Oh the Bliss!

I was chatting with my big bro the other day about Christmas gifts and I mentioned something about a gift having a "WOW factor". As soon as I said it I knew something was off. It felt weird. Like I was a different person, similar to who I usually am, but just tweaked a little. I brushed the feeling off and continued on my merry little gift analyzing way. But the words kept coming back. "Wow factor". It was unsettling. (Disclaimer: Ya'll know by now that I mull things, words, over and over, sometimes for days/months, before I can pinpoint exactly the feeling behind them. I haven't quite reached the perfect stewing point yet with this one but I feel like this is time sensitive, so I'm going write a little prematurely here. Forgive me if it's a bit choppy.) There is a sweet, sweet joy in giving gifts at Christmas. The entire reason why  we give gifts at all is a direct response to the Greatest Gift we were given; Jesus. The whole concept of gi...

This is the song that started it all. . . Sometimes I have to sit on something for a long time before I can find adequate words to give voice to feelings. Sometimes it never happens. Then good ol' Pandora wrecked me with this song, and put exactly how I had been feeling to music. I love it when that happens! Now I'm in love with Fall Afresh and pretty smitten with Bethel Music and Jeremy Riddle . Give it a good listen and may your heart be renewed and your desire to abide in Christ refreshed. FALL AFRESH Fall Afresh By: Jeremy Riddle Awaken my soul, come awake To hunger, to seek, to thirst Awaken first love, come awake And do as you did, at first Chorus: Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me Come wake me from my sleep Blow through the caverns of my soul Pour in me to overflow Come and fill this place Let Your glory now invade Spirit come and fill this place Let your glory now invade

 You miss a Sunday because one of your kids are sick, or you miss one because they're healthy and you don't want them to get sick. You miss because you just had a baby 2 weeks ago, and then you miss another and another and all of the sudden you haven't been to church in nearly a month (or is it two, or twelve?) but it's okay because you can watch online, and don't you pay closer attention when you watch online anyway? I get it. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. ~ James 4:8 You see that stack of books on your nightstand, the ones all about how to be a super Christian and a super wife and a super mom and you try to read them, you do, but you barely get through the first paragraph when you realize with each child you've born your reading comprehension level has dropped and is now on par with Sandra Boynton and Dr. Seuss. And you're thinking the Jesus Story Book Bible must count as quality reading time, right?  I get that too. Let us then...

The second question EVERYONE asks is, "Sarah, how are your kids so well behaved???" Well, maybe not everyone asks that.  But the kids do get comments a lot, especially in public. People notice how they make eye contact, and politely interrupt. How they look out for each other and take care of the babies. How they help me with groceries, and take "no" for an answer without falling apart and losing their minds (most of the time anyway). They are easy to be with, which is why we can take them places - yes all of them- and not worry much about it. We take them to restaurants, sit-down ones with long waits and servers! They go in stores where they're not allowed to touch anything, and into people's homes where nothing has been "childproofed". We trust that because we spend a lot of time training those little hearts how (and why ) to love God and love others we can reap the benefits of being together as a family and we can be a blessing -in...

Number one question I get since having Norah is, "Sarah, why don't you blog anymore??" That's not true. No one has asked that. But I'll tell you why anyway... I haven't mastered the art of typing one handed. Can you blame me??? (For all my avid readers, I really am planning to write a legitimate post soon. Stay tuned.)

Thank you,  Faith Bible Church , for hosting this fantastic opportunity to serve the Lord by helping put together over 5,000 (FIVE THOUSAND!!) meal bags for  Kids Around the World . I love the people of FBC and their hearts for the poor and marginalized and how they look for and support ways families can serve together.  (praying over the boxes of meals)  It's a special organization that can utilize even the younger kiddos, and for that I am so thankful! (weighing and adjusting the bags of food, Troy was really good at this!) (Mia slept through the whole thing, but she would've fit right in.)  The kids had great time but more importantly we had lots of good conversations about the poor, about ways to serve locally and worldwide, about being "privileged" and what responsibility comes with that. We are already looking for other ways to serve as a family, and can't wait to work with Kids Around the World again.  (Draw...

Chances are, whether you have biological or adopted children, you remember every detail of the moment you found out you were going to be a mom. First child or 10th child, it never fails to imprint  your heart and mind forever. You remember the time of day.You remember the bathroom you took the test in. You remember the heart-racing feeling of seeing the agency's number on your caller I.D. and where you were when you got "the call". You remember the first person you told. And you remember the prayer you mumbled as you caught your breath as it had inevitably been knocked out of you for a brief moment. It was noon. I was here. In a pretend bedroom in a pretend house in a Pretend City. I almost didn't answer the phone because it wasn't exactly a "phone call" friendly location. But I saw the number, and I just knew I needed to get that call.  We have a 6 day old . . . He's 5lb 11oz . . . He's Mexican/Native American . . ...

How can I ever move ?

It's really quiet at my house. Too quiet. Like, "have I lost some children?" quiet. In fact I HAVE lost some children, 66.7% of my brood is gone for 3.5 days. How'd we swing that, you ask? The amazing Papa and Gma (Mom and Dad Fitzpatrick) along with the ever fantastic sis-n-law Amy are running Camp Papa-Gma this week in Simi Valley. Sunday we said goodbye to Ben, Addison, Troy and Mia and drove home in a very, very quiet car. Here are some things I'm noticing during their absence... ~ Less dishes. (Yay!) ~ Gabe is the equivalent of a little lost puppy. (Boooooo!) ~The couch cushions and pillows are exactly where I left them when I leave the room and return. ~ Norah is unfazed. ~ My quiet time with the Lord is lengthy. . . and quiet. :) ~ Bedtime routine takes about 3minutes, max. ~ Mark and I have really good conversations in the car because we can actually hear each other. (Speaking of car... I am getting anxious for our next vehicl...

Can I just start by saying IT'S A GIRL!!!!!! Whaaaaaaaaaaat??!?!?!?! I did NOT see that coming! Well, actually I did, for about 7 months, then BAM months 8 and 9 rolled around and I was so certain it was a boy I brought only boy clothes to the hospital. My basketball stomach screamed "It's a boy!" and EVERYONE told me it was going to be a boy; the old ladies at Trader Joe's, the nurses who saw me during my false labor, the ladies at the nail place, my doctor even guessed boy. (Oh wait, she also guessed I'd be two weeks early...) So it was beyond exciting when the baby came out and, sure enough, our girl was born.  I woke up early that Saturday morning, two days past my due date, with the same ol' pains I'd been having for weeks. Except they weren't the same. They were intense every time, and took my breath away. During a contraction I was convinced I needed to be at the hospital, but as soon as it was over I was totally fine and figured it was...

  I want my children to eat, sleep, and breathe these verses.   There is SUCH a need for these to be reinforced over and over  and I'm taking the summer to do just that. We will memorize, reward, discipline, encourage, and love these words.  I'm tempted to paint them, in the largest lettering I can muster, all over the walls of our house. They are rich, beautiful, truthful words. When obeyed, they will not disappoint.  I will pray these verses over them while they sleep. Mark will talk about them over dinner . . . what does lovely, admirable, excellent, praise worthy mean? How can words build someone up? How can what we say benefit those who listen? My own words are falling on deaf ears.  I am winded. But the Word of the Lord stands forever (Is. 40:8), and speaks for itself.  I am so thankful for the rest teaching God's words offers a tired me! 

Tomorrow is my actual due date. The real one. The one that's been looming in my head for the last 9 months. June 27th. I never imagined I would be sitting here, on my couch, without a newborn keeping me company right now. Then again, I never imagined having a newborn again period, so I guess this is really par for the course. Saturday, halfway through church, I started counting my contractions and thought FOR SURE it was the real deal. We even left in the middle of Pastor Mike's closing prayer. My parents grabbed their still-cooking dinner and drove down. My in-laws, who had Ben with them, left their dinner/swim party and drove down. They were ready! The kids were ready! Mark and I were ready! The baby was not ready. "You'll be back in a couple of hours" the nurses sweetly reassured me. A full four days later, I'm sitting here, sans tiny newborn.  It's kind of comical because I was so absolutely sure I'd deliver early. I even joked with ...

I feel overdue. This is not a justified feeling, however, because I'm not technically due until June 27th . But my sweet OB, whom I love and adore, told me two weeks ago she didn't think I'd go past Father's Day. Tomorrow is Father's Day. There is no sign this baby is coming, except the nightly contractions that rob me of three or four hours of sleep. Even though I still have 12 more days until my medical due date my mental due date is tomorrow. I LOVE my OB, but the only predictions she should make on when baby will be born is right on time, or late. Never early. It plays mental games on the credulous. That being said... I can't believe I'm about to have a baby! Six kids doesn't really throw me, what throws me is thinking about the fall when I'll have two at school and I'll still have four kids at home. (I practice my breathing techniques when that thought comes to mind.) Thats when I think, yeah, I have a lot of kids. I love having all my ...

Crucifixion and Resurrection                      ~The Valley of Vision O LORD, I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate,    be crucified, dead, and buried. The sepulcher calls forth my adoring wonder,     for it is empty and thou art risen;     the four-fold gospel attests it,     the living witnesses prove it,    my heart's experience knows it. Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life,    for I wish to be as dead and buried to sin,        to selfishness, to the world;            that I might be delivered from his lusts. O Lord, there is much ill about me - crucify it,                           much flesh within me -  mortify it. Purge me from selfishness,             ...

My last little post on Tristan was a winner, thanks for all the love friends! I think it was all the super stealth-like pictures of him. (Mark noted what he learned from that post was that "not allowed to post pictures of him" really means "not allowed to post pictures of his eyes." So I took a little liberty with the no photos rule... can you blame me?) I wrote that post really, really quickly, like in 3.7 minutes. I want to go back and expound on the whole adoption thing. I think it came across as an announcement of sorts and may have surprised people whom we didn't tell in person. To me it wasn't so much of an announcement because it's something we've kind of figured for a while now. Our family has always been looking to adopt him, and the longer we've gone without bio-family contact the more we figured adoption was a go. What solidified that assumption was a conversation I had with his social worker saying she was going to ask the judge to ...

THIS BOY!!!!! Because of legal stuff with Tristan not exactly being "ours" I'm not allowed to post pictures or videos of him online. This is a challenging rule for me to follow! Especially when I see LOADS of other people posting pics of their little darlings like it's their job, and I can't one up them with my outrageously ADORABLE baby boy. It's humbling really. :) Little t (not to be confused with T, or Tman, which has rightfully belonged to Troy for 4.5 years), is growing perfectly. He is a happy, content, easy-peasy, sweet boy -almost all of the time, but nobody is perfect, right? When done correctly , he falls asleep in about 37 seconds. It's a thing of beauty. (Should I not post this picture? I'm I going to get CPS called on me due to the amount of loose blankets in his crib? Yikes!!) He is eating like a champ. He sits, rolls, grabs, rocks on his knees and is seconds away from crawling. And he laughs. Does this boy laugh! Eve...

Have I ever told the story of Unfortunate Joe? No?  Please note: the following takes place pre-Mark. Picture me, circa 2001, sitting at a coffee shop wearing black Jack Purcells , reading Jack Kerouac, listening to Jimmy Eat World, feeling super emo and super cool. I was a hipster before hipsters were hipsters. Enter, aside from my own husband of course, the most gorgeous young man ever to step foot in a Diedrich Coffee. Also wearing black Jack Purcells, the young man walks straight over to the group I'm with, sits down across from me and gives me his favorite lyric from Bleed American . ** Swoon** His name was Joe.  He was a model.  And allllll the ladies pretty much fell over themselves trying to get his attention.  (Not me, of course, I would never do such a thing. Really I wouldn't. I have never in my life been labeled "boy crazy". Not ever.)  SOMEHOW Joe ended up asking me out on a date. (Read: he had an extra ticket to a show, just ne...