My Father's Robe

Hi Guys!  It's Kenzie and I'm hijacking the blog :)

Last night I walked into my parent's bedroom and found my Dad purging some of his clothes (we are getting ready for a fund raising garage sale).  As I watched him go through his clothes in his closet I found an old memory.  "Your old robe!"  I exclaimed, grabbing it from its hanger.  It was a long paisley silk robe, a bit outdated and definitely a little big for me but I put it on anyways.  "You can keep it," my dad grinned as I wrapped it over my pajamas.  Throughout the rest of the night as I wore the robe, I was reminded of its part in my childhood memories.  I have a vivid picture in my mind of sneaking up to my dad in the early morning.  He would have his pjs and robe on and would be in the kitchen getting coffee or making an omelette.  I was probably about 4 years old and I would come up behind him and hide under his robe stretching my little arms around him as I gave him my tightest hug.  Giggling and tripping I would follow him around the house underneath his robe until he took it off.  Even though it is just a small memory of mine it is still precious to me.

 The warm and grateful feelings I got from this memory made me think of my Heavenly Father.  Psalm 91:4 says "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."  As a 4 year old hiding under my Daddy's robe I felt safe.  And no matter if I was having a good morning or a bad morning I still found myself clinging to my dad, under his robe, and giggling the whole time.  Whether we are going through good times in this life or hard times I know that I can take refuge under my Heavenly Father's "robe" and He will give me comfort and joy.
Thank you Lord for reminding me of this!

Seeing Eyes!

With warmer weather, school finishing up and plans underway for hosting the girls... summertime is very much on our minds.  With that comes daily thoughts of going to the beach.  Our family loves the beach!  This has not always been the case.  For probably the first 18 years of living in Florida we rarely visited the beach.  When the kids were younger it just seemed like too much work.

But now it's all about boogie boards, exploring wildlife, suntans, and collecting seashells.

Now it feels like we need to make up for lost time!

I was talking to a friend the other day who was telling me about a lunch he had with someone who was asking some tough questions.  How come God doesn't reveal Himself?  Why does He remain so mysterious?  If He is a good God wouldn't He want to let everyone know He is there?  

Well I admit that God does work in mysterious ways but not reveal Himself?  Really?  

The rising and setting sun, day in and day out...

 The intricacies of a single flower...

The amazing ways that our bodies work and move....

The majesty of a mountain scape...

And finally... I've got to bring it back to the beach (and steal a line from a song)... "who tells the ocean, that it can only go this far?"...

Well that is enough said for me... but if you need more there are probably at least a bazillion more ways that God reveals Himself, every second of every day.  

LORD, open our eyes that we might see!

Different Directions

 

 

Ever feel like you're running in a lot of different directions?  That is definitely how I have felt lately.  Some of you may know that after 13 years of being a stay at home mom I have had to head out and help bring in some finances.  So back in February I started working 3 nights a week at a restaurant.

I have to admit it has been a difficult adjustment for me.   Being effective in the other areas of my life has certainly been a challenge with the loss of 24 plus hours every week.  But I'm not here to complain... I know there are many families out there making the same kinds of adjustments.  What it does make me realize is the need to keep focused on doing what I've been called to do during this season of my life... and doing it well.  Easier said than done, right?

Francis Chan (one of my favorite authors) did a great video clip that is well worth watching.  It's called the balance beam of life, and it reminds me that at some point at the end of this fast moving life I will have to give an account for all I have done and all that I have not done and for every decision that I make in faith and every time I respond in fear.  Overwhelming!

Thankfully I don't have to do it all alone... God has promised to never leave me nor forsake me!  Thank you Lord!   Have a blessed day!
Watch this!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA_uwWPE6lQ

YAY!

In exactly one month I will be in Atlanta to pick up Katerina and Mariana for the summer.  We are soooooooooo excited to have them here with us for about 5 weeks.  It will be our first official meeting, as we have only skyped and emailed up to this point.  Our intent in hosting them is to give them a great summer and more importantly, allow them to get to know this crazy Wells family from across the world.

Hosting is a great way to reach out to the fatherless.  There are many organizations that have hosting programs during the summer and at Christmas time.  You are required to pay for the child/children to fly over and for passports and insurance.  But the experience for your family could be life changing.

We are currently working on all the paperwork that is required for an international adoption... which is separate from hosting.  At times it feels like "eating an elephant one bite at a time"  but we are plugging along.
For those of you who are familiar with the process we have completed our home study and we are about to file our I600A form with the US... which is our official petition to adopt.  I say "about" to file because we have to wait for the funds to come in.  Every step in the right direction seems to require a new fee.  Our faith continues to grow as we exercise our "trust muscles" waiting on God's timing. 

ROAD TRIP! ROAD TRIP!

1100 miles, 17 hours, 3 movies, 5 stops,  97 snacks, and 3 states of rain found the Wells family recently in the state of Indiana.
Yes, we went on a road trip!  It was actually the first real road trip for our family... ever!  And I have to say that it was relatively painless.  Thanks in large part to the fact that Ty drove 15 of the 17 hours, and if you know me at all you might actually be impressed with my generous offer to drive 2 of the hours. The wedding of some very cool cousins is what sent us on this grand adventure - that coupled with the fact that we were going to get to spend time with our northern family of whom we miss terribly.

In looking back over our time the one word that best sums up the experience was FAMILY.  Our kids made some awesome memories with their cousins that will not soon be forgotten.  There was lots of joking, chasing, jumping, exploring, eating, teasing, and hugging that took place.
The one picture that best sums up the experience was taken of all of the cousins along with the soon to be married couple, Jordan and Christine.
 

 I'm so thankful for the priceless gift of family!  It's an incredible honor to have such a heritage to pass onto my children.  A gift that we hope to, with God's grace, pass onto our two daughters currently in the Ukraine.  I want to never take for granted the family that God has blessed me with.  But I also want to never forget that there are over 140 million children who do not have this blessing... no one to tuck them into bed at night, no one to chase away their fears, no one to help provide positive memories to hide away in their hearts.  May this always grieve me as I'm sure it grieves the creator of this universe.  And may this grief always drive me to be their voice... to advocate for the fatherless.

 Much has happened since we first announced to you, our family and friends, that we were proceeding with a second adoption.  I hope to give you an update in the next day or two... stay tuned!