The girls and Mamaw (mostly Mamaw) worked on planting some flowers around the borders of our house.  I conveniently miss the messy work by being the photographer. This is what we had by April 14.

 We waited rather impatiently for our flowers to grow and by the time June arrived we didn't hold out much hope for the dried up, drought-stricken ground.  Then we had to leave and go to VA for a month.  While we were away the Lord graciously revived many of our plants.  When we arrived home yesterday we were greeted with some pretty flowers and butterflies also enjoying the flowers! :) Here is Hannah with the flowers she planted.

As you can see a couple of the flowers are as tall as her!  She was very thrilled to see them.  Sarah's favorite was the yellow flower! 

Mary picked the orange flower for her favorite! 

Lydia also enjoyed the flowers.  Here she is trying to look up at some of the blooms!

So she decides that she will pull this one down where she can see it

 - or was she trying to eat it or smell it?? Who knows the mind of a 16 month old!  Probably all three options were in her plan! 

Well, I may not have a green thumb, but I am thankful for the growing children God gave to my care!  Thank you everyone who has been praying for us.  We have our final home visit with our adoption homestudy representative on Friday.  After she turns in the last evaluation and recommendation papers then we will be waiting for a court date.  We will be in the judges chambers for about 10 minutes to finalize the adoption.  We are so excited about that!

We have no definite news on our next place of service but we are thankful that God has many children and we know He has work for us.  We are praying to stay in His will as we prepare to move in the coming months.  We will have our final church service with our Joppa family and it will be very hard to officially say goodbye.  I am tearing up now because I know what it will be like. 

Yet, I am looking forward to whatever God has for us next.  Coming to Joppa and learning and growing was such a wonderful time in our lives and we are so thankful for it.  We want to please God and look forward to learning more as we move on through this life He has called us to live.

My mom is doing very well considering.  She is gaining more strength each day.  She will have a 6 to 12 month recovery so it won't happen over night but she is so thankful to feel much better and wants to glorify God in all that happened.  She is working very hard to do all that she needs to do - eating right and resting as much as possible.  My dad has been wonderful too.  I am so thankful for their example of marital love, loyalty and sacrifice to each other!

Well, here is one last picture.  These were the tallest flowers we found when we arrived home.  Needless to say they were in Mamaw's (champion gardener) yard!

By the way, I know I should know the names of the flowers we planted but I can't remember.  They were complimentary gifts in some valentines and I forgot the names.  We also planted marigolds, which I wanted because I hear they deter bees and mosquitos, but they didn't do very well! So if you know the flower names feel free to tell me!

Blessings,

Mary was working on a math problem.  It said, "The children in Room 4 had five frogs.  They gave one frog to the children in Room 3.  Draw a picture and a number sentence to show what happened.

Mary has been doing these types of problems for a year so I read the problem to her and then told her to complete it and if she had any questions she could ask.

After thinking for a minute she asked, "Were they in a motel?"  LOL She figured they most be in a motel to have numbered rooms!   I explained that they were in a school with different rooms for the classes. 

****************************************************************************************************************

One reason she might have been thinking motel is that last week we took the girls with us to the Ligonier Conference in Orlando, FL.  It was wonderful and they behaved very well.  I told the girls that many people would be watching them and that they could honor God and Jesus by showing due respect and reverence during services.  Many people paid them compliments so the girls saw that Mommy was right that others were watching!  They were not perfect, but I was very thankful that we were not a distraction as far as I know.  Sitting for two hours in a row,  three separate services per day, was no easy task and I gladly rubbed backs, necks, legs, whatever so that they could remain quiet.  I brought about 7 Bible activity books and plenty of plain paper for drawing.  They normally aren't allowed to have this during a service (just their Bibles and a page for notes or writings about God) but due to the long sessions we were lenient in this manner.  By the last day on Saturday, they just wanted to sit and listen/sleep/ daydream.  It is funny though because occasionally the speaker would say something they recognized and they would look at me and grin or ask a question.

They really enjoyed hearing Joni Eareckson Tada in her two sessions.  I wish we would have had time to meet her with them, but maybe another time when they are older and can stand in line! ;) This was the first year Joni spoke since I have been attending for the last four years.  I am so thankful that she was able to make the conference!

Here are a few pictures of us at the conference. Alyssa please don't hate me for my bad photography!

Here is the church where the conference is held.  This was between sessions when most people were at the bookstore, bathroom, roaming around, etc.

The girls were excited to be up in the balcony.  Our late arrival to this session due to not enough time to eat dinner resulted in a steep climb up all those stairs to sit here! 

Here I am with Mary and Sarah in an earlier session closer to the front on the main floor!

Here is Daddy with Sarah.  This was back up in the balcony area.  See how tall the pews were! I could rest my head.  That is not a good thing  when you are tired and have sleeping children around you and you feel miles away from the speaker.  I am glad to say that I didn't actually even close my eyes and I only had to pinch myself twice.   Seriously John MacArthur was speaking and it was very good!

Poor Hannah was only in one picture, and I didn't do a very good job of getting her in it!  I was trying to get some other church members in the shot too!  Well, here is proof that we did take her too!

Mrs. Amy and Mr. Shawn who also attended are at the end of the pew.  By the end of the weekend the girls had claimed rights on Mrs. Amy's sweater and lap!  Mrs. Amy has three kids of her own and she runs a preschool so she is used to clinging children!  She even roomed with the girls and I so Dh and Mr. Shawn could room together and save on cost.  The girls had a ball playing on Friday night in the motel room.  We had watched a few cooking shows before bed and the girls were using the ice bucket and tray, soaps, coffee basket, etc. to cook for us! 

Mrs. Amy was a very good sport!

We are all looking forward to next year already!

Dear Friends and Family,

I really enjoyed an extended blogging break!  It may be a while before anyone notices I am back!  I totally understand that! :)

While I was away, I did anon. read several friends who are/were expecting, just to keep up with that but for the most part I truly did enjoy a break from blogging.  So what have I been doing since November?

The week of Thanksgiving we went up to my sister and brother-in-laws house for the week!  We had a wonderful time!  My brother-in-law and husband went to Bible College together so they were good friends before my sister and I even knew them!  They had a super time conversing as much as work for my bil and sickness for my poor sweet dh would allow.  My parents and my three brothers and their families were there for our celebration on the day after Thanksgiving.  It was so wonderful to all be together again and no in the hospital!   We enjoyed playing Mexican Train (dominoes), playing at the playground and tennis courts next door, and even playing in a few snow flurries!  Best of all, we had some wonderful times of family worship with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents all around the room.  I was also blessed to hear the Thanksgiving prayer from my father!  That still brings tears to my eyes.  You see my Dad had a stroke the Thanksgiving of 2006.  God gave him new life spiritually during his recovery and restored him to physical health as well.  Just one of the many things I was so thankful for this year! 

The only sad part about our visit was dh getting sick on the third day there.  It wasn't too bad at first, but by Sunday he was really miserable!  We had planned to leave VA on Monday and travel to Ridgecrest in NC for a conference.  Thankfully God was merciful and by Monday afternoon dh was feeling better and we all enjoyed our two day conference immensely!  My birthday was on Tuesday and my dh  and dds made it very special!  I actually celebrated three times this year.  Dh and I went to dinner on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving while my parents kept our girls.  Then we celebrated on the actual day.   Then when we came home, dh sent me to the jewlrey store to buy a very nice set of pearls.  I had to make myself do it before I thought of the other ways to spend the money (with it being right before Christmas!) and I really love to wear them each Sunday! Thank you darling!

December is always busy for us because 11 days after my birthday is the birthday of our oldest dd.  Hannah turned 8 this year!  I cannot believe it has been eight years!  WOW!  She is still very innocent and childlike in her play and I am so thankful!  Her favorite pasttime is either drawing or taking care of her dolls.  She had collected 25 (we have bought her none!) because she confiscates the ones her sisters don't want and she buys any she finds at the church yard sales or when ever she has a dollar in the dollar tree! :)  We actually were afraid she was getting close to idolatry so she has given them all away except for four. I hope this year to teach her to make clothes for them!  I think we might try to make some cloth diapers too, because they love to change the diapers!

Sarah turned 7 five days after Hannah's birthday.  Poor Sarah.  She always gets a preview of her gifts as she sees her sister open her gifts.  I did get them a few personalized items, but for the most part, they want the same things!  Sarah also enjoys playing house with her sisters and is very caring with Hannah and Mary.  It is wonderful to see them all playing together! Sarah is a collector too, but not in one area.  She has the genetics for a very serious pack rat.  Her not remotely a pack rat mom is always "helping" her clean out her collection.  She is the one I have to check under the pillow and in her shelves because she always has them loaded!  She is also the one who knows where nearly anything is that I have lost, especially if it shiny or metal!  She is also the best at keeping up with her jewlrey!  That comes in handy too since she is the one with glasses (as long as they don't go under the pillow! )

We all had a wonderful Christmas time with many blessings and probably too many indulgences as well!  We truly need a larger house if the girls get any more toys and I get anymore school supplies! My dh celebrated his 40th birthday the day after Christmas!  The girls bought daddy suspenders because he has started wearing them more regularly.  He says it is his new look for the forties.  I think he looks wonderful in them, too!

One of our happiest times over Christmas was making the time to visit a good friend in the nursing home.  This dear lady is one of the residents who comes when we go there once a month on Sunday to sing and preach.  She was actually in bed when we arrived. (We forget they have early hours for bed!) Still she welcomed us in and was so gracious!  It was truly a blessing to us to be with her even if for a short visit.

The church Christmas play, caroling, and worship services were also memorable as we celebrated the wondrous gift of Jesus.  New Years was especially happy with the announcement of a marriage of two precious people in our church! God is so good and we rejoiced with those who rejoiced.

Now the girls and I are trying to reestablish our routine in school.  The 3rd grade girls are trying to recapture all those multiplication facts they had just learned! Mary officially completed her Kindergarten phonics lessons and is "in" first grade in both math and reading.  She is also taking off with her narrations now.  She has really been listening during the story in family worship and is trying to rememeber the details so she can answer a question or two!  She is looking forward to being 5.  We are taking her to Chuck E. Cheese.  We went there for Hannah's 5th and Sarah's 4th and they wanted to know when we would go again.  I told them, "Not until Mary is 5 and that will be the last time! "   Thankfully it is in a town we rarely visit so they don't see it or ask for it.

Well, I will stop here.  I will try in the next post to put up a few pictures!

I pray you are all counting your blessings and praising God for every good and perfect gift! 

In Christ,

Well it is that wonderful season of the year!  This year is shaping up to be  busier than ever!  Between church yard sales, Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets, Christmas shoeboxes, Christmas play preparations, and all of the other things that already keep me busy, I won't be blogging for a while. I am going to refrain from reading others  too for a while!  Just wanted to let you know!

Blessings to you all!  Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and may God bless you in the New Year!

In Christ, Eva

It has been a hard, hot summer and it is still going!  We just can't seem to get out of the upper 80's for more than a day!  This is the part of the year I really miss VA.  I miss seeing the leaves change and the fall winds that take your breath away!  I miss the feeling when the sun is leaving the horizon and you realize that soon you will need a coat.  I miss going to football games and sitting on the cold bleachers and hearing the cadence of the drums.

I am still battling mosquitoes, running the airconditioning, and avoiding the outdoors!

I mentioned to Alpheus that if we could afford it, I would love to travel to somewhere cold for our anniversary on the 10th.  We were eating dinner with the girls.  Sarah helpingly advised, "He should take you to Long Johns then!"  Isn't that too funny!  The girls are always freezing in Long Johns and Sarah knows it is a place I love to eat!

I just thought I would share that cute comment!  For those of you blogger buddies in the northern states, take a long deep breath of cold air for me, okay! :)  And post some fall foliage on your sites.  Yeah that would be nice too!

Actually in November we are planning, Lord willing, to go up for Thanksgiving and my birthday with my family.  I am praying the Lord might will to send us some snow about then!  It snowed on our (my twin brother and me) birthday once I think.  So unless the FL weather follows us up there, we should have 10 days of fall then!

Hope you are coming over Ed! Hope you are reading this Ed!  Hope you will email me sometime Ed! (Hint! Hint!)

In Him, Eva