tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-141908582024-03-07T20:43:04.338-06:00The Langham FamilyMy Life A Little Bit At A TimeJillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.comBlogger260125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-20465027356865040142013-09-07T13:56:00.000-05:002013-09-07T13:56:41.135-05:00The Highs and Lows of a New Soccer SeasonSo today was Rachel's first soccer game of the fall season. It was an interesting day.<br />
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This year, she is on a different team than she has been for the past 3 years. In Springdale, they are trying to get all the girls from the same schools on the same teams. There is apparently only 1 other Shiloh girl in her age group. <br />
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Rachel (and Mike and I) were disappointed she wasn't going to be on her team that she's been playing with for some time. It was a team of girls from Walker Elementary and girls she knew from when she went there. And, not to mention, the team that has been undefeated in all those seasons. They were getting really good playing together. Rachel has been getting quite a bit better and gaining more soccer skill playing with these girls and under her coach. But that's how the cards were dealt and we were just going to make the best of it. New friends and all.<br />
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The Youth Center called before we knew of our team and said the reason we hadn't been contacted yet was because they couldn't find a coach and asked if either my husband or myself would be interested in coaching. I literally laughed at the girl on the phone. I mean, I know a couple things about soccer from our kids playing the past few years, but lawsy. No can do on the coaching thing - for me or Mike. A coach was finally found, but then texted the day we were supposed to have our first practice to say he just couldn't do it. Uhhhh.... Another coach was found and she seems to know what she's doing.... sort of.<br />
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Rachel kept saying she just hoped she didn't play her old team. Well. Guess who our first opponent was. And guess which girl had a bit of a hard time with that. Or should I say girls.... I may have been a little down about that as well, but boy did I try and encourage my girl before the game started that she needed to make her old coach super proud of her today!<br />
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Our team basically got pummeled. The other team scored on the first play of the game and had 2 goals within the first 5 minutes. There are girls on our team that clearly have never played at all. Seriously. And I may have gotten a bit on the, um, loud side a time or two when some of the girls tended to not....oh I don't know....do ANYTHING. Now, I'm not necessarily that parent that will be ugly to the other team unless they are just plain mean, but with my own kids if they aren't putting forth their best effort, I may encourage them in a not so quiet way that they need to get their fannies in gear. My sweet husband informed me today that I may need to, um, calm down a little bit in my encouragement.<br />
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Rachel scored the first goal for her team today. Embarrassingly, I cheered so loud and hard that I made myself a bit dizzy for a second. That was one of only two goals the team scored, compared to about 10 goals from the other team. After the final whistle and the "good game" high fives, Rachel walked over to us very defeated. She at first said she was just tired. All it took was me looking at her and saying "what's wrong" for her to bury her face in my shoulder and start crying. That was a hard game for that sweet girl. She was sad she wasn't playing with her friends. She was disappointed they lost. It was a hard first game of the season playing against her old team and being beaten by them, knowing she would have been with her friends on the winning team if things had been different.<br />
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After a bit of talking and encouragement, things are better and we are looking forward to this season. It will be different from seasons past to be sure. Rachel will be one of the ones with the most experience, which is a switch. She's gonna take the attitude that she will be a helper to her new friends and share some of what she's learned in the past few years with her teammates that may need some encouragement. And I'm going to have to lighten up a bit. God help me when my kids are old enough to play competitive sports in Jr. High or high school. You probably won't want to be sitting by me.... Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-64042678724029182002013-08-08T18:01:00.000-05:002013-08-08T18:01:21.062-05:00Give Them ReasonI went to Atlanta in April for a ministry conference that was so stinkin awesome that it deserves a whole post by itself. Which I will get to soon. At this conference, one of our speakers was <a href="http://www.whowillyouempower.com/">Craig Jutila</a>. He has a blog on leadership, which I receive via email each time he posts. Y'all. These are short little posts that pack a big ol' punch!<br />
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I read a recent post and he talked about the steps we should consider when making a decision. He used scripture in all of those steps. One in particular was this:<br />
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<span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px;">Obey your spiritual leaders and be willing to do what they say. For their work is to watch over your souls, and God will judge them on how well they do this. Give them reason to report joyfully about you to the Lord and not with sorrow, for then you will suffer for it too. Hebrews 13:17 LB </span><br />
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Wow. This is one of those verses that I probably have read more than a few times, but when I read it this day, it grabbed me. I've heard I need to obey my spiritual leaders. I don't have a problem with that. (Shocking to some of you, I'm sure) But I super love the part that says "give them reason to report joyfully about you to the Lord..." Seriously, this is one of the things I desire, yet struggle with at the same time. I want people to like me. I want to do a good job in everything I do. Yet, I don't want that to turn in to pride. But going by this verse, in "obeying" my spiritual leaders, which in my particular case are my bosses too, the Word instructs me to GIVE THEM REASON to report joyfully about me. But that's up to me. I need to be the one to give them reason. Not that the things I do are for people, but in honoring the Lord in obedience to him and to those in spiritual authority over me, I not only gain blessing from the Lord for my individual obedience, but I also "give them reason".<br />
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What can you do today to give someone reason to report joyfully to the Lord about you?<br />
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<br />Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-88957354849339329522013-08-07T06:22:00.002-05:002013-08-07T09:01:46.289-05:00Getting Away with our StaffLast week was our annual Staff Advance with our Ministry Team at church. Each year, we get together, review the previous year, plan for the upcoming year, and just have a lot of fun! This year was no exception.<br />
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We were able to go to Dallas this year - and it was HOT. But boy was it fun! A few highlights of my highlight times:<br />
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<li>Getting to have my husband with me all week. With no kids. Enough said.</li>
<li>Spending the week with several church planters and their wives. The SEND North America Conference was taking place in Dallas while we were there and we had the privilege of hosting 17 of the church planters that were there who got to also spend time with us. Gosh I love conversations with people who have been called to different areas of the country and hear their stories of what the Lord is doing where they are! Talk about encouraging and exciting!! After dinner with one planter from Vancouver, I was about ready to buy a plane ticket to Canada! And getting to spend some time with a sweet couple from Deleware and hearing the amazing God stories from there made me want to go to a state that I even forget it a part of the US. :)</li>
<li>Spending time at <a href="http://www.prestonwood.org/">Prestonwood Baptist Church</a> with Sondra Saunders and Nikki Bartlett. Sondra is the Ministry of Preschool and Children and Nikki is the Minister to Preschool at their massive Plano campus. Talk about being taken to school that day! It was a massive blessing for me to have spent time with these ladies who clearly love what they do! And it was an honor to spend time with Ms. Saunders as she has been at Prestonwood since their beginning in 1977. I learned much that day and felt like I was also able to encourage these ladies as well.</li>
<li>Being able to hear from John Bisagno and Ed Stetzer. Holy cow y'all. Ed is someone I've followed on Twitter for a while and he's pretty dang funny sometimes. One of the smartest men I've listened to! I wish my brain would work half as fast as his!! And John Bisgano was the senior pastor at First Baptist in Houston for many, many years and has authored a ton of books. He just encouraged us and challenged us for a while on our last morning there and oh. my. word. it was fantastic! Something I'll likely never forget.</li>
<li>Whirly Ball. Google it. There's not a real good way to explain it unless you see it. So. Much. FUN!! And let me just say that the Fayetteville Five DOMINATED. </li>
<li>Spending time with my staff family. When you work so closely with people, you tend to feel like they are part of your family. That's how I feel about the people I work with. I grow to love them more each day and I couldn't be more thankful that God has allowed me to be a part of such a special group that I love so dearly. And it was great to spend time with the family from the other campuses too. We all are so busy that we don't get to spend a ton of time together throughout the year, so Staff Advance is pretty special when we can hang out with all our Cross Church folks.</li>
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Basically, the whole week is one I look forward to and am a little sad when it's over. I'm super blessed to be a part of this church and to be able to do ministry and do life with these awesome people.</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-29981598501262186552013-07-24T11:23:00.001-05:002013-07-24T11:23:37.498-05:00To Do List<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One thing that I love to do is check things off a list. If I'm real honest, sometimes I write things I've already done on a list just so I can check it off. Silly, I know. But it gives me a sense of accomplishment. My email tends to be like my to-do list as well and when I'm able to move things out of my inbox, I feel like I'm accomplishing things.<br />
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So, in this whole Start Experiment and me really trying to make better use of my time, I'm working on being better about actually making lists that I can check things off of. And I'm trying to keep my inbox as cleaned up as possible. I've pretty well kept my inbox to under 20 emails and if I can whittle that down to less than 10 I might not know what to do with myself. :) I have a to-do list for work things today and have gotten a few of those things done and hopefully by 5:00, I'll have everything checked off my list. <br />
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This helps in organizing my time. Now on to organizing other areas of my life as well. I love organization. I'm not always totally organized, but boy life sure runs smoother when I am! One thing that I'm able to do at home to help stay organized is my laundry. Since I've been getting up about 3 hours before the crack (which I'm now totally addicted to), I've been able to get a little laundry routine going each day that has helped me keep up with that. I've also made my bed every day (except Sunday when I left the house before my husband was out of bed). Now that might seem like a big "DUH" to some people, but I hadn't put major priority on that little chore. I always feel like things are more tidy when my bed is made, so I've made a point to do that as well before I leave the house in the mornings. I also love a clean sink! Mine has dirty dishes in it more often than not, but I'm working on keeping that clean as well. That dishwasher of mine is getting quite the workout! There are still many things left to go, but I'm tackling them a little at a time.<br />
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Who has other organization tips? I would love to hear other things that I can implement to make life run a bit smoother.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-91952738966815352592013-07-20T09:01:00.002-05:002013-07-20T09:01:54.844-05:00My Week In PicturesThis past week has been a fun one around the Langham house. Today, I was able to sleep in until a cool 7am....when the little two year old that is my son decided it was time to be awake....which means it's time for me or Daddy to be awake. And guess who's still in bed. But the other mornings this week, I've been up at 4:15am mostly. I have to say, I'm QUICKLY becoming addicted to being up that early in the mornings! I feel like I have SO much more time! Jillian and I are still on love-hate terms, but you know, we're making it. <br />
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I take tons of pictures throughout the week and love looking at people's pics, so I thought I would share a few of mine from the week.<br />
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This hot fella decided to go see World War Z last Saturday. He took Tanner, which is wonderful, because Mama had no. desire. whatsoever. to see that one. Mike said it was awesome. We have much different opinions on whether or not a movie is awesome. But you know, when you're going to see a zombie movie, you have to wear a zombie T-shirt. I'd say he at least rocked the T-shirt. :)<br />
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I have the WONDERFUL privilege to take Rachel & Porter with me to work during the week. This is such a blessing to be able to have them there. They are old enough to pretty well entertain themselves during the day, so there's not a ton of supervision that needs to happen. They are also old enough to help with the day-to-day stuff that has to get done in the Preschool ministry. Now, I'm not necessarily saying that we employ child labor at our place, but there's lots of "crafts and activities" that we have our kids doing. They have become masters at using scissors!</div>
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One of the things I get to do each week is call through visiting families that have been assigned to me. Most always these are families that have preschoolers that have visited on Sundays. I love to talk to new people and help them any way I can, but I have to confess that sometimes this little list gets built up and I get that little overwhelmed feeling. But this week, with all this START stuff going on, I've decided that I'm not letting loose ends overwhelm me. I'm doing my best to stay under 20 emails in my inbox at any given time (which sometimes is nearly impossible), and then this list got cleared out. I get a sense of accomplishment when I can cross things off the proverbial list.<br />
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Another AWESOME aspect of my job is that I get to visit new babies (and new mommies and daddies) in the hospital when the arrive. I LOVE doing this!!! Especially when they are families that I know well. In this case, I was able to visit my friend Jill and her husband Brandon as they had precious little Elliott Brooke. (sidebar: I will never complain about pain EVER after hearing Jill's labor story. Seriously, not EVER!) This girl is a doll baby and was already rocking a big ol' bow and some chevron. And I don't know if you can tell, but that little bassinet back there... that dude had a chevron blanket draped over it because Jill didn't want to be drab with the regular hospital blanket they put on there. Um... I would have NEVER thought to do that! <br />
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One evening this week, I was walking out to get in the car and noticed a sight that is somewhat unusual my neighborhood. This dude was walking down the street with a backpack on his back, a guitar case to his side, and playing his guitar. Just as normal as anything. Now I wouldn't have batted an eye had I been walking in NYC because this was quite common when I was there (only most of the time, I did see the Cowboy and he was just sporting his skivvies, but still). But seeing this on my street in Springdale - I had to capture the oddity of it. He sure seemed to be enjoying himself though.<br />
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Oh this little man. Boy does he test me. Like, a LOT. He is never still. He's always exploring....most of the time in things that I wish he'd not explore. He really is so smart and super hilarious, which he totally uses to his advantage. But my goodness, I do love him! How could you not when you get this.</div>
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Yesterday, I went to the airport to see off my friends, the Carneys, who are moving to Malawi to be the director's of Esther's House Orphanage. I've known for a while that they are moving, but have been in a denial of sorts because I have known that I will see them once or twice a week. Well, yesterday, there was no more, "I'll see ya Sunday". Y'all. That was difficult. It's not like they are going for a mission trip and will be back soon. No. They are MOVING to Africa! It was especially hard for this week family because we have been on such a similar journey with our foster kids. They have 2 precious girls that they just adopted through foster care. We all got our kids right around the same time and were at similar places all during the process until adoption. So Lacey and I have bonded through that process even more. But to know they will be in Malawi taking care of even more orphans and widows... let's just say the fact that I haven't been back to Africa in 14 years is about to change. There's no more putting off going back. There's always been a pull back to that place since I visited in 1999. It was a life changing experience for sure. For this girl who had never really been anywhere, it made me understand in a whole new way that Jesus loves ALL the children of the world and that worship wasn't just restricted to the USA. God was evident even in the bush of Africa. And I can't wait to go back.</div>
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I don't know who all will read this, or who would care much, but it's nice to be able to write a bit. And if just for my extended relatives, this will be a bit more than 140 characters at a time to know what's going on with my crazy family.</div>
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Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-27391137586897219772013-07-16T14:50:00.000-05:002013-07-16T14:50:09.801-05:00Early MorningsThe past 3 mornings, I've gotten up quite a bit earlier than normal. Sunday, I was up by 5am. Yesterday and today, I rocked out of bed at 4:15am. And mama is TIRED!<br />
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With a group of other people (my specific group is all people in ministry), we are working toward "starting" to make changes, do bigger things, facing our fears, etc. My goal for this time of 24 days is to make the most of my time. And get more things accomplished that I just don't seem to have time to do in the day. So, one of the big changes I'm making is simply getting up way earlier. <br />
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On a good day, I'm usually up before 6am. I totally love being up early in the mornings before my family and having lots of time to spend in my Bible and in prayer. However, if I <i>wait</i> until 6am to get up to try and get that done, inevitably someone in my house will wake up early - and there goes my quiet time. Or I just don't have near enough time with Jesus as I want and yet the kids still have to be at school, I still have to be at work, things still have to get done and the world still goes on, whether I've had some good time with Jesus or not. And that simply will not do.<br />
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Then there's the dreaded exercise. Y'all. I really hate to exercise. My husband enjoys exercising. My best friend LOVES it. Like, obsessively loves it. (we are super opposite in so many ways - another post for another time - but still the best of friends). I don't know if I will ever in my lifetime begin to remotely enjoy exercise, but I'm also not ignorant to the fact that I <i>need</i> to exercise. This is another area that if time didn't permit, I certainly wasn't going to make time. It has totally not been on my priority list. But with this whole Start thing, plus the fact that my husband would like to eventually take me to someplace that would require a swimsuit as normal attire throughout the day, and perhaps even a bit of conceit because I just wanna LOOK good, I have broken this bad boy out.<br />
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I hate her. Honestly. And I hate the whole time I'm working out. The only time I like is when I get to fall down on the floor for just a second while I suck wind before nearly killing my abs. BUT. I do like how I feel <i>because </i>I've worked out. Notice I didn't say I like how I feel <i>after</i> I work out. No no. I pretty much walk like I'm 80 for a few days. But I feel good that I've put the effort in and made it through. So I'm making the effort.</div>
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Another thing that I want to try and get accomplished is laundry. With 6 people wearing no telling how many different outfits a day, we go through a few dirty clothes at our house. I figure if I'm up that early anyway, I might as well start a load while my coffee is brewing and then can switch it over to the dryer after Jillian has thoroughly kicked my hiney. I got 1 load done and another started this morning. There's a certain feeling of accomplishment when you have empty laundry hampers.</div>
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Getting up 3 hours before I have to leave my house and having read my Bible AND worked out all before 5:45am has made me feel rather accomplished the past couple of days. And I like that. I think I shall continue....</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-55822413938291329412013-07-12T15:42:00.000-05:002013-07-12T15:50:11.272-05:00Back in BusinessSo, yeah. It's been, oh, you know, a <i>while</i> since I've blogged anything. Oh, I've thought about it plenty. I just haven't done it in way too long. Almost 2 years too long. We've had a couple things going on in life that just have seemed to take priority.<br />
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There's a little venture that I'm on with a few other people that's about to <a href="http://www.jonacuff.com/blog/start/">START</a> in a few days, and there are several little things that I want to get disciplined back into doing, and blogging was one of those things.<br />
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For any of you that follow me on any social media, I pretty much live on Instagram and Twitter. <br />
You can follow me on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/miss_jilly_bean">twitter.com/miss_jilly_bean</a><br />
You can follow me on Instagram: <a href="http://instagram.com/jilllangham">instagram.com/jilllangham</a><br />
You'll likely find out a lot more about me in 140 characters at a time than you will on here, but there are just some things that can't be adequately said in those 140 characters.<br />
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The most major thing that's happened in our lives since my last blog was that the foster child that we were able to bring home on September 30, 2011 is now a permanent member of our family. Grady James Langham was adopted on 4/3/13 and we couldn't be more thrilled. Although, I have to be honest and say I wasn't real thrilled with the green nail polish I found all over his foot and the girls' carpet this morning.....<br />
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But for the most part, I can't help but love this little stinker. He has so easily become a part of our family and I can't imagine life without him.<br />
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Our friend <a href="http://www.kelseytice.com/">Kelsey</a> helped us capture the awesomeness of adoption day. You can see our pics <a href="http://www.kelseytice.com/happy-forever-day-grady/">here</a> and read about her take on the day and see some of our family pics she did last fall. Cross Church also did a little story with us to help start the adoption part of the website. You can read that interview <a href="http://crosschurch.com/blog/?p=690">here</a>. </div>
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Lots of other little things going on in life that I hope to write about later, but for now, at least this is my "Start".</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-19566473586256692072011-10-18T18:03:00.000-05:002013-08-07T08:57:07.770-05:00Second Hearing for Little ManWe went back to court today to finish what we started a couple weeks ago. We still have Little Man (henceforth referred to as LM) with us. Our next court date is late January so we will have LM with us at least until then.<br />
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Google is a very interesting thing for finding out all kinds of info you wished you didn't have to know about someone. I've been able to find out quite a bit on most of the players in this situation and it's not been pretty or comforting. It's made me very sad, to be quite honest. I'm very much the "play by the rules" kind of gal and don't get it at all when people totally go against what is right. This is a situation where I'm feeling very torn on exactly how I'm supposed to feel. On one hand, I'm super glad we finally have a child in our home and that we're able to make a difference to him for whatever time we're allowed to have him. On the other hand, I'm so sad about what all has gone on in this family for YEARS! It is generational sin on display. I'm praying the cycle will be broken with LM!<br />
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As for how LM is doing and how we're doing - oh my GRANNY it's a challenge having a 9 month old at my age!! Especially since I've been thrust straight into it! I'm right now taking about 15 times longer to type this than normal because I'm having to check on LM every 2 seconds to make sure he's not into something he shouldn't be in to. And the diapers. God helps us all - the diapers. Wow. This kid can POOP! And he's not sleeping through the night every night. I like sleeping through the night. Once I'm out, I'm out. And I don't like to be getting up during the night. Not so with LM. Oh no. He likes to be up at, oh, say 1am or 2am. Oh yes. I think he's doing it just to torture me sometimes. But last night he slept long and hard and I was so grateful! He's cutting some teeth, which any mother knows is never a super fun venture for eating, sleeping, or pooping. :) But over all, he's doing fantastic! He's such a good little kid! He loves to explore, to eat, to play peek-a-boo, and to snuggle and give "kisses".<br />
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I'm excited to know for sure that we'll have him for his first Halloween, his first Thanksgiving, his first Christmas, and his first birthday! I'm a planner. I like to know things way in advance. I buy clothes at the end of one season preparing for the next year. That's just how I roll. The last couple of weeks with LM have been a challenge for me simply because of the uncertainty of the future of it all. For now, I know I can prepare for the next 3 months. It's not a lot, but it's something. And several fun somethings to plan for in the next 3 months! And for those of you who haven't seen this GORGEOUS little dude, I will be happy to email pictures, because those of you who HAVE seen him can testify - he is FABULOUS!! :)Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-32436173354418675722011-10-05T23:11:00.000-05:002013-08-07T08:57:19.484-05:00Our Foster ChildYeah, eons since my last post, I know. Been a bit busy. :)<br />
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To make a super long story as short as possible... with more details to come later....<br />
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We have our first foster placement as of Friday, September 30. It's a little 9 month old boy. He is honest to Pete one of the cutest things I've ever seen! We're already completely in love with this little one!<br />
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Mike is out of town this week on a business trip, so I've been a single mom for a few days. **And let me just interject here that if you are a single mom with more than one child, GOD BLESS YOU and I have no idea how you do it!! I can handle one for sure. Two is a bit more demanding, but still doable. THREE, with that 3rd being an infant, and doing it without my husband.... shoot me now!! My hat's off to any single mom. Those are brave souls there, folks!! ** Trying to learn a baby who I just got has been more challenging than I was prepared for. When you are pregnant, you have 9 months to prepare for a baby to arrive. Once the baby is here, at least a woman gets some maternity leave. Not so with foster care. Nope. I had less than 18 hours notice that I was getting an infant and was back to work in 48 hours. And thank the good LORD that this kid has decent sleep habits! He's gotten even better over the past couple of nights. That is a blessing for SURE! You would think after doing this twice with my own that I would have some sort of memory of what to do with a 9 month old. Yeah - I didn't. It's been a learning process for sure, but we're doing well.<br />
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Today was the first court hearing. We didn't get to go full out into the adjudication hearing today. They had to reschedule for a couple weeks from now. I'm here to tell you, this straight and narrow girl doesn't do well in those sorts of situations. I have been a nervous wreck since I found out just yesterday that I had to be there with our little guy. I have been an emotional basketcase since the hearing. So many thoughts have run through my brain, I can't even articulate any of them well enough to do them justice here. I know after today how I will specifically pray over the next couple of weeks. I can't go into a lot of detail, but if you're reading this, please pray that the judge presiding today would remain the judge over the whole deal. There's a chance another one will be requested, but I'm praying heaven down that this one stays. Pray our little guy will get to stay with us. I know I need to pray that whatever God's will is, that is what will come to pass and ultimately I know that's what needs to happen. However right now, I can't get past my selfishness of wanting to keep our baby. Pray that I can see these people involved how Jesus sees them and not how my flesh wants to see them, because after today, I need the eyes and the heart of Jesus more than ever before. Pray that someone will be able to reach this family with the Gospel. It breaks my heart to see people so far away from the Lord. I don't understand it at all. Today just reaffirmed all the more that Jesus is the ONLY way to have any hope or joy in this life.<br />
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I hope to update this blog a bit more now. I need an outlet to get out some of this info, and some of you may want to follow along on out journey, so I will do my best.<br />
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Pray for our family. We will have our baby at least until October 18th. We have a long road ahead of us. None of the steps are easy. We will need Jesus to walk very closely by us all in the days ahead. Any time you think of foster families, adoption, the justice system, anything like that, pray for us. We are desperate for the Lord to show Himself might in our family.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-54799249141628514402011-01-08T08:19:00.000-06:002011-01-08T08:19:54.810-06:00Old Testament Thoughts & QuestionsI'm reading through my One Year Bible. I've tried doing this for the past few years and other studies have come in from time to time and the poor little One Year Bible has been laid on the shelf and the other, bigger one has been brought out for my quiet time or bible study stuff. I really want to make it my goal this year to read through the entire Bible. I've never done it. I'm pretty sure at some point I've read every verse in the Bible, but not straight through, knowing for certain I've read every single verse. So this year I'm going to try again.<br />
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However, I must say, as I'm reading through the Old Testament, I have about 17,000 questions so far. You talk about not going into detail (or at least the detail I want)! Wow! Take for instance today's reading about Lot leaving Sodom. Hello! Why in the world did Lot offer his daughters to the creeps at his door?! Seriously?! And then there's like one sentence about Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt. ONE SENTENCE!!! What was Lot's wife thinking? What did Lot and his daughters think or do when they saw here as a pillar of SALT!! Really? There could have been a whole chapter about just that one incident. But it got once sentence. I find myself thinking, "And then what happened?" every time I open this book. I guess maybe I'm supposed to think that? Maybe I'm supposed to search more on my own. Maybe I'm not supposed to know any of this until I get to heaven. Who knows. All I know is that if the Bible had all the info <b><i><u>I</u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> wanted, that dude would have been about 12 times thicker than it is now! </span></i></b><br />
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Sometimes it makes me a bit sad, too, when I get to stuff like this where I have several questions about the Bible and want to go deeper, I think "I could ask Rich..." (my stepdad). Oh how I wish I could. He always knew the answer to whatever question I had. He lived in his Bible and I think he knew that thing backwards and forwards. I loved talking to him about anything to do with the Bible. He went to be with Jesus 3 years ago and now he REALLY has all the answers.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-60877460245264828922010-12-30T08:26:00.000-06:002010-12-30T08:26:59.104-06:00Jesus CallingMy sweet friend Marita gave me a little daily devotional book for my birthday called Jesus Calling. I love it because the daily readings are as if Jesus is talking straight to the reader, then it gives you scripture that coordinates with that days reading.<br />
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Today's was especially good and I have a feeling several of these things are going to hit me right when I need them. I thought I would share today's devo with you.<br />
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"I am leading you along a way that is uniquely right for you. The closer to Me you grow, the more fully you become your true self - the one I designed you to be. Because you are one of a kind, the path you are traveling with Me diverges increasingly from that of other people. However, in My mysterious wisdom and ways, I enable you to follow this solitary path while staying in close contact with others. In fact, the more completely you devote yourself to Me, the more freely you can love people. <br />
Marvel at the beauty of a life intertwined with My Presence. Rejoice as we journey together in intimate communion. Enjoy the adventure of finding yourself through losing yourself in Me."<br />
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.<br />
Ephesians 2:10 - For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.<br />
1John 4:7-8 - Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.<br />
John 15:4 - Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-34505432734862182232010-12-28T23:08:00.000-06:002010-12-28T23:08:24.854-06:00Mid ThirtiesTomorrow, I will officially be 35 - mid thirties. Not that I haven't been in the "mid" stage for a while, but...<br />
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I remember growing up, I used to think that someone that was 35 was really, truly a grown up. <br />
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So according to my child-self, tomorrow I will really, truly be a grown up.<br />
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And I have to renew my driver's license. I know. Jealous, aren't you?Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-40440880697785370602010-12-11T08:39:00.000-06:002010-12-11T08:39:08.337-06:00A New JobIt's been a sweet forever since I blogged. However, I have a pretty good excuse... sort of.<br />
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I have a new full time job. I'm the Director of Preschool Ministries at Cross Church Fayetteville. Now, our campus hasn't opened yet. We're still in the building stages, but there is so much prep involved - it's crazy! Plus, I'm still working Kids Day Out as well as Friday Night Out until the end of this next week. It's been a wee bit stressful, but it's also been super exciting!<br />
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To back up a bit, I interviewed for the job in September. September 21st, to be exact, was my first interview. I remember because I was praying for God to give me some sort of confirmation on what I needed to do for sure. I was torn in so many ways over this opportunity. I had some time before I was to meet for the interview, so I grabbed my Bible and sat down to read. Not having anything in particular that I needed to read, I just went to Proverbs as is my habit if I don't have a reading plan that I'm following - cause, you know, there's wisdom in that there book. :) I usually go to the chapter that corresponds to the day of the month. Which was my intention that day. But all morning long, I kept thinking it was the 22nd.... which is what chapter I turned to. I began to read and got to verse 6. I read it and it was, like my sweet friend Marita described to me, like a neon light blazing off the page at me. It reads, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." I just wept. Literally. It still brings tears to my eyes to think about it. I was so humbled and so overwhelmed that the God who created the universe chose that moment to speak to me. He cares enough about me, about the details of my life, to lead me to that verse... on the "wrong" day... that was exactly the scripture I needed to read. That was to be my job - to help in training a child in the way he should go...and to help build truths in the hearts of these precious tiny humans that would be with them forever. I stayed on that verse and couldn't move past it for a long time. Then Satan started talking to me again, as he has a habit of doing. How in the world was I going to pull this off? Wasn't "so and so" better for the job? I would probably get in trouble a bunch for just not doing a good enough job (which I hate, nay LOATHE being in trouble). How was I ever going to be successful in this? Oh, but then. But then.... I was able to get past verse 6 and read on through that chapter. And God did it again. He spoke loud and clear through verse 19 and said straight to my heart, "I have instructed you today - even you - so that your confidence my be in the Lord." He instructed me that day - EVEN ME - that I shouldn't worry about what I could do on my own and that my confidence didn't need to be in my abilities, or lack thereof. My confidence that I would do a good job in the position that God was leading me to should be in the Lord. If He would choose to put me in that place, He surely would equip me to do the job and if I do a good job, it's only because of Christ and the gifts He has given me - certainly not of myself and of anything coming from me. By the end of that day of my first interview, I realized that I'd read the "wrong" chapter and was even more overwhelmed that God didn't let me read chapter 21, as was according to the date. He led me to the perfect thing I was to read. And God led me to be hired in that position.<br />
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And then Satan went to work IMMEDIATELY. I got the job. I was on such a spiritual high. A couple things happened that just completely made my week. And then BAM!! Satan was on the attack in a hurry! Less than 24 hours after it became public info that I was the person for this job, I got slammed to my knees. For three days, I was in hell. I literally felt like I was doing battle with the devil. I felt stripped of anything good in me. I was miserable. But God used that time to draw me so close to him. I remember at one point just closing my eyes, putting my head in my hands, and imagining crawling up into the arms of God and letting His wings cover me with His peace. Occasionally Rachel will do that with Mike - just crawl up in his arms and let him hold her. What a sense of peace and belonging to be a small child, covered and protected in your daddy's arms. That's what my God did for me during those days. He let me be covered and protected in my Daddy's arms. Satan was eventually defeated in that battle (to which I totally stuck my tongue out at him over it!) and things went forward from there. But the whole experience reminded me that the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. He is good. All the time. Regardless of our circumstances.<br />
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soooo much!! My prayer daily is that God will use me. However I need to be used. That He will lead the right people to come alongside and help teach and lead these tiny humans. I can't wait to see lives changed and people come to know Jesus! I'm so excited!!<br />
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"But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-44121681900151898602010-10-13T14:28:00.000-05:002010-10-13T14:28:29.054-05:00Keep Up With Me...On the right side of this blog is my Twitter timeline. Follow me on Twitter, username is miss_jilly_bean, or become my friend on facebook - or just read the timeline on this blog to keep up with me. I can spend 2 seconds updating Twitter more than I can find time to sit down at my computer, log in to blogger, type out a big message with pictures, etc, etc, etc.<br />
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Hopefully this weekend, there may be time to update the blog and get all of you who still might be interested a picture or two from our trip to Las Vegas. It was fabulous!!<br />
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On the adoption front, we have some inquiries in on a few kids from Arkansas and some other states. All I can say at this point is, this is a frustrating process dealing with the state! There is not one single person that seems to be an advocate for US. If we left it up to someone contacting us about available kids that might fit in our family, we would wait for years and maybe still never hear anything. It's really maddening sometimes to think that there are families like us that are ready and willing to take these kids who need families and yet no one is helping us! We are doing all the leg work. There's not one soul that has said, "Hey, it looks like we have a possible match for you" or "what about these kids, would you be interested?" Nothing. But we're not quitting. We're calling. We're emailing. We KNOW there are kids out there and we have a place for them and we WANT them! I know it's all just a matter of God's timing. His timing is perfect. His plan is perfect. There is a child or children out there that God has designed to be a part of our family. I'm constantly reminding myself that God is in total control, even when I think these people working for the state are all crazy.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-67289411620264218322010-09-22T19:01:00.000-05:002010-09-22T19:01:38.200-05:00So Little Time...I told Mike last night, I think my brain is about to explode. I have right now only about 3 minutes til I have to get my kids and get home so that I can continue working on getting things ready to go out of town on Friday. Thankfully Mamaw and Grandma Lynn will be here and my kids will be in incredibly capable hands, but it's still hard to leave and make sure everything is under control. I thought 7 weeks ago that it was a bit early to start getting things together and that I could wait. I wish I could go back 7 weeks and tell myself that I was a fool and I needed then to actually START getting stuff together. Oh well. The time is quickly approaching and I'm excited!!<br />
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So many things to update and this poor blog just doesn't get very much attention. Maybe when I get back home, I will be able to keep up a bit better - and post some pretty fabulous pictures from my trip!! I'm most excited about the FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAHHHH!!!! I get all giddy just thinking about it! :)Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-4041800008274733572010-08-09T17:40:00.000-05:002010-08-09T17:40:22.956-05:00Vegas Baby!!Now, since I haven't posted in like, a hundred years, I figured I would break the dry spell with a little fun! I'm going to VEGAS!!! I've never been before and I'm so excited to go, I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas most days! I've researched the crud out of this trip and want to be totally prepared when I get there.<br />
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Last week, Mike called me and said he had something he wanted to ask me but he seemed very hesitant to really say it. I got a little nervous to begin with and just told him to spit it out. He said he was going to the TIA convention (something to do with tortillas), which is in Las Vegas this year, and wondered if I wanted to go with him. Uh - HELLO!! Of COURSE I want to go!! But wait. We're less than loaded so how would we pay for such a venture? And thus comes the good part! We have extra Frequent Flier Miles that have been "sitting there" for a while on another airline that Mike rarely flies now and happen to have plenty for me to fly to and from Vegas. PLUS, this little gem, he got me bumped to first class flying out of Vegas when I come home! WOOT! Don't know how he did it. Didn't ask. Just grateful. We'll be flying different airlines, but that's cool. So, travel there and back is free. Mike's room will be paid for by work and is based on double occupancy, so it won't cost an additional dime for me to stay there as well. Room - Paid. If I travel anywhere while I'm there, I'll either be walking or it will be with Mike, which he'll be paying for with his budget through work. Travel in Vegas - Paid. I'm thinking that granola bars or fruit of some sort will be my morning snack friend and I plan on taking full advantage of the enormous amounts of buffets all over the place there and will use that for my "brunch" most days. So, my breakfast/lunch will be on us. Dinner one or two nights that we're there will likely be with vendors. Dinner one or two nights - Paid. Dinner the other night or two will be Mike and me. Mike's food will be paid for by work. My food will be on us. Of course, I'll "need" to do some shopping while I'm there, so there will be that. But other than my part of some of the food and a little shopping money, this trip is mostly taken care of just because I get to tag along with my husband on a business trip!!! WOOHOO!! I'm literally so excited, I can barely contain myself! And the food! Oh my sweet Lord, the FOOD!!! I fully intend on gaining at LEAST 5lbs while I'm there because I will eat everything in sight and gorge myself to death at the buffets and not care a bit about it! There are tons of fun things to do there as well. We LOVE roller coasters, so that might be something we do. We're looking at going to a show, but my word, those things can get super pricey, so we may stick to the free Treasure Island show and the Bellagio Fountains... or heck, the best thing to do, in my opinion, is people watch and that is totally free. And you KNOW there are going to be some interesting people to watch in Las Vegas! Otherwise, I'll be going to as many of the hotels as I can and will take in as many of the sights as I can! So many of those resorts are a vacation in themselves with all the stuff they have in there! The one I'm most excited about is the Venetian. I have the gondola ride set as my screen saver right now.<br />
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AAAHHHHH!!!! We're still about 6 weeks out from leaving, but I know those 6 weeks will fly like crazy with the kids going back to school, KDO starting back, all the fall programs at church starting back - it will FLY! But I couldn't be more excited! I can't wait to spend 5 days away with my hubby! We haven't done anything like this since we were married. We've gone on overnight stuff, but nothing like this! It will be like the honeymoon we never had - except that Mike will have to be at a boring convention some of the time. Poor thing. But while he's gone, I get to do whatever I want!! HEHEHEHEHE!! It's the best of both worlds!<br />
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In preparation for our trip, I've started running. I downloaded the Couch to 5K app and have been following that for a couple weeks. I've dropped a few pounds so far, but I want to loose a few more before we leave. Partly because I want to get in good shape to walk a thousand miles while I'm there, partly because I want to look thinner than I am now, and partly because I intend to EAT LIKE CRAZY when I'm there and I want to be able to not feel guilty about that. Hopefully by the time we leave, I'll be able to do the full 5K. I'm not planning on running in a race - there's not one in particular that I'm training for. I just want to be able to say I can do it.<br />
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So the countdown has begun. I cannot wait!! I love having stuff like this to look forward to! And if any of you that might still read this blog have any suggestions, recommendations, or tips, feel free to share!Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-63568209509975819682010-06-24T17:09:00.001-05:002010-07-06T12:13:03.522-05:00UpdatingIt's been a month since I posted last. Wow. Life is just happening faster than I can type sometimes.<br />
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We don't have a child in our home yet. Our adoption home study was completed and filed and we're on the list. I just saw an email today about a 2 year old boy that's in need of a home. Maybe soon. I know God's timing is perfect and I'm perfectly content to wait at this point. <br />
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We still have 2 puppies. They are nearing 12 weeks old. I don't want to have puppies in my house anymore. I want them GONE. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy puppies, but not for this long. I've got too much other stuff going on to be cleaning up after puppies and they need way more attention than I can give them right now.<br />
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We just got back from our family reunion. We went to Grand Lake in Oklahoma and stayed from Sunday until Wednesday. It was lovely to be able to sit, read, play cards, hang out with the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background: #ffffff;">fam</span>, watch the kids play, and not have one bit of responsibility except to feed my family for 3 days. I loved that I could sit and read all afternoon and not feel guilty about sitting and reading and not doing my domestic duties. When I'm at home, I feel like I need to be doing something most of the time. That I'm being lazy if I just take an hour or two to read. Which is why I put off reading until I get into bed and usually fall asleep before I've gotten through 5 pages - hence the reason it takes a sweet forever for me to finish a book. I love to read. LOVE it. But it's one of those things that I feel is a luxury and don't give myself permission to do very often. Over the past few days, however, I've sat down to read whenever I got ready and it was lovely. I also enjoyed catching up with Mike's dad and brothers that we don't get to see too often. We enjoy their company and enjoying hanging out together. Over all, it was a fun, relaxing time. I didn't take one picture with my "good" camera, though, and very few from my phone. Mike took a few of the kids fishing, but I don't have them yet. One of our first vacations that I didn't get a lot of pics. I'm <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background: #ffffff;">ok</span> with that, though. I wanted to be lazy on my vacation and I accomplished that! :)<br />
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In case you've been under a rock, Eclipse is coming out next week. Tanner and I are super excited about it! We have plans to go opening day. I can't wait to see it. I'm sure I'll venture out to the theater on more than one occasion to view it while it's out. It's only fair - you know, since I did see each of the previous movies at least 3 times in the theater. As for other movies lately that I've loved, Letters to Juliet was wonderful! I saw it twice and would go see it again. I will own that one when it comes out on DVD. Precious romantic movie.<br />
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I'm pretty excited about the 4th of July. I get to sing on the praise team during our Summer Freedom Celebration! I first got to sing at Christmas and then on Easter Sunday and now for the 4th! I enjoy singing <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background: #ffffff;">soooo</span> much and feel incredibly blessed that I get to do this! It's just so much stinkin' fun!!!<br />
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That's all for now. I'm off to take my son to the potty for the 493rd time today. Oh yeah, we're in the midst of potty training. I HATE doing this! HATE. IT. If he weren't so darn cute....Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-17215921700359504552010-05-24T23:14:00.001-05:002010-05-24T23:15:24.666-05:00Another CallThis is going to end up being so hard. It's already hard. I can tell you right now that I'm going to need to be prayed up every minute in order to have the wisdom and discernment we need in order to know which child to take.<br />
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I can't help but think of these kids they called about tonight. I heard the one year old little girl in the background crying for her daddy. I'm in tears right now just thinking about it! I wanted to go grab that child and just rock her to sleep. And her 3 year old big brother too. They cannot help what's going on with their parents or what they may have seen already in their little lives. I just think about Porter and how scared he would be if he was taken from our home. He would be crying for me and for his daddy. He would be so confused as to why he wasn't in his house, in his bed.<br />
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There are so many things going through my mind right now. Way too many and way to fast for me to even get them out. I'm so very thankful that the Holy Spirit can understand my thoughts and my groanings because I can't get many of these things into words. I'm just so broken for these kids.<br />
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God, meet their needs tonight. Bring them someone that will take care of them tonight and love on them. Give wisdom to the caseworkers and those trying to place these kids. They have such a hard job - give them patience and love for these kids.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-71478095798043357222010-05-14T22:35:00.000-05:002010-05-14T22:35:22.871-05:00Our First CallWe just got our first call tonight for a little boy, but we had to say no. That was excrutiating. It's a very real thing now that there are kids right now that are being taken from their homes. And I can't help but wonder what that little boy is going through tonight. I wonder if he's scared. I wonder if he'll be able to sleep. I wonder if the family that's caring for him will take good care of him and hold him when he cries. My heart is just aching tonight... But I know God has got just the right child for us - and we'll be able to make a difference...Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-29210611794882976562010-05-10T17:10:00.000-05:002010-05-10T17:10:04.123-05:00Open For BusinessAfter the busiest week in all of creation, we found out today that we are officially open as a foster home.<br />
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That's a very exciting and a very scary thing! If I knew who I was getting, I could feel a little more prepared. But we don't know. And we don't know how long we'll get to keep this first kid, if and when we get them.<br />
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We're also going to have an adoption home study done. Not sure when that will take place, but should be soon. That way if there are any kids that meet our criteria anywhere in AR, we can have an option to adopt them. Right now, we're limited to the kids in the four northwestern counties in AR.<br />
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We're praying for wisdom and discernment. I'm praying for an open heart for whoever comes into my home - and at the same time praying for open hands if I'm called to give them back to their bio parents.<br />
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This process is not for the faint of heart.... and we're just beginning.....Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-48389008627447133812010-04-28T08:47:00.000-05:002010-04-28T08:47:45.725-05:00Life is K-R-A-Z-Y!!!For the next couple of weeks for sure, my life is on a non-stop crazy train! Next Tuesday, Mike's mom is having surgery. That is possibly the least convenient time in all of the world for me, but hey - what's a girl to do. All next week, Rachel has rehearsals for her dance recital, we've got Mike's mom's surgery, Mike has his first aid class, Tanner has softball, and I have meetings and work all week AND company coming. And let's not forget I have NINE PUPPIES who are about to start on solid food this weekend and will need to start potty training. God help me get through the week. If I can make it til a week from Saturday night with my sanity, it will be a miracle.<br />
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As for our adoption stuff, we still just lack Mike's first aid training then we're done and can be licensed for foster care. We're also going to do an adoption home study. They've done the foster home study already. Why are there two, you ask? As Michelle so eloquently put it, it's a government program and therefore is inefficient. But if we're going to play the government's game, we have to play by their rules. Therefore, we are going to do an additional home study. The foster home study will allow us to be licensed as foster parents with the option of adopting if and when the parents rights are terminated. This, however, limits us to our area of Arkansas. They try their best to place foster children in their original county. It makes sense because of travel issues that might arise with court dates or visitation that will inevitably come. However, if we do the adoption home study, we would be opened to the possibility of going directly to adoption with a child anywhere in Arkansas that met our criteria and were ready to be adopted. It might take a little longer with that, but it might be a shorter process in the long run. We're now just praying for God's wisdom in exactly what we need to do.<br />
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For today - I just want to bury my head in the sand with all the stuff we have going on in the next 10 days! Once May 9th gets here, it should be smooth sailing for a while.... knock on wood!!!! :)Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-38864519560413460752010-04-20T08:30:00.000-05:002010-04-20T08:30:27.186-05:00TomorrowOur County Lady comes out to visit tomorrow. She will do the final inspection of our home, make sure we've done everything we've been required to do, and let us know if there's anything else to do before opening our home. I'm cleaning today and tomorrow - mostly because the house needs it, not just because she's coming. Mike still has to do his first aid class and that won't be until the first part of May. I'm not sure how strict they are on stuff like that and if he will for sure have to finish it before we can have our home open. It makes me very nervous, but excited, to know that we could have a child in our home very, very soon! Yikes!! Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-30990652237714818012010-04-13T09:35:00.000-05:002010-04-13T09:35:53.961-05:00The Puppies Have ArrivedLife has been so busy that I haven't taken the time to sit down to my computer to update this poor little blog.<br />
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The puppies arrived on Saturday, April 3rd. There were 9. That's right. I said NINE. That was from ONE rendezvous. All the puppies survivied. That's the first time in the three litters that she's had that all them have survived. They are all doing well. There's not really much for us to do with them right now except look at them and hold them every once in a while. Copper pretty much takes care of their every need..... for a couple more weeks anyway. Then it will be up to us. So spread the word - if anyone needs a wonderful family dog, we have 9! In our previous litters, we've had dogs go to several of our family members and friends and have been able to keep up with them. If it wasn't so hard on Copper, we'd continue to have puppies to provide awesome pets for people. Our puppies have turned out to be fantastic dogs! I'm really proud of them! I'll post pics of the little darlings soon. They are on my camera, but not on my computer yet. That's for another time...<br />
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Mike is going to complete his CPR this week and the County Lady will come out next week to open our home... I think. She'll do the final inspection and other than Mike having the First Aid course, we're done. It's a little crazy to think that we could have a child in our home so soon! It's exciting, but at the same time, it makes me a little nervous. <br />
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I'm cleaning house today. Well, not actually right now since I'm typing on my blog, but that's what I have been doing and will continue to do. I don't have anywhere to be today and I have to say, it's GLORIOUS! I love days at home like this when I can get a bunch of stuff done and don't have to get "ready" for anything. I've got on my grubby cleaning clothes and my do-rag. My eyes are all allergy shot and I don't have a stitch of makeup on. You talk about looking HOT! Woohoo. But who cares, really? I'm busting tail today and am getting my clean on with my windows wide open to bring in some of that fresh spring air. I love spring!!!Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-7463535103851129042010-03-27T10:31:00.000-05:002010-03-27T10:31:16.492-05:00Waiting on the Puppies and Adoption StuffCopper is due any minute. Today is Day 63, if my calculations are correct. Puppies are usually born between day 62 and day 64 gestation. We should have puppies today or tomorrow. Or we could have them at the most inconvenient time ever, on Monday. She's getting pretty restless today, so we may see puppies later on this weekend. I'll be sure to post pictures once they're here.<br />
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Our 9th anniversary was Wednesday. Mike took off work that day and we all went to the health department to get TB skin tests and then took Rachel and Porter, along with Mike, to get physicals. We had to get all that done to finish up some paperwork items. That afternoon, I told Mike we needed to get some stuff taken care of in the back yard, including taking the swings down from the swingset because they had been chewed by the dogs and couldn't be used. He heard, "take the swingset down." So we spent a good hour taking down the swingset. It's amazing how much faster you can get that stuff down than it takes to set it up! We'd been planning on taking it down anyway. The wood was not good and the kids got lots of splinters nearly every time they played on it. It wasn't horrible and didn't need to totally come down before our home study, but it did. :) Oh well. Then the kids and I cleaned up sticks, various little trash pieces, and dog poo out of the back yard. What a lovely, romantic way to spend our anniversary! :) Then Thursday was our home study. It went great, I think. The lady that did it was the one who did our training these past several weeks and she also goes to our church, so I was not nervous at all for her to come over. I feel very comfortable with her. We have to do a couple more things before we're finished with licensing, including getting Mike in for CPR and first aid training, but once we've got all that stuff done, we're good to go.<br />
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At first, we thought we would want a boy that was younger than Rachel - preschool age for sure. The more we've been in our classes and the further we've gotten in this process, our age has progressively increased. We really feel like God is not calling us to foster an infant. He may not even be calling us to foster a preschooler. We look online at some of these kids who are ready to be adopted now and our hearts are stirred by the elementary age kids. Those kids who have so much of their lives in front of them, but are so unlikely to be adopted, simply because they aren't babies. Because we're more open to older kids, there's a chance that we could be able to go directly to adoption rather than having to foster-only first. With the way the states go, the children have to be in our home for at least 6 months before we can legally adopt them - even if their parents' rights have already been terminated. If we take a child who's parents' rights have not yet been terminated, we risk having that child go back to their bio parents. That's pretty much going to be the case if we wait for a preschool age child. If we choose a child who's on one of the Heart Galleries in Arkansas or anywhere in America, one who is a bit older, the parents rights have been terminated already and therefore negates the risk of them going back to their bio parents. That in itself is a strong pull for us to consider adopting an older child. We are looking constantly at all the kids who are ready to be adopted. We wish we had enough space and financial means to take a hundred kids! Our hearts break for all these kids!! We are just in prayer right now that God will show us the plan that He has already laid out for us and that we'll have eyes to see and ears to hear what He has in store for us. We want to be wise. We want to be obedient. And we can't wait to meet the child God has already chose for our family!Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14190858.post-2307626548914506462010-03-22T11:15:00.000-05:002010-03-22T11:15:25.635-05:00This. Is. Not. Good.Copper is pregnant. Again. By accident. And I'm not one bit happy about it. <br />
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She went into heat in January when all the snow and sub-zero temps were going on. We were diligent to keep her and Kramer away from each other and had strict instructions that when anyone ever let them out to go potty, they were NEVER to be out together at the same time.... Weeeeeellllllll....... there was one day when I realized after about 30 or 45 minutes that they'd been outside - together. Suckola!!!!!! I didn't see any deeds being done, but then again, they'd had plenty of time to...you know...and apparently they did. <br />
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I've noticed that Copper had begun to look as though she was gaining weight. I didn't think much of it due to the colder weather and not as much exercise, but then it just kept increasing and a little nagging voice said "she's got puppies in there." I've been in denail for about 2 weeks. I've felt of her tummy and haven't really been able to feel anything. Until last night. I felt a dad gum puppy move. GRRRRR!!!! Given that movement and the undeniable fact that she's showing the obvious signs of being preggers, I can't live in denial anymore. We're going to have a littler of puppies sometime within the next few days, if my calculations are correct.<br />
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This is so not the time I wanted to have puppies! At least it won't be a hundred degrees outside and we won't have that to worry about. We don't have any major plans to be gone any time soon. And we're on spring break this week which is good for me to watch her and be right here when she goes into labor. But we're about to start fostering a child! I mean, for the love of Pete! And I've apologized to Copper profusely. I feel horrible for putting her through this again so quickly. We sure didn't have that planned for her. She WILL be getting an appointment made to get fixed as soon as this episode of puppies passes. <br />
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So, if you or anyone you know is remotely interested in a boxer puppy, let me know. Apparently we'll have some soon.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07425607111189855602noreply@blogger.com3