the "brown sweater" ...

It's not often these days I (Becky) find the time to blog...[Thanks to Michlyn, our blog hasn't gone completely ignored]  but after picking up our youngest 2 pictures wearing "the brown sweater"

 I just had to post them all.

My dear M.I.L. knit the sweater for DJ when he was a little boy : )

*I have absolutely no idea where she found the time with 4 young children - but then again she truly never seizes to amaze me with her selfless, kindhearted ways!*

We've now had each of our children's picture taken in the precious keepsake as well.

Ages of each are between 4 & 5 years old...

S. 5 y.o.

J. 5 y.o. (now 8)

E. 5 y.o. (now 13)

M. 4 y.o. (now 14)

DJ - 5 y.o. (now the Daddy to our many blessings)

T. 5 y.o.

Blessings,

~ Becky

Prayers for a special Family!

Today I'm posting about a specific family that I have been following for the past couple months. They are the de Boer Family, and are traveling right now to bring their three daughters home. They finally got THE CALL last Friday to travel, and now 6 days later are on their way.

They are heading to the Philippines, and will be back soon. (or maybe not so soon) I just want you all to be praying for this family. They have been a family of 6 and now by God's perfect timing, and their patience they will be a family of 9! WOW God is so good to bless such precious little girls, with such an amazing family.

So I don't know if you've ever seen, or been on widdlytinks.com but I have. It's a really fun website, that you can make a graphic for your family. Ours, you can see at the bottom of the page. Anyway I went on there, and made one as best as I could to fit their family!

Deborah, if you read this you are such a blessing. I know that you have continually been praying for our family through this process, and also many others. I just want to thank you for being such an inspiration to me. I talk about all your fun and creative ideas to stay organized to my mom. I also was SO excited to hear last Friday that you got THE CALL.

We'll be praying for you, and your not so small family through the process of traveling, paperwork, and more. Have a wonderful time on your trip with your husband and son.
Here's the graphic that I made, and sorry if it's not quite right!

Prayers,
~Michlyn

(P.S. For any of our followers... please keep the de Boer family in your prayers. I know that for those of you who went through the incredible process of adoptiong (or still are) really appreciate the prayers. I'm sure their whole family would too, since there will be 3 new little ones in their lives!!) <3






My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

A slow week...

This week has been very slow... I would say boring but that's not exactly the right word.
'T' has been missing her country, culture, and friends. 'T' is now done with school, and 'S' graduates from Preschool today! It's been a very fast school year, and we're so ready for Summer!
I don't even have pictures for this post. Hopefully we can finish our first project, and have it posted by this weekend. Thanks for your patience, and prayers everyone!

Have a wonderful day!

In Him,
~Michlyn

On a roller coaster

Yesterday was a very rainy day. Some rainy days are good for being with family, playing a board game, and having some hot cocoa. But yesterday it rained ALL day. Not only was it raining and making the day quite boring, but 'T' was having a hard day.

She usually gets this way when she has a friend over, or goes over to a friend's house. Yesterday was that day. When these days occur, my mom can usually tell right away. There's usually some attitude, ignorance, and disobidience. Sometimes it hard to tell though, because 'T' has a very tricky mind.

These days are what we call our "roller coaster ride". Going up and down, up and down, upside down, and through many tunnels. So some things that 'T' decided to do yesterday included: Painting her friends nails without mom's permission, being sneaky with things she knew she couldn't do, and purposely saying things mom doesn't like.
'T' usually will start off saying "I love you" many times, and waiting for my mom's response. Then with in an hour (at least) she'll be saying mean words, not listening to directions, or just being stubborn. Some "tips" that my mom likes to use are:

1. Having 'T' look at my mom's eyes when she's talking.

2. Have 'T' repeat what my mom said so she understands.

3. Have 'T' ask for an apology.

We also notice that after a playdate if 'T' had been disobidient, she'll usually be worse the next day. She'll continue to want to be in control, want her way (or no way), and continually ask questions that she knows that the answer will be no. When 'T' asks these questions, my mom tries her best to ignore them without it being noticeable, or answering with a kind explanation.

Of course 'T' will point the finger at one of us, and use it to make us look like "the bad guy". 'T' is still learning, and has grown so much! We're proud of her, and yet pray for her and peace on such days. Today is Friday; last day of the school week, a school day for 'T', and the start of a hopefully great weekend.

'T' started out the morning great, and was on and off through out the morning. She was happy, kind, and ready to go to school! Praise God for answered prayer, and a good Friday!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our family, and our transition. We will also continue to pray for moms (and families) that are going through the same thing. I admire those moms who probably have the most patience EVER!

Have a great weekend everyone!

In Him,

~Michlyn

A Spring day!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! 'T' and 'S' both had some friends over, to enjoy the sunny afternoon! They enjoyed picking flowers, playing with friends, and running around! :) It's so nice when the little kids can get some energy out! (Because then they're not stuck in the house all day)

At about 7:30 pm it got really cloudy, and VERY humid! We had a few windows open to keep some air going through the house, but I think that just made it worse. It was about 78 degrees in the house! So my sister Erin and I kept cool in the basement, watching TV and painting our nails!

There were a few tornado warnings in towns near us, but it never even rained where we live. On the news, it was said that two tornados had been spotted. I don't know if anyone was injured, but please pray for people in that area.

Have a wonderful day!

~Michlyn

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to the best mom EVER!! I hope you had a fantastic day! You are so special to us, and we appreciate you more than we can count!

Our Pastor's wife spoke today at church, and she told us that the best present that you could give your mom was a list of at least 10 things that you appreciate and love about her. So here are mine...

1. Your support in sports

2. Your encouragement in school

3. Your patience

4. Your love for kids

5.Your good cooking

6.Your hard work

7.Your ambition to get things done

8.Your Faith in Jesus Christ

9. Always being there when we need you or are hurt

10.Your smile

~Michlyn

Birthday Pictures!

Here are some pictures from 'T's Birthday Party! We had a lot of family and friends there to celebrate 'T' turning 5! Thank you to everyone for making 'T' feel extra special!

~Michlyn

Our AMAZING Journey!

Tarekech's journey from Ethiopia to her Forever Family ... We love you, Sweet Girl! xoxo

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Many Firsts...

'T' is dedicated to Jesus!

'T's U.S. Citizenship

Since 'T' has been home, our household has gotten a lot busier. That was last July. It's hard to believe that 'T' has been home a little more than 9 months! She is a unique, spunky, little girl who has a mind of her own! :) We've updated a few times since our journey home with her. There have also been so many things 'T's had for the first time. Some of those things include: Her first Halloween, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, she became a U.S. citizen, she was dedicated to Jesus, and her very first Birthday!



We had a very special celebration that day, because 'T' was dedicated on her birthday! We had lots of family and friends at our church on her dedication, and following the service we got to celebrate 'T' turning 5! We had lunch, cake and cupcakes, friends, laughs, and gifts for the birthday girl. We're sure that 'T' felt very loved and special on that day!



Some of her favorite gifts included: My little ponies, rainboots, umbrella, spring/summer dresses, and cute hair accessories.
Thank you to everyone who wished her a happy birthday and to everyone who came to her party to celebrate with us! (Pictures coming soon)





In Him,


Michlyn

Updating for my mom!

I finally decided that I would update the blog for my mom! We have a pretty crazy life. Busy with school, sports, church, and lots of other things! There are about 18 more days of school until SUMMER! We're all very excited for Summer! Being outside, taking bikerides, being with family, and taking a break from school sounds good right about... now! My mom hasn't updated since Fenruary, right before 'T's birthday. That was such a good day to celebrate 'T's life, and being with us.

We had a very good Easter! Celebrating new life of Jesus, and spending time with family. My sister 'E' and I got to help serve breakfast at church, and then went to a wonderful service! We also heard that our youth pastor and his wife had their first baby that morning! Praise the Lord for new life!

Pictures... take 27 :)