First Homestudy Appointment

Today we had our first homestudy appointment. It went smoothly and I had all of our paperwork that was requested. We still have to do our physicals. Oh and we signed a release of information for the agency to send off to Georgia to request our CPS registry check paperwork.

Afterwards, we went to the VA State Police office for fingerprinting. The picture (above) is the bottom half of my fingerprinting card. When I sent a picture to my aunt, she said "Have fun getting the ink off of your hands." I got to explain to her that it is all done electronically now. It looks like a photocopier that you put your fingers on and then another screen shows your fingerprints and says whether or not they are "acceptable." All of mine went smoothly except for 2 fingers that we did a few times.

Then they printed them onto my card and I went back into the lobby where Brandon was waiting. After a bit, they called Brandon to do his.

We went to pick up the children and then raced to Walmart to buy two $50 money orders to accompany our fingerprints for our VA background checks. Then we raced off to the adoption agency to turn them in so they can be mailed off. Our next appointment is June 8th and that is for the home visit portion of our homestudy.

Then we went to the post office (4 minutes before close!) and then the chiropractor.

After dinner, I filled out our application for the agency we are hoping to use for matching and placement.

PHEW! What a day! But it feels SO good to have everything going. Praying our paperwork comes back quickly!

~Stephanie

PS: Now I'm off to pack for the weekend!

Baby/Children Love is Contagious

So Julianne has prayed for a little sister since we started our first adoption in 2009.

Enter Xander.

She continued to pray for a little sister when I found I was pregnant.

Enter Solomon.

When we told the girls that we are going to start the process to adopt again, Julianne asked "Mommy, are we going to get a girl this time?"

I explained that I didn't know and that we might get a boy (we don't plan to specify gender this time either). Then I told her no matter if our baby is a girl or a boy, we will most certainly get the child God intends for our family.

Her response was:

"Well, Mommy, we could get a girl AND a boy at the same time. I know that is called twins. Wouldn't that be SO much fun? What would we name the little boy?"

I just had to laugh.

Where I've been..

So I haven't posted in awhile... But I haven't forgotten my blog. I've had some things come up and it's just a busy season in my life. So here is what I've been up to:

• I had an allergic reaction and had to see my doctor.
• We attempted to move Solomon into the nursery.. he's still in our room. ;)
• I had to see the dermatologist to have the site where a mole was shaved off my arm checked out. I was once again told that I'm a "super healer" and it was new skin that made the lump. Apparently some mole cells were left behind and it re-pigmented in the new scar, but I do not need to worry that it is asymmetrical because the labwork from the original mole came back fine. She stuck TWO needles in the lump and injected a steroid in it so that the lump will deflate. I return in 2 months to see if I need another dose.
• I've been restocking our pantry. During the winter I really use it down (because I hate to go out in the cold.. brrr...) so in the spring I need to do quite a bit of shopping to restock.
• While I was at the dermatologists, I asked about chronic hives. I figured the allergist's suggestions weren't working so I'd go after it from a different angle. It's been a YEAR of hives folks... I've now been hive free for THREE nights in a row and haven't needed Benadryl. Oh and did you know that Zantac is a histamine blocker? I now take three medications and I'm adjusting to the new haze of drowsiness. We are blocking H1's and H2's. (different histamines.)
• I've developed allergies living here! I enjoyed two springs with no allergies... but they are back. The 3 medications I'm on should help with the sinus irritation.
• My dear friend suffered a devastating loss. She was due in June and went to the midwife for an appointment and there was no heartbeat. I visited with her and took a meal over Wednesday. She was induced and delivered him this morning. Could you pray for her?
• Xander now adds "Mama" on the end of all of his requests. It's SO cute! "Please, mama?" "More, Mama?" "Cup please, Mama?" Tonight as I was cooking supper he stood nearby repeating Mama over and over. Mamamamamamamamamama! When I looked down he smiled and when I went back to work, he started again. I'm soaking it in!
• Xander now gives the BEST hugs. He pats your back when he hugs you, priceless!
• Lainey has read four chapter books on her own: Boxcar Children, Boxcar Children #3, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, and James and the Giant Peach.
• Julianne has a sudden interest in helping around the house and she loves being read to.
• Solomon is now sitting up! Just as I told the pediatrician last month, he just needed the milestone adjusted for his gestational age. He's drinking over 32 ounces of formula a day and loves to chew on the tags of his blankets and our dinner napkins.
• I sent Xander's birthmom a lengthy update of apple picking, Thanksgiving, our Disney Trip and Christmas.
• Brandon had a day trip for work to Washington, DC. He got to rub shoulders with the upper management of the company he works for and feels super positive about what he heard and the direction of the company!
• Another friend's grandmother died and I'll be attending the funeral tomorrow afternoon.
• The majority of our homeschool curriculum was ordered and arrived after a shipping fiasco. I'm pleased with it and can't wait to get more time to look through it in more detail!
• I got bad news from back home. My brother is in jail. I pray that this is his rock bottom and that he straightens his path. I learned a long time ago, that I can't make anyone change, but myself. People have to want to change. It is what it is, but it was still awful to see his mugshot.
• I've been working on a plan for next week. Brandon's schedule changes to 3 thirteen hour shifts this coming Monday. The four days off a week will be nice, but the three days he is gone will be long. I'll need to pace myself those days and have plenty of structure.

I'll try to not wait so long between posts. I'm praying that parts of my life slow down to a more manageable pace of course...

~Stephanie

Book Review: What He Must Be... by Voddie Baucham Jr.

What He Must Be... If he Wants to Marry my Daughter is book that Voddie Baucham Jr has written and dedicated to his daughter, Jasmine. It's a book about a multi-generational vision, the ministry of marriage, the father's role and then the qualities that he feels his future son-in-law should have. He also addresses the lack of young men that have these specific qualities and offers some solutions.

I thought this book offered practical wisdom. I read this book in slowly over time because I thought it was very meaty and I wanted to take it all in. I often found myself thinking about it later as I did chores and discussing bits of it with Brandon. I'm going to encourage Brandon to read this book as well. I thought there were alot of good points in this book and enjoyed reading it as the mother of both sons and daughters. Perhaps one day, we will ask our children to read it and we'll discuss it together.

I interrupt sharing our trip...

to tell you the most wonderful thought I had the other night.

Brandon and I were praying over our upcoming adoption and a specific child. God has closed the door on us pursuing the little girl we were praying over.

After many tears fell down my cheeks I realized that if we are matched next summer/fall.. our baby girl is being knit in secret right now!

We have so much to pray for over the next year.

God, please comfort our future child's birth parents as they seek information and choose life for their child. Please guide them to compassionate social workers and medical professionals. Please protect them from harm. We pray for their mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health. Lord, I pray they know You and are going to celebrate the birth of Your precious Son this holiday season. In your Son's most precious name, Amen.

~Steph

Disney Day 1: Arrival

On Saturday evening, I finally broke my husband down and convinced him that we should tell the girls what the surprise was.

We videotaped it but I can't figure out how to share it here. Needless to say, they appeared more excited about the flight and concerned about where the van would be then going to Disney. It took me a few minutes to figure it out.

One of the girls had "guessed" Disney earlier after eavesdropping on a phone call and Brandon fibbed and told them that you had to be 10 to go. So Lainey thought that she wouldn't be able to ride anything. Thus, the anti-climatic videotaping session. Once we cleared that up, she was very excited to go. Since they don't watch much TV they don't see a whole lot of commercials so they weren't sure what to expect. I'm sure if and when we go back they will be much more excited. Tee hee!

We ordered pizza and ate on paperplates the night before we departed. We had zero issues getting the children to go to sleep. (Hmm I wonder why?)

Brandon and I finished packing and we headed to bed around midnight. At 3am, Solomon woke for a feeding right before our alarm clock was scheduled to go off.

I nursed him and dressed him and then put him in his carseat. I thought for sure he'd doze off, but he sure seemed to know that something special was about to happen. He was wide awake.

The girls got up without much issue. I put them to bed in their dresses and leggings the night before so all they had to do was eat breakfast, brush their teeth, have their hair done and put shoes on.

While I did their hair, Brandon loaded the van. And we were off. It was 4:20 am and we were right on schedule.

Funny story of the day: Julianne saw Brandon putting on his shoes. She opens her mouth wide and says "Daddy, you are going to Disney too!?!?!?" Uhhh.. yup. Priceless.. not sure if she thought just the kids were going or what. So funny.

We arrived at the airport right around 5am. At the last minute we decided not to use the economy parking that was poorly lit and quite a distance from the airport. We quickly found a close parking space and took a few minutes to gather our thoughts. I was stressed and needed a few minutes to pull myself together.

We started to unload our things. An advantage that we quickly noticed as our children have gotten older is that there are more hands to help.

I unfolded the double and single umbrella stroller and started putting children in. We had three suitcases, a diaper bag and a backpack. Brandon carried the backpack and pushed a stroller. I pushed a stroller, hung the diaper bag on the stroller handles and drug a rolling suitcase. Lainey pulled two suitcases.

We didn't have far to go but it was SO helpful! We got on the elevator and barely fit. Then we went to the airline counter, turned in our luggage and got our boarding passes.

Next up was security. For a few weeks I had worried about going through security. I prayed about it alot. And I have to say, every prayer was answered!

First, we went to a podium. The worker checked our IDs, asked the girls their names and passed us through. While we were waiting, I took everyone's coats off. Then I took off the children's shoes and put them in a bucket. Coats in another bucket. Bags on the conveyor belt. I picked up Solomon from the stroller and asked Julianne to stand. Brandon folded the stroller and put it on the belt. He picked up Xander and folded the stroller and together we put it on the belt.

I walked through with Solomon, Brandon walked through with Xander and both of the girls walked through on their own. We grabbed the buckets and went to the bench to put everyone back together. Xander's almond milk was tested and we were on our merry little way. No nekkid scanner, no patdowns.

Easy, breezy, beautiful.. covergirl. Oops.. Just easy, breezy, beautiful I mean!

We easily found our gate and noticed that we were near a bathroom and a small stand with some breakfast items. We asked the girls if they wanted a banana or a yogurt. One had a yogurt, one had a banana and I got a banana for Xander. Brandon and I got breakfast sandwiches and a drink. I ate the sausage off and gave the biscuit to the girls to split. It wasn't a very good biscuit at all and I was still nervous about the flight.

We camped out at the gate and looked around. We made some smalltalk with another group sitting next to us. I popped my anti-histamine dose and all was well. (Yes, I'm still on an anti-histamine cocktail...) Oh and I snapped some pictures of us in our early morning groggy state. (None of us are morning folks- but Xander was having a pretty good time!)


We gate checked the strollers and walked on with just the diaper bags and the backpack. We had four seats all on the same row. Three on one side and one seat on the other. The flight went really well. Solomon finally fell asleep after nursing again and slept for most of the flight. Xander took a short nap. Before long we landed!

Once we got to the Orlando Airport we quickly found our way to the tram and followed the signs to Mickey's Magical Express. We showed them our tickets and quickly loaded.

Apparently, our bus driver was very new. I mean.. like maybe her first day out of training? It was a rather scary drive with lots of heavy breaking, a heavy foot on the gas followed by heavy breaking and back to heavy accelerating. And tediously slow turning. Brandon and I just looked at each other.

But we got there in one piece. Somehow seeing this on the way made things all better.


We walked into the All Star Music Hotel and holy smokes it was busy. We stood in line for about an hour. During that time, we had our first sprinkling of pixie dust. A man walked up to us and asked if we could use some apple juice boxes. They were all sealed and still in the big outside package. He explained he over bought at the grocery delivery and that his bag was too heavy to take them home. I thanked him and then he offered some bottled Lipton Green Tea. We don't drink that so I passed and wished him a safe trip home.

Luis checked us in and the only thing that was not 100% correct was the pack and play situation. We requested two and only one was already in our room. Not a huge deal really and I knew it was going to happen because I saw it when I tried to do online check in the night before (unsuccessfully.) We did get the building we requested and he said that they would send a pack and play up.

Our room was ready so we headed to our building to lighten our load a bit. As we were sorting through things to leave at the hotel there was a knock and our pack and play arrived. Then there was another knock. Our luggage arrived.

We headed down to the Intermission Cafeteria and ordered lunch.

We used 4 counter service credits:
2 bacon cheeseburgers, fries and icecream sundaes
2 grilled cheese sandwiches and fries and grapes
A soymilk, 1 chocolate milk, bottled water, lemonade.

And we picked up all four of our reusable mugs that came with our dining plan.

Then we got another soymilk and used a snack credit for that.

Next up: Day 1 Continued Epcot

~Steph

We are different and I love it!

I had a lot of time to think and observe this past week. I love to people watch and Disney is people watching extreme.

I started to notice a trend. Children at Disney that had no idea how to occupy their every waking moment without electronics. Seriously. We stood in line for hours and hours by the time you added it all up. And as I looked around I saw children watching movies on phones, portable DVD players and playing all kinds of electronic games. Literally, children were rushing through the rides and attractions to get back to their electronics!

I noticed families on vacation that weren't even speaking to each other. I noticed families with a pained look on their face as they were "forced" to spend time together. I overheard a mother tell her child "I can't wait until we are home and I can drop you off at daycare!"

And I started thinking about what makes our family different...

1. Brandon and I see children as blessings. I can't say this enough. Children aren't burdens. They are glorious gifts from above. They come complete with their own little quirks and personalities. Children are FUN. It was amazing to watch my children as their eyes lit up in amazement at the sights and sounds. Complete amazement.

2. We spend a lot of time together. My children don't see their siblings as annoyances or rivals. They rarely argue and if they do, they quickly make up because they don't like to be on the outs. We eat three meals together with everyone in attendance-- including Daddy! And we crave MORE time together than what we already get. The girls share a bedroom and recently begged me to never make them sleep in separate rooms.

3. We don't rely on electronics to keep our children entertained. Our children watch less than 2 hours a week of television. And we only hit the two hour mark if we watch a movie.. together! Lainey received a gameboy (refurbished!) with a few games (used!) for her 7th birthday that she plays every so often. But she really would rather play with her siblings. We play board games and read. We are creative. It was amazing how our children really started playing when we limited TV!

4. We control the messages that our children hear and challenge the ones that slip by. One message we are constantly told is "You can't give your children everything if you have a large family." We challenge that. Why would I want to give a child everything? How do you define everything? Does giving your child everything help or hurt them in the long run? What happened to delayed gratification? Hard work? Counting the blessings you do have? Earning something yourself? If I give my children everything, what is their motivation? Sorry, I don't want to raise my children expecting to be entitled to everything, at least not everything as the world defines it.

Long story short, I fell in love with my family all over again this last week. I love each and every member of our family for who they are and I'm excited to see who each child becomes. Each addition to our family has added another layer to our family make up. We are by no means perfect but I couldn't be more pleased with the direction our family is heading.

~Steph

A Divine Appointment... Disney Style

We are home! We had a fabulous week and I can't wait to share all of our adventures but first I'm so excited to share this story.

I believe in divine appointments. Years ago, I was the subject of a Divine Appointment myself. I get giddy when I realize that God has used me in encouraging others. So I want to share this little gem with you!

Thursday night we went to Downtown Disney and ate at Wolfgang Puck Express. It was delicious but soon after Solomon and Xander had the biggest meltdown of the trip. I suddenly felt like we should go "home" back to the hotel. I was a little bummed that we didn't get to look in some of the stores but I mentioned to Brandon that maybe we could come back the next night and he quickly agreed. We rode the Disney bus to the hotel, tucked everyone in and had some quiet time together. I couldn't get Downtown Disney off of my mind for the rest of the night.

Fast forward, the next day we went back to Downtown Disney. This time earlier in the night. They had a Santa there and since we hadn't gotten a chance to visit Santa yet this year, Brandon put us in line. Solomon started fussing and I knew he was ready to nurse. So I grabbed my nursing cover and headed to the nearest bench. There was a lady sitting there with a little boy.. maybe 3 or 4 years old. I typically try to sit by myself to nurse but for some reason (wink, wink) joined her on the bench.

Her son asked her why Solomon was under my nursing cover and she explained that I was feeding him and that was how she had fed him. We struck up conversation and before long we were chatting family and husbands. The conversation flowed SO easily, like when you call and catch up with an old friend.

The spacing of the boys came up and she was so kind! I mentioned we adopted and then we found out I was expecting and she asked The Question. "Were you trying?" I quickly said "Oh we weren't trying or preventing.. God builds our family." She smiled BIG and was very positive.

I found out that she was from RICHMOND! And she asked some questions about adoption. She shared which denomination she belonged to (happens to be the same as one of the agencies we used.)

Then she got a little quieter and said that she had had two miscarriages. One at 9 weeks and one at 16 weeks and that she wondered if statistically she was doomed because both of the baby girls had Turner's Syndrome. She went on to say that a genetic specialist encouraged her to try again and that statistically odds were in her favor. But that she had a little doubt in her heart and she just didn't know.... after all she had lost two baby girls in a row with the same genetic syndrome. She thought that those odds were significant.

I could tell she was hurting and needed encouragement. My heart was just skipping beats during this portion of our conversation. I looked her in the eyes and softly said "Our God isn't a God of statistics." And shared our amazing story (matched 2 weeks after we were approved to adopt, pregnant a few months later when earlier in our lives several "perfect, textbook" cycles with medical help didn't end in pregnancy, my VBAC, etc, etc.) Her eyes lit up and her facial expressions were TOTALLY different after I reminded her that God doesn't follow stats. He follows His planning! Her husband walked over during that part and you could just see the weight lifted off of his shoulders!

Right then, Lainey came over and when I acknowledged her she asked "Daddy wants to know if you are coming back?" Oh. Yes. I quickly said goodbye and started to walk away. I turned around, thinking "Oh maybe I should exchange some information.. and we could talk again." And just like that, she was gone.

I still have goosebumps. STILL! God can use you ANYWHERE. Even in Downtown Disney waiting in a Santa line. *grin*

Sickness and The Mouse

WOW! The month of October really got away from us.

It hasn't been a great month healthwise at the Bee House.

The last time I posted Xander was cutting teeth. This has been a continuous process. Those two are in and now he has more coming. He's had all the usual symptoms that accompany teeth: runny nose, fever, congestion, etc. It's getting old.. quickly!

Julianne has some mild coughing and congestion. I'm amazed at how mild this has been for her. She used to be my child that caught everything to an extreme-- especially if it was respiratory!

Lainey had a mild cough for a few days but quickly recovered. Once she got tubes as a baby for her multiple ear infections, her health really turned around and she has been very healthy since.

Julianne sneezed in Solomon's face as I was holding him. *sigh* It was one of those things I saw in slow motion but couldn't make stop! And now Solomon has a little cough. No fever, no congestion. Ahhhh.... the blessing of a breastfed baby! Solomon is also drooling pools worth of saliva requiring multiple shirt changes now as well. Guess what I found? Two little white knots on his lower gums. And he started chewing his hands like they were just the most delicious things ever!

Then, I came down with a headcold. Since I have no spleen, when I am hit with sickness I go down hard and fast! I went from sinus drainage down the back of my throat to barely being able to swallow and a fever in the matter of a couple hours. As the night wore on, I got worse and worse. Finally, the next day (on Sunday, doesn't it always happen that way?) I decided I needed to go to Patient First and found out I have a sinus infection. Unfortunately, I am prone to sinus infections but I'm thankful that I haven't been very sick like this since I had my tonsilectomy in 2008!

So, if you are still with me after that laundry list of ailments, BRANDON is the only one that has been well for the month of October.

He also celebrated his 29th birthday this month! We managed to celebrate his birthday in between illnesses. (I'm very mindful about exposing others to germs since I have no spleen!) We went to Maggiano's and had a yummy family style dinner and I stopped at Frostings, a gourmet cupcake shop, and picked up a half a dozen. Brandon had 2 red velvet cupcakes, one with buttercream frosting and one with cream cheese frosting and the kids and I had American cupcakes (vanilla) with chocolate frosting.

Solomon did not enjoy any cupcakes during this celebration. Poor fellow.

Brandon and I have also been planning for Christmas. This has involved code words and late night chats because the children do not have any idea that we are....







FLYING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!

We did not take a family vacation this year other than a brief visit to Augusta in September so we are combining our vacation budget and our Christmas budget to make this possible. I'm so excited. I'm the only one in our family that has been to Disney before but there have been alot of changes since I went in highschool with our band. (What year was that? My freshman year? So Spring of '99? Erika, you'll have to be my fact checker!) For example, Animal Kingdom wasn't there when we went and many rides have been added. More importantly, I'm excited to see the reaction that the children and my husband have.

Brandon and I have talked about a Disney trip for years. It's been postponed due to pregnancy, school, careers, babies being too little, our adoption, etc. We finally just decided to go. Hopefully we can go back in a few years so the boys will remember a trip.

We've also been plugging in at church. We are still attending the *tiny* church and we are finding it more and more comfortable each Sunday. (We've also missed quite a bit due to sickness this fall.) Our Sunday School class has an email group so we've been in touch and we continue to get to know the other members. Our church also recently changed the schedule. Now it is Sunday School, a fellowship time and then worship. They usually serve snacks and juice during the fellowship time and people intermingle. I've met quite a few people this way and I've gotten the opportunity to get to know people more in depth this way. I have a feeling we'll be talking about joining the church soon. It's starting to feel like home.

I have a few other events to post about, but this is getting long and the tribe is getting restless.

Happy Birthday! - Love God

Tomorrow is my birthday.. well actually in about an hour, my birthday will start.

But I wasn't super thrilled.. in fact I bordered on being upset.

It's not that I'm worried about getting old. In fact, after having a few scary experiences I'm always thankful to turn another year older. Thank you GOD for keeping me on earth for another year!

It sounds silly... but I was upset that I have no baby pictures of myself. NONE. In fact I have a handful of pictures from when I was a toddler that my aunt passed to me but that is it. I have pictures from high school, but when I showed those to Lainey and Julianne, they both said "But MOMMY! You look the same!" Bless you children, but I'm getting you an eye appointment STAT!

I think it hit me this year because I have a new little one and we are actively photojournaling FOUR children these days!

So.. what did I do about it?

Well.. I took it to my Father. You know.. the one on call 24/7 to hear my cries, my praise, etc?

Yup.. I prayed and I asked God to make my heart STOP hurting or to help me get some pictures.

You won't believe this.

I got a phone call yesterday from my Aunt saying she stumbled across some photoalbums and wanted to know if I had any of my baby pictures? No.. I sure don't. The next question was "Would you like me to scan them and give you an electronic copy? Or 8 x 10's? Or 5 x 7's or do you have a preference?"

I didn't know what to say at first. She thought we were disconnected because I said nothing.

All I could think was "First I go from no pictures to pictures in whatever form or size I want?"

So I said "Whatever's easiest."

And when I hung up the phone, I got to share with my girls that God is awesome and sending us pictures of mama as a baby....

God is so good!


PS: My blog template expired.. I'll have to get on that later.. you know.. cause I have so much extra time. Bwahahahahahah!

A Year Ago Today..

A year ago today, I was folding whites during naptime and got a call on our home phone. We rarely have anyone call the home number (most people use our cells out of habit) and I thought it was odd. When I walked over to the caller ID it had the name of an agency we had spoken with a few times on the screen! I thought it was odd and it was almost the close of business for the day but I took a deep breath and pushed the button on our speaker phone and sat in the floor. We were having trouble with our handset so thank God for speakerphone!

Tami, the socialworker, introduced herself and asked if we would be interested in presenting our profile for a week old, biracial baby boy. She also gave me some information on the birthmother, the situation and some health concerns. I said yes. And there was a long pause. Tami said, "Shouldn't you call Brandon and ask him?" Oops! I said yes and let her know that I'd call her right back. I called Brandon and I was talking so fast I had to repeat myself several times. I confessed to him that I said "Yes" and that Tami said I should call him and he laughed. He said "Way to go with your gut!" (I'm typically an overthinker when it comes to big decisions.) He said to call Tami back and tell her that we both said yes.

After I made that phone call we went into overdrive. Our profile book was at the printers! And it had to be at the agency the next morning! Brandon took some personal time from work and picked up our profile book. I don't think either of us slept a wink that night. I dropped off the profile book at the agency the next morning. And the real wait began... The next day we got the best phone call of our life....

A Sermon that Blessed Me

Voddie Baucham is kind of "new" to me. I've only known of him for a little over a year. I missed hearing him at the homeschool convention in 2009 but did manage to catch a sermon when he was a guest speaker at one of our local churches. He even prayed with Brandon and I, when we shared briefly our calling to adopt another child and that I was expecting in June. Ya know what he said? "Ahhh.. just getting started I see." We loved his positive comments and loved that he took the time to pray with us as a long line formed behind us.

Voddie is very "cut to the chase." A friend and I have a joke that when you listen to Voddie, you either AMEN or OUCH. I've done both listening to his sermons. He's a pastor at Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. He's a homeschooling father and an outspoken adoption advocate. The Bauchams are blessed with 6 children so far (wink), including four adopted children.

I'm currently reading his book titled "Family Driven Faith," but was sent this link by a friend. I've heard this particular recording a few times, but today it really hit home.

Hopefully, it will bless and challenge you too.

The Centrality of the Home in the Evangelism and Discipleship of the Next Generation

NOTE: This was actually spoken at a Evangelism Conference just for a frame of reference.

(There was a problem with my link before, but it should work now.)

~Steph

I had a meltdown and it was ugly...

I typically only share things like this with very close friends, but I figure that if this blog is going to accurately portray our lives, I should share the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I have my flame suit on and ready.

Last Wednesday night, we visited a new church for their Wednesday night services. (Our 17th church since we've been here.) We were happy to get out of the house after a big snow the weekend before so we attended their Wednesday dinner and then wanted to go to their Biblical Parenting Bible Study. Since Brandon is currently working on Sundays for his new project, Wednesday would have to be our visiting day.

We packed up and went. We were all very excited and hopeful that we would find a place to call home. The dinner was yummy and seemed to be run well. A few people came and introduced themselves when we were eating and the nursery staff was very welcoming and assuring. Lainey's age group was a little unorganized. Julianne's class was well organized and she was happy to see "friends" (defined by my three year old as anyone that is a kid. LOL)

We went to our class and it was awkward and vague. It was almost as if the facilitator was afraid to pick a side of the fence to stand on, for fear of offending someone. We've seen it here.. alot. *sigh*

After class, I went to go gather our children and a man walked up to me in a very crowded hallway and loudly exclaimed "Have you figured out what causes that yet?" and motioned towards my three children and my obviously pregnant baby belly. A few other people laughed.

Let me pause here and say that I completely understand that the "world" doesn't see children as blessings. I don't see it that way and I have trouble wrapping my mind around it. But I know it is there.

But in a church? Obnoxiously asked by a stranger loud enough to make a scene in the children's hall.... I was floored. And for a split second, I almost wished I wasn't standing in a church. *blush* That's just being honest with you.

But I was... so I took the easy but polite way out. I used humor. I said "Of course! And we obviously like it because we keep on doing it huh?" and I winked.

And then I fumed during the drive to the grocery store. To be perfectly honest, I wanted to march back into that church and ask him what he was really getting at. Did he think my children were mistakes? Consequences of irresponsibility? And if I have too many.. which one SHOULDN'T I have had? And how does he suggest that I "put one back?" But I didn't... I fumed... quietly in our van, upset that my children (and the other children in the church) were exposed to such rudeness.

Coincidentally, in the grocery store, as we were checking out with our provisions for the next snow storm, a lady complimented my family. She told us we were very blessed, that our family was beautiful and the children were very well behaved. She also told the girls that it is "very exciting" that we are adding a little brother.

And then, I once again fumed on the way home. How is it that we are mocked and ridiculed in a church, for simply accepting the blessings that God has given us (and answering the call of the orphan)? And praised and encouraged in a grocery store? Doesn't the Bible call every child a blessing? The Bible surely doesn't specify or qualify which children are blessings, and which children are not blessings. #1 and #2 are not any more of a blessing, according to God, than our #3 and #4.

I tossed and turned that night while attempting to sleep... I was hurt and angry.

And the next morning, the tears started. I cried off and on for hours. I know part of it was hormones, part of it hurt from the incident the night before, and part of it just complete and utter homesickness.

But the tears came and they flowed. They flowed until my face was splotchy, my eyes were bright red and it hurt to blink. Brandon came home for lunch that day and even him holding me couldn't make my tears stop coming. I sobbed on his shoulder and left a big huge wet spot and he still wore the same shirt back to work. After several hours of crying, I eventually ran out of tears.

I am homesick. I am hormonal. I am the mother of soon to be 4 children.. and I love them deeply and fiercely. And I hate living in liberal, children-are-a-burden-and-inconvenience Richmond. I'm NOT sorry that God showed me what a blessing my children are. I'm NOT sorry that I *gasp* enjoy my children. And even when I start to think moving to Richmond was a huge mistake, I look in my Xander's chocolate brown eyes, and KNOW that God called us to be here. Without Richmond, there would be no Xander in our lives. And the addition of Xander makes it all worth while.

And yes Mr. I-am-going-to-attempt-to-make-a-scene-and-embarrass-you, I do know what causes it.

God abundantly blessing my life as I follow His will and ignore the world.

~Steph