He is Greater.....John 3:30 says He must become greater, I must become less"

Today is a special and sad day for me.  February 20, 2018 marks the fourth year anniversary of the death of Josiah's birth mom.  Her death was a tragic thing and not easy to think about or remember.  It wasn't part of the plan.  She and I had hard, tearful conversations about raising Josiah.  The plan was that we would raise him for her, and we would try to make sure she knew about all the important things, and that he would know her and know that she loved him.  When he was an adult, the plan was to make sure that he knew her well enough that he could call her and invite her out to lunch on her birthday, or meet for coffee just because......the plan was that we would just help him grow up and then once he was living the life he was created for, he could also have her as well as us.  That was the plan.  Instead, she died as a young woman and it makes me sad. Adoption is a beautiful thing.  It is also a very hard thing.  We talk about her to him and show him pictures of her,

I have been reminded lately to count your blessings, count them one by one, and I have decided to be more intentional about that.  I have a husband who works hard every day and comes home and is pleasant, even if his day was not.  I have 5 beautiful children that are complicated and interesting and will be a gift to the world.  It is our job to help them find their path.  That path is also a blessing.  I have a career that I was called to by God, and that fulfills me as much as it breaks my heart.  Helping people heal and be the best they can be is not easy work.  I have very important friends who are kind to me and love me, warts and all.  I live in a community that strives to be kind, generous and good.  I have eagles in the winter, lilac bushes in the spring, baseball in the summer and bonfires in the fall.  I have four complete seasons to celebrate.  I have a love for food.  It is a blessing (and a curse) because it gives me pleasure and a vessel to show my love.....and a need

Our son Isaac is 15.  He will be 16 in just a few short weeks.  Of all  of our kids, he may be the most mysterious and hard to understand.  He is quiet.  He's a thinker more than a talker.  He is very, very smart.  He should be a leader but every time an opportunity presents itself to lead, he says no thanks.  He doesn't want the pressure, or the responsibility.  He is very much like his mama.  In December, he had a car accident with the free car his grandparents gave us so that all the drivers in our house could drive.  He spun out on black ice at 7am, on the way to early morning lifting.  He totaled the car and got shook up pretty badly but was otherwise unharmed, thank the Lord.  I just don't know what I would do with my quiet, present Isaac.  Since the accident we have had to share vehicles so that everyone could get where they need to be every day.  His high school is about 15 minutes away in another town.  He has early morning lifting for football and open gym for

Today is February 5.  My father-in-law has a birthday today.  I think he is 86!  Happy birthday to you Ken Kredit!  Roger was in the easy chair, dozing off after dinner.  I said, "hey!  call your dad!  its his birthday...do it quick!  He did call and they had a good talk."  phew.  I would have felt terrible if we had missed it.  I didn't talk to him....but I know he is having a good birthday.  I also know that he knows how much I love him.  February in Iowa means....it is still winter here.  We had lots of snow today.  Snow in the forcast for lots of days in the next week.  Not just snow.  Cold.  Sickness.  Influenza is rampant and everyone is ill.  I struggled for almost a month with it.  Even now, in week 4, I still have a sore throat and cough.  Claire is sick.  Jeremiah is sick.  Isaac is almost sick. Hopefully he can sleep it off.  The littles are not sick, thank goodness.   Today I made fat-burning cabbage soup which also happens to be very tasty and flavorful.

This week, I heard in radio news, of a woman who tried to take her peacock on an air plane.  She said that the peacock was her emotional support pet and needed to travel with it.  The airline said.....um.....no.  Emotional support pets, therapy dogs, etc. have become rather popular.  We are all 'fessing up to our emotional weaknesses and frailties and are asking if we can have permission to have a pet to help us compensate.  I'm guilty.  I did it, too.  I begged and begged my husband to let me get a dog, thinking it could be an emotional and therapeutic help for Precious.  He reluctantly agreed.....and now we have 2 domestic dogs, a big one and a small one.  Both are needy......and neither are "therapeutic".  In fact, I could use some "therapy" to manage both of them.  Well, that's not altogether true.  They are our pets and they give and receive love in this home every day......but still.  If you need a therapeutic pet and are able to receive a grant