS/CPS on multiple occasions that will accompany us on Monday.  

None of this makes any sense to us...why God would allow such hard things into our lives one after another.

BUT...

What a Day!

Today Mitike ran away.  She was on the noon news and radio.  After hours of police, fire, and sheriff teams searching she was found in downtown Indy.  (God's grace--a Shepherd staff member was eating downtown and recognized her!!) The police department used every resource including detectives, a specialized search team, bloodhounds, and multiple helicopters.  Thank you IMPD.  You were fabulous in every way!  We are very grateful to all the neighbors and Shepherd Staff that came to support us.

I really thought we couldn't go any lower, but even in the deepest, darkest places GOD IS!!

Please pray with us as CPS is now involved and we have a long journey ahead.  

Amen!

Prank It Forward!

Watch! This made my day.  I'm a huge fan of doing excellent things for the poor.  

Just When Things Seemed to Be Calm...

Matt had a seizure last night and was taken to the hospital.  He has started seizure medication and amazingly got in to see a neurologist today (a minor miracle!!).  He will also have a brain wave scan next week.  This however, does mean that he cannot drive for three more months.  This is very discouraging for him...and also prevents him from job searching.

Pray with us that the medication works and there are no further seizures.  Pray for hope and joy even when things don't go the way we want them to!

What's Up With Us!

-Matt has completed his driving and can now go get his license amended.  We took the car in for a pre-modification inspection and it needs several minor things done to it.  Once we get that done it can be approved to be modified.  Matt then should be able to get around.  He would then start to interview for jobs!

-We had a nice tour of the Indians' ballpark.  I wasn't with either of my children, so I'm still trying to hunt down pictures.  My favorite part was hitting balls with the players in the batting cages.

-I went swimming today in the 67 degree weather.  It was freezing.  I can't believe it is this cold and in the middle of July!  I really hoped to never hear the words "polar vortex" again after this past winter, but here they are again.

-My classes are going well.  I have less than four more weeks!

-Ana lost a front tooth today.  She had really given up losing anymore teeth.  This one had been lose forever, but refused to fall out.

-China gets his braces next Friday.  It will be painful, but we're glad he will be able to eat and close his mouth!

-Ana got new shoes.  (Every kid in the summer program gets a pair!)  China didn't get his because they thought he was a girl--based on his name--and gave him black and pink ones.

-Mei Mei the basset is not slowing down any.  I can't wait until she becomes a living floor mat--so far no such luck.

-I've been setting in on the Spanish church service.  It's challenging and there are times when I don't get much out of it, BUT other times I understand the great majority of what he's saying.  (The pastor is a retired missionary to Mexico.)  Who knows what God has for us--so if I can brush up on my Spanish, I'll do so.  It also helps me with my class!

Happy 4th!

Enjoy the fireworks and time with family!  

Next Week...

the Shepherd kids get to go to the Indianapolis Indian's stadium for a behind the scenes tour.  They get to go on the field, throw balls with the players, and have lunch with them.  They also get a ticket to a game in August (and so do I :)!!  I'll post pictures next week--I'm going with the boys.  So, I'll make sure someone gets good pictures of Ana too.

Go Indians!

Online Learning

Right now at this very moment I am spending a ridiculous amount of time going over an assignment with my group that I had already completed.  Ugh--five more weeks to go!  I am a traditional learner.  Give me the classroom any day!