Oh the Bliss!

Last weekend my parents took the babies all day while the rest of us went to Disneyland, and when I came home that evening the EPIC amount of laundry that was spilling out of the laundry room had all been washed and folded. All of it. It was how I figured I'd be spending my Sunday, but instead I got to play in the pool with the kids and rest with the family. A few days ago my mother-in-law spent the night at our house and watched the younger four kids the next day so that I could go on a field trip with Ben and his class at school. I had SUCH a great time with him at the Creation Institute , I was so thankful to be there! Again, when I came home all of the laundry out of every room in the house had been washed and folded. All of it . I was gearing up to spend my afternoon and evening making trips to and from the laundry room, but it was done, and I was able to make dinner and rest with Mark that evening. Mark, my favorite person in the whole world, works very hard doin...

I'm not really a Gospel sharer... as hard as that is to admit. My husband is, he's incredible. The stories he can tell about the total strangers he has shared the Good News with and prayed with... he's like an undercover Billy Graham. (That might be a slight exaggeration, but he has a gift, that's for sure).  I, on the other hand, have no gift. I think it's because I kind of fall under the banner of "living my life so they see Jesus" which counts as sharing the gospel, no? No. Over the last few months I've felt this pressure, a burden if you will. Like this is it, you know? The earth isn't getting any younger.  Then the whole thing with the "blood moon" and then Easter and all of the sudden I am thinking WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME CHRISTIANS! Let me go back a few years... We started going to this church where the pastor preached the Bible. I mean REALLY preached the Bible. Nothing fancy, no artistry, no fuzzy feelings, just the Wo...

I am acutely aware that our second go with foster care has gone incredibly smooth. We got an infant - everyone's dream. He has been extremely easy, always been a great sleeper and eater, has no residual effects from the 9 months he spent in his birth-mom's womb. He's happy,  healthy (though he's had more colds than I can count), follows directions and if all that weren't enough the boy's been pooping on the potty since he was 4 months old! So yeah, we'd be considered an ideal story, I'd say. But that doesn't mean the road has always been easy, for me especially. There are many times when I tiptoe toward (and completely fall over) the edge of frustration and annoyance , "why does he have to act this way, none of the other kids ever acted like this." , which leads to doubt, " Would I be this annoyed if one of my biological children were doing this?", which leads to guilt, " I can't believe I singled him out because he...

One Christmas decoration didn't make it into the attic this year. It's not even in the garage. I just couldn't bring myself to put it away. I needed it close. I needed to see it everyday, multiple times. I needed to be reminded that just because the season is over the reason is not. Jesus was born. He brought life, everlasting. Satisfaction. He brought light. Truth. He brought joy These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.  John 15:11 and he didn't take it away. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope . Romans 15:13 When December is over, and the world stops debating whether we can or cannot say "Christmas", or if Jesus really is the reason for the season, and all the lights come down and a pressing darkness threatens at every turn I must remember that Jesus never filled and then depleted. When we live ...

…when you're SEVEN!

It was the night before Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve Eve, if you will. While some of the kids were playing others were trying to get out of  Dodge with the baby. In an effort to actually protect Norah, by removing her from the crazy, the sweet thang tripped and Norah fell, hard. Her cry was strange, one we hadn't heard before. And nursing didn't comfort her. So off to the ER we went, and thus began our 24 hour adventure. First praise : Mark's parents were here staying with us through Christmas, so we were able to both go to the hospital! We thought it was sprained, or maybe dislocated, so our jaws dropped when the X-rays came back showing a broken femur. A broken femur!! I thought baby's bones were made out of rubber? Not so, my friends, not so. They hadn't ruled out her needing surgery, so they wouldn't let me nurse her. NO BUENO. Then they told us the hospital we were at didn't do children's bone settings and casts, she needed to go to CH...

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...