...And In With The New!

The plans we have for this new year are BIG!

We hope to expand our family by doubling the number of children we have through adoption. We are so close to having completed all of our paperwork so that we can seriously begin to look forward to meeting our new kids. That will still be months away but soon, very soon we may have a file of the children God intends for us to love unconditionally as our sons and daughters.


How exciting!!!


I hope your New Year is going off with as much of a bang as ours is. Lots of anticipation, and hope, and dreams to be realised.

May God bless you greatly this year!

Mumzy

Out with the old...

We had more changes this past year. Our world never seems to stay the same for long!

Papa Bear began serving as a Pastor.

Jelly Beans started university.

Wiggles trained and became a volunteer at the Pregnancy Centre.

Kiwi Boy qualified for a new level of swimming.

Mumzy? Well Mumzy struggled with her children all becoming older, wiser, and in Kiwi Boy's case, taller... much taller!
(He is now taller than me and catching up to his father, and he is still only 12!)

Summer 2012
 

Fall 2013

I just thank God that He was there through it all. The low times and the high times. Without Him guiding us on the exact path He has for us we would all be sitting around getting bored, and fat, and lazy.

I hope you all had a great year filled with wonderful memories!

Mumzy

John 1:14

Hi guys!!! I just wanted to share this verse with you all on this lovely day.


John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."


So in this time of year when we start to collect all of the Christmas decorations to put back in the box for next year let us not forget why we celebrated.



Thanks and GOD Bless!!!!
~Wiggles

Blessings

Do we ever give thanks for our blessings?

Truly give thanks?

This past week a great many people were in the dark as they tried to celebrate Christmas because of snow and freezing rain storms. This led to massive amounts of people having no power from Ontario to the Atlantic coast. Still thousands are without power tonight, and to many this also means no heat, and a great deal of discomfort.

Yet do we count our blessings, or do we always see what we do not have and compare what others have and ask why we don't have the same?

Perhaps we all need to say a prayer for those in distress, and note just how many blessings we have to be grateful for.

May you wake up in the morning and see a beautiful sunrise and remember to be thankful that you got to see it.

Papa Bear

Calendar Quote Number 2

God is looking for ordinary people empowered by Him to do extraordinary things!  Unknown

 

 

 

 

Wiggles has let God use her mightily

 since she chose Him to be Lord of her life.

 

From...

 

 

...loving AIDs orphans in Zambia

with Teen Missions International...

 

 

 

...leading Sunday School classes...

 

 

...and presenting at Vacation Bible Camps

and other youth events...

 

 

...to volunteering at and presenting

 for the local Pregnancy Centre.

 

 

 

 

She is willing to use the talents God gave her

 at the drop of a hat to bless others.

 

 

You truly are doing extraordinary things Wiggles!

I am very proud of you.

 

Mumzy

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Wonderland

Wiggles and I went for a wonderful but cold walk today with my camera.

These are some of the results...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Lord for placing us in a very beautiful spot!

 

 

 

Mumzy

 

 



 

Christmas Calendars

Over the last few years we have made calendars for Christmas presents. Some people receive more personal ones and others receive a generic calendar. But no matter what form we give they have been well thought through and require lots of  time and effort to produce.

Each calendar is like a scrapbook of the past year or contain meaningful words with corresponding photos. This year Jelly Beans searched out quotes and chose photos to match.

One of my favourite quotes for this year is...

 

Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

William Shakespeare

Maybe it's the photo but I really love that one!

Mumzy

~~~ Merry Christmas!~~~

From all of us

 

 

 

Christmas is coming!

It is Christmas Eve.

Some of our friends on the other side of the world are enjoying a BBQ on the beach as they celebrate the birth of Jesus. While over here there has been a freezing rain/ice storm and power outages.

But the excitement is the same!

Will we get some sleep or will the children "decide" we have had enough sleep and it is time to open the gifts? I am thinking that there will likely be less sleep than desired.

Wherever you are may you be blessed this Christmas with knowing that God loved you so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, so that we could have life, and life abundantly.

Merry Christmas!

Papa Bear

He is the Light

Today we taught our last Children's Church class at the church we have been attending since immigrating to Canada. It was a snowy/freezing rain kind of day so we didn't have many littlies to celebrate with. What we did do was have fun.

We watched a short video about Jesus's birth and how God chose the lowest of their culture, the shepherds, to share His Good News and excitement with.

We focused on Luke 2:32, Jesus is a light to be given.

So we decorated LED candles with sparkle stickers. They took these home so they could remember and tell others that Jesus is the light of the world.

We are all going to really miss watching the children grow and mature in their knowledge and love for Jesus!

Mumzy

God is Good

We serve a mighty God!!!

He has heard our prayers and given what we asked for.

Grace of God and her Mummy are home for Christmas!

Thank you for all of your prayers.

Mumzy

Are we grateful?

Do you ever stop and think of all the blessings that you have?

Sometimes I go through my day in such a hurry, not thinking about what a blessed life I am enjoying.

Yes life is very busy, there are so many things on the go, yet we need to stop and smell the roses. Stopping to think about the little things that mean so much really can add a splash of excitement to things that we need to get done.

I was digging my way to the chicken house today, as the snow is a good three odd feet deep. Doing my best to make a "road" out to them. I was only focusing on the hard work, wondering why we have chickens anyway.

And I almost missed the beautiful Bald Eagle that flew low level overhead looking at what the "silly" human was doing. Perhaps he was thinking that I was going to get a chicken for his dinner. I had almost missed the best part of working outside in the crisp winter air.

Perhaps more of the things we do, can mean so much more, by just lifting our head and seeing what blessings are all around us.

Papa Bear

Adoption Update

Going through the process to hopefully (nothing is guaranteed!) grow our family through adoption is seemingly never ending.

We have wonderful friends in New Zealand who are gathering all of our NZ documents and sending them on to be legalised.

The only problem now is that New Zealand goes on holiday (vacation) from now until the end of January. It is their summer time after all and who wants to miss out on all that sunshine! 

Hopefully someone will be in the government office and can process our documents before too long.

Back in Canada we are just waiting for Jessica's police check as the final document here.

But don't begin to get too excited, we still have a very long way to go.

First we have to be accepted by the Lithuanian authorities, and then the children have to be approved for us by the Canadian authorities. Before we can even begin to think about getting excited.

But things are moving!

Our Homestudy and Letter of Approval were sent on to Lithuania today. This makes us eligible to begin looking at possible children.

Slow down...

Take a breather...

This just means we can show an interest in a particular sibling group. Our file will then be collected with the 20 (or 10, or 5) other families from around the world interested in that same sibling group. From there Lithuania will choose the most suitable family and that family will be allowed to make further inquiries.

If we don't get chosen we have to wait and begin the process all over again when Lithuania releases the next list of children available for international adoption.

And so it goes on and on!

Mumzy

Snowed In... And Freezing Cold!

Poor Papa Bear... He hates the heat and humidity. It was +30C when he was in New Zealand just days ago. Hot and humid!

But we have cooled him off. When we went grocery shopping yesterday it was -20C, and that is without the wind chill!

Today we have had another very snowy day. Waist deep on Papa Bear in places. Like on the way to the barn to feed the chickens... And on the way to gather the fire wood...

Thank you Papa Bear for keeping us warm and safe... And for doing all the outside chores... Our fingers, and toes, and noses, and cheeks appreciate it!

Mumzy

She is growing!

Grace of God is doing really well! She is out of the incubator and in her Mummy's arms. Off all the monitors and slowly putting on weight, gram by gram. Pray with me that she gains quickly and can come home for Christmas! Even having her at the local hospital would allow her family to share in the Christmas joy of having her near. 

From this...

To this...

 

 

Isn't she looking beautiful?

 

 

Keep growing Grace of God,

you are well loved!

 

 

Mumzy

 

 

Papa Bear is Home!!!!

He walked in the door at 5:45 this morning

while we were all still asleep.

Delays and cancelled fights did not hold God back

from answering our prayers. 

International sized planes and snowplows got him through

the first real storm of the winter.

And home to bed!

Mumzy

...A Window to the World...

I find that whenever I think of what I shall be doing in 10 years I feel confused, and at a loss for inspiration, and a plan. But of late that has not been the case... In my thoughts of the future I am beginning see a game plan. One that I never really had the gumption to bring out of the depths of my mind. You see, when it comes to me I love to do the things that no one else does. At least the things that the average person wouldn't do. Things that are out there, for our culture today. But what has been brought to my attention is something that is very much a thing of this world and culture. It is in my mind the thing that our very world is based around. It is one thing that reflects someone's sexuality, as well as their moods. It is at the heart of the life defining image. It is...

 

Fashion

 

It is said that the eyes are the window to someone's soul.

 

Now if that is true of the eyes. I think that the same is true with saying that, fashion is the doorway to one's attitude of the world. To their inner most being. To all those things that they try to hide so deep inside.

 

With this in mind I have made it my intent to become a fashion designer. A fashion designer who's life's work will be glorifying to God.

 

 So what do you think?

 

 

Thanks and GOD Bless!!!!

 ~Wiggles

 

 

 

The Protectors of Princesses

I have fantabulous news!!!! Papa Bear starts His journey home today!! YAY!! Can't wait till Monday when he gets home!!!



I want to thank all the Dads out there for being so very awesome!! Thank you for being the Protectors of Princesses and the Kind Kings of  Knights.


Thanks and GOD Bless!!
~Wiggles

My Favorite Christmas Time Treat

Today it snowed by the shovel full.



Coming inside freezing cold makes you want to drink something hot and comforting.

Something like......a Candy Cane Hot Chocolate!

Canada's coffee franchise makes a really good candy cane hot chocolate and I was determined to make some here at home.

So I crunched up candy canes and added a teaspoon full to my regular hot chocolate mix.

It tasted awesome!!! I am definitely going to make it again!







I recommend you try it! Come on, I dare you! :)

Jelly Beans 
 

Self Esteem Part 3

Hi guys, sorry that it took me so very long to write the 3rd part to this series. But better late than never, right.

 Self Esteem = Image

 

 

 

 

For the third and final instalment of this series I have decided to talk about how the Expectations of Others effect our self esteem.


When people describe someone they not only include what they look like, and who they hang out with, they also describe what their achievements are. They may also include the expectations they have for that person, stating their very own preconceived notions about them.


If you had 4 Sallys in your grade, you may refer to one as the Popular Sally, one as the Plain Sally, one as the Sporty Sally, and one as the Smart Sally. In that list the Sallys are all described by your  most prominent preconceived notion of who they are. However, 5 years down the track Plain Sally might not be so plain anymore, and Sporty Sally might be more into her science fiction movies. But our notions or image of them doesn't always change with them.

We are often described by other's first impressions. As I have said before, what others say or don't say has a very large effect on our self esteem.

But wasn't this post supposed to be about how other people's expectations effect our self esteem. Well it still is, you see the expectations that others have of us are fueled by their first impressions.

Most people make known their expectations of us. Since we are people who aim to please, we automatically alter ourselves (or at least start second guessing our own goals and priorities) in such a way that fits their expectations.


But we do not need to do so, as long as we are trying our best to follow God's will, because in 2 Timothy 2:21 it says,

"Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonourable, he will be a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."

In this verse we are told that no matter what our past is The Lord, in all His goodness, and love, can cleanse us from all our wrongs and use us to glorify Him in ways that are yet unknown to ourselves.

Remember that you are an amazing creation of God and that He has a wonderful plan for you. He wants to use you in such amazing ways!


Thanks and God bless!!!
~Wiggles

P.S. Here are the links to Part One and Part Two of this Self Esteem Series:               Self Esteem Part 1

                                      Self Esteem Part 2