Busy Busy Busy is the words I would choose to describe our last few weeks. We have been to a football game, the circus, a conference in NC, and I have been cooking like a mad woman with my new Nutrimill. I am thankful for things to begin to calm down now although we have all had so much fun spending our time with each other. I am trying to work the kinks out of our homeschooling adventure after so much encouragment from the wonderful Maxwell Family!! We had a GREAT time at the conference. Stephen and I went alone while the boys stayed with Aaron and Bethany (thanks guys!). There were 6 sessions 4 of which were broken up into wives/husbands. But we were so challenged we spent the entire drive home going over everything and it wasn't even me talking=) I am Lovin' my Nutrimill and never realized how many different kinds of wheat there are=) My lunch bread is so much lighter (even though its whole wheat) and it is not crumbly anymore!!! Well thats all for now...I'll put up some pictures for ya'll to enjoy...=)

Knox Land

Well all is well here in Knox land=) The temperature has been SO great for the last two weeks. Highs have been in the the low 80's and its down right cold at night=) But we are loving it...the boys keep asking to make a fire even thought its only 78=) Stephen got a few new lawns to do and the business is really starting to take off. It is still a 'on-the-side' kind of thing. But we are paying our dues now so that in a year or so we can do this in more of a full time manner. The boys have started homeschooling and were really loving it but stephen has started to back off a little and I think its because i'm pushing him too hard. Kind of that first born, expect a LOT out of him kind of deal. So we have backed off a little and are doing it a little slower and his love for learning has returned=)

We are still on the paper trail with Patria working on getting a physical for stephen sr. . I did get a new do for my hair thanks to my good friend Nicole=) But not much else going on here...its kind of interesting the season of life the Lord has brought to us. For the past 5 years it has been really crazy with babies and moving and surgeries. But for this last year it has been totally different. Lots of reading time and knitting and just free time. Oh life is still busy but not in the same way. Now this was not my own choosing to have this season but for some reason or other the Lord has seen fit to send us into it. So trying to just enjoy this time the Lord has given us. But we do look forward to new arrivals into our family!!!=) But none so far=)

Session #2

Well today we had our second Patria meeting. And 1/2 of it was on the discipline that is to be used on foster kids. Being a child of God and knowing what He says in His Word about how children should be raised it was very hard to sit through this session. I know from personal experience that God's way works wonders!! And it makes me so sad that these children are denied that. I also understand that these children from the system are no longer in the safety of a family but in the home of strangers.
The 'systems' rules says that children are not to be spanked while a foster child. I understand this rule for a few reasons. Most people today have visions of a mom running after a child with her hand swatting for his diapered rear end. She's angry or frustrated with this child for he has now pushed her over the edge with his disobedience and lack of respect and she's now going to show him who is boss. This world has no clue what truly Biblical spanking looks like. The love and time and patience and encouragement that goes into it. Nor do they see how relived the child is to have a parent who loves them enough to help them learn from the wrong they did. And the safety they feel from knowing the boundaries and the freedom that comes from staying inside of them. We have discussed this with the lady from Patria and she is a believer too and understands the importance of spankings especially for a young child. But stephen encouraged me today that we are looking to adopt an infant and this no spanking rule will not affect us much at all. Again we don't know what the Lord has in store for us we are just trying to be faithful to where He is leading us. I know this road is going to have its ups and its downs but sometimes those downs take you by surprise. So on we go with the paper work...the never ending paper work=)

Family Life

http://www.voddiebaucham.org/vbm/Podcast/Entries/2007/1/17_The_Centrality_of_the_Home.html

I ran across this podcast (above ) today on one of my favorite preachers website. Voddie Baucham is a great teacher of God's Word and he truly understands what God's desire for family life should be. I hope you find this as interesting as I did.
On a side note...all is well here. I have been trying really hard to get all the paperwork together for Patria (the foster-to-adopt agency). And I am almost done with that part of it. Stephen finally got his mower back from the shop and has already secured two steady jobs!! I am so proud of him!! We spent last night painting 'ol reliable....his trailer=) And our realtor changed his mind and will rent to us month to month. Well the Lord didn't work like we thought He would by finding us a house to buy. But He is always working behind the scenes to help us grow in our walk with Him and we trust that this is no exception!! So tomorrow is our second class with Patria and we're looking forward to it...one step closer to the Lord showing us what child He has for us!!!

Crazy Life

Well as is usual with our family when it rains it pours! Our rent agreement is coming to an end here so we have to either move or sign a new agreement. We really have not wanted to do the second but it seems the Lord has a different plan for us=) Which tends to happen a lot=) We have been looking for a house for months now and nothing will work, every house we find is either sold, pending, taken off the market, or has a MAJOR malfunction (i.e. a by-pass running through it). But we have asked the Lord to shut the doors if we are not supposed to go through with each house we look at and He has. So we are planning on staying here for another 6 months or so thats the plan=) Stephen's is starting our lawn care business and we are trying to figure out all the specifics of how it will work with his other job. But through all of this the Lord has been so faithful to meet our needs and if we go through a period of shortage of money I can always remember back to when we were first married. We had so little money, but no complaints here. We enjoyed the park, walks, eating on a lot less, and just watching the Lord provide for us each step of the way. And you see how little you truly do NEED. But we are committed to adopting and know the Lord has lead us here. It maybe a crazy season in our life, but who doesn't have those=) Good news is I found a notary to helpme get my license and now we can have our homestudy done ASAP!!!! The boys and I talk about what its going to be like everyday with a baby in the house and waiting to adopt him or her. What an exciting time. I hope you all will walk with us on this trip even if we are seperated by 700 miles. Lets not let distance get in the way of family. Thats all for now. Love to everyone=)

Day #1 of our journey

Well today was our very first offical day of Foster to Adopt classes. We enjoyed being able to take them with friends of ours. The classes were heart breaking to see what some kids at such a young age are forced to go through out of no fault of their own. We are planning on fostering-to-adopt a infant so many of the things we learned today really didn't apply to us but still very informative for if we chose to do an older child adoption one day. I still can't believe how the Lord has worked all of this out for us to be in this class on this journey. I prayed a long time ago...."Lord I have no clue how to even begin such a huge process, where to go, who to talk to" so I left it in His capable hands and asked Him to lead us. And low and behold at a women's tea with our church I met a new friend who had adopted a son from California and really wanted to do it again. Well that got my attention and the attention of another friend of mine who happened to be a nurse. She just happened to be on one day and got to talking with a patient who just happpened to have adopted 3 children from the state foster-to-adopt system. And she proceeded to tell my friend all about this ministry and working with the state and how much she loved them. Well when we heard about this we were so excited but I had that feeling again....like I have no clue how to do this. For me getting pregnant was easy, not much planning or much to think about. But this is a whole different ball game. But stephen and I truly know that there is a child the Lord has choosen to give to this family. I don't know how anything is going to play out at this point but I know one thing. I can rest in His hands and know 100% He is in control with out my help=) So I hope to keep this blog up-to-date as we go through the system and see what the Lord has in store for us=) We would ask that you would pray for us when you think about it. Thanks=)