Just working to FILL the chair!!!

That's how we spent our day..... working to fill this little red chair with a sweet little Ethiopian princess.

Thanks to the MANY friends and family that came out to the yard sale today and supported us. What a success!!! I am in amazement tonight at God's goodness!

More details and pictures from today, coming soon.

Bring on the guys.....

Well, since we've been featuring such cute, girly stuff, I decided we should prove to the men that we haven't left them out of the yard sale. Tonight I'll start with a few masculine items we have collected.For the man that likes biking.... we have a brand new 8 speed bike.

If he likes to camp, we have a 5 man tent.

If he's a bit of a redneck and likes to hunt like my man, then he might like this contraption. Not sure what this is but being that it's camo and made by Mossy Oak, I'm guessing you hide from deer in this thing. Lovely!

Ok... we have more guy stuff but enough of that....

How cute is this little rocker/baby bed combo?! It's hand painted and just adorable.

More girly.... we have a few outfits made just like this one. This one is brown with white polka dots and the pants are a brown background.

Lots of quality baby toys, including these two. Like new and very well priced.

Looking for a stroller? We have about every kind you can think of... single, double, umbrella or jogging.

We have lots of nice housewares... this Holiday entertaining set is brand new... never been out of the box.

We have many things to ride.... like this pretty cool trike/bike thing.

Or this super prissy scooter! This is a very glamorous way for a little lady to travel. This electric scooter is made by Razor and called the "bella".... it comes with a helmet. Is anyone else thinking, Legally Blonde? :)

Ok so tonight I'm leaving you with the item I'm praying the hardest to sell. Our older kids will be raising their own money for their plane tickets to Ethiopia. They are so excited about traveling with us and are coming up with very creative ways to raise their money. Today Dallas asked how much his plane ticket would cost. When I told him how much, he said, "this should almost do it".

Come on Lord, bring him a buyer! This boy needs to go to Ethiopia to love on his baby sister. Please pray this bike finds a new owner this week-end!

Only one more day to prepare..... folks this is hard work. Who knew a yard sale would be so time consuming? We are worn out around this house physically and drained emotionally from the sad, devastation of our state. Tonight we went out to buy waters and Costco was completely OUT. And, people were buying $1000. generators like hot cakes..... We covet your prayers for the people of our state.

I've got Beth Moore's coat!!!

Well, not exactly a coat that Beth has worn but just hang on and you'll understand. Today's yard sale featured items are mostly "girly" but that would be because my very girly, girlfriend donated most of them. Y'all know I'm a bit girly myself so I'm having to hold myself back from hiding these things in my closet.

BTW, our yard sale is this Saturday, May 30th at 2116 Woods Trace in Hoover. The sale starts at 7:00a.m.

Introducing today's featured items:

We have two almost brand new plasmacars. Great shape and provides a lot of fun!

If you have girls then you know about some Groovy Girls! This set is amazing! Price tags are still on some pieces. EVERY doll and piece of furniture appears brand new.

We have several pairs of little girl PJs.... these are two of my favorites (these are both size 8-10).

OK, do you LOVE this or what? Very cute and girly!

This little top is very cute for summer... barely ever worn.

If these don't sell, they will be on my feet. All of these are name brand and in excellent condition. Actually, this is just a few..... my girly girlfriend donated so many shoes that I know she will need to come to the sale barefoot ; )

This cute top is from Ann Taylor Loft....

We also have tons of purses. These two are very large and fun. Don't look like they've ever been used.

Both of these purses have matching wallets. The one on the left is Brighton.

Love this bag. It's a large Dolce & Gabbana. If you want this you better claim it quick.... before my mama gets to the sale.

Hey Beth... could you swing by our yard sale Saturday? I got you a coat!

I know she probably won't have time to stop by but seriously.... does this coat scream "Beth Moore" or what?! Oh well, if you like Beth.... come buy this coat please!

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. More items to come tomorrow.

On a very serious note, today has been a devastating weather day in our neck of the woods. Many have lost their homes and way too many have lost loved ones.... please be in prayer for these families.

Today's Featured Items!!!!!

Well, another day spent doing the same thing... pricing, sorting, organizing and cleaning.... and the stuff keeps coming. Academically we are failing this week but I am having the sweetest time with my kids. They are having so much fun putting this sale together to help us get closer to the goal of bringing home their little sister. All of a sudden, they don't mind cleaning other people's stuff, and sorting through boxes of housewares. They even get in on the pricing, telling me how much they think something is worth.

I also owe a huge thank you to my sweet mama and S-I-L Sonia for coming over today and helping me. Now my girlfriend Carol just called and offered to come help tomorrow.... Thank you Jesus, I'm not turning anybody away. Bring it!!!

Anyhow, here is today's featured items..... this is good stuff y'all!

Little girl's beautiful, light pink, designer coat. Perfect condition!

Couple of cowboys and a poodle... these are adorable dress up costumes with all matching accessories.

Yes... we do have something for your man. These are 3 of MANY Hilfiger shirts. All in great condition. We also have a lot of button down shirts, all designer brands.

For the linen lover... we have dresses and pants. For the cotton sundress lover, come on... we've got the sundresses!

Looking for something a little dressy casual.... we've got some sparkle and fun! All three of these coats look great but I especially love the white one in the middle. If someone doesn't claim it quick, I might be making a purchase ; )

Like Vera Bradley? We got that too.... this piece is brand new.

Need a Guitar Hero set? This one is in mint condition. I know this is calling somebody's name.

Ok.... how cute is that?!! No way it's going to last. I sure hope some little girls about to get a brand new dresser decked out in zebra print knobs.

Last item for the night.... This is a deal right here. If you've ever bought much Thomas the Tank stuff, you know how expensive it is. This table is in great shape with two drawers underneath. It comes with a drawer full of tracks, buildings, extra pieces and trains. This could keep a little guy happy for hours.

To the people who have donated these featured items.... THANK YOU! This is orphan care!

Sneak peak at our yard sale items!!!!

There will be very little school going on around this house this week..... we got better things to do. Like sort, price and organize yard sale items. This Saturday is our adoption fundraiser yard sale and we are so excited. This is not your average, "we cleaned the junk out of our basement" kind of sale. Friends and family have been donating items for the past month. We asked for "quality" items and that's exactly what we got. Our adoption supportive friends and family absolutely rock! I plan to share a few items here on the blog all week so those of you who are local can get an idea of the kind of things we have for sale.

The sale will be this Saturday, April 30 starting at 7:00. Our sweet friends who live in a very busy neighborhood are letting us use their yard.... come shop with us Saturday morning at 2116 Woods Trace, Hoover.

Ok, so here's just a few of the items........

This Coach purse is brand new and has the registration card inside.Another brand new item.... this cross picture is in a beautiful frame and never been unpackaged. These two pieces are very pretty, but clearly, I don't know how to use my camera very well. The lighting stinks so the stone colors don't show up wellThis frame is very large and also brand new. Beautiful for a sweet baby boy's picture.Here is a Pottery Barn crib quilt with matching pillow. Perfect condition and absolutely adorable!This is a 3 pillow set from Pottery Barn. We also have 2 Pottery Barn solid pink twin size quilts as well as 2 Pottery Barn twin size quilts that are a white background with flowers. I will try to photograph those later in the week.

Brand new size 3/4 animal print skirt with small black belt. Very FUN!And if you love animal print, we also have shoes.... these are both size 6.5. These may have been worn once, but they appear to be brand new.

Ok, so that's all for tonight... I'm pooped and heading to bed so we can get up tomorrow and start pricing again. : ) I will continue to post these great treasures as I find them. We have tons of clothes and since we asked people for "quality" things, we got really nice clothes. Lots of designer brands! Also, we have several big ticket things like a leather sofa, an entertainment center and an iron, full size bed that is very pretty.

If you live in or around Birmingham, please help us put the word out. God has provided the stuff, now we just need Him to provide the shoppers. Thanks friends!

DO this in remembrance of me

I've anticipated today, Good Friday, all week. I love this day. Though it was the saddest day in all of history, it's the day that represents grace and mercy for all believers.... including myself. Praise God that He chose me!

As I prayed about spending today reflecting on what my Savior did for me on this day, God gave me a scripture and some teaching that I have been feasting on this morning. It is so appropriate at this time in my life and I'm certain that many others feel the same.

"The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; DO (emphasis added) this in remembrance of me'." 1 Corinthians 11:23-24

Of course we hear these scriptures every time we take communion. Please tell me that at some point you said, "what in the world does 'Do this' mean"? Does it mean drink this juice and eat this cracker while you remember what I did for you? Yes, BUT I always knew there had to be more to it than that. Could "Do this in remembrance of me" mean a continuous action? I think so....listen to what Jan Hatmaker reveals about those verses in her book, Interrupted.

"Communion is more than a memory, more than a reverent moment when we recall Jesus' mercy mission with tangible, physical action since it was a tangible, physical sacrifice..... Not only was communion a symbolic ritual, it was a new prototype of discipleship. 'Continuously make My sacrifice real by doing this very thing.' Become broken and poured out for hopeless people. Become living offering, denying yourself for the salvation and restoration of humanity. Obedience to Jesus' command is more than looking backward; it's a present and continuous replication of His sacrifice. We don't simply remember the meal, we BECOME the meal."

I am focusing on this idea today as I remember Christ's sacrifice on the cross. I'm praying that I won't be content with just remembering the meal (though very important) but that I will be the meal for the hopeless; and through that, the hopeless won't see me but will see the Savior and find hope in HIM! We can rejoice in this day because we know why it's called, Good Friday.... because Sunday is coming!

Turn down my music and enjoy one of my favorite videos of all time.....It's Friday!

Ordinary Update!

Ordinary Hero Dinner update that is : ) I promised and I am determined to get this post done before my head hits the pillow tonight.

So, last week our sweet friends Jodie and Eric headed to Nashville with us to attend a benefit dinner for one of my very favorite organizations, Ordinary Hero. We looked forward to this for several weeks and it was everything we hoped it would be. The dinner was great, the speakers were very inspiring, my crazy hubby bid on a Toby Mac autographed guitar and won it (more on that later), we got some really cool new t-shirts, but the highlight of our night was getting to sit down and chat with Kelly, the founder of Ordinary Hero. She was every bit as beautiful in person but it was her heart that I admired so much. This woman is being the hands and feet of Jesus.... a true servant's heart.

Last year I mentioned in a post that you can read HERE, how Shawn and I dreamed of having an organization similar to Ordinary Hero. For about two years now we have had many conversations about the things we would like to do with our time, our resources and our lives. The only problem was, we didn't really know how to do what we really wanted to do. Basically, we knew where we wanted to be, we just didn't know how to get there. That's when we we received a dinner invitation from Jodie and Eric that would change our lives forever. We shared our heart's desire for ministry and they shared theirs. Basically, God had laid the same exact desires on our hearts..... the only difference, they actually knew how to execute a plan to put these dreams into motion. Thank God that He didn't provide us with the brains to know what to do... our ignorance just gifted us with an amazing set of friends that we might have missed out on all together.

Anyhow, we have spent the past few months sharing dreams and brainstorming ideas. Setting short term and long term goals. Building vision statements and mission statements (well that was mostly J and E, because remember their the smart ones). Going to meetings to share our vision and seek wisdom from several mentors that we admire and respect. And most of all, we've been doing lots of praying!

So, the purpose of us going to the OH dinner was to steal, I mean borrow, some wisdom from them. And of course, we also love to support their amazing ministry any time we get a chance.

Here are a few pictures from our very exciting night. (Jodie and I were trying to keep our cool, but we totally thought we were at a celebrity dinner)

This is Jodie and her sweet husband, Eric.

This is me and Shawn wearing clothes that we usually only wear to weddings and funerals..... this was so much fun! I didn't even have spit up or snot on my dress.

I'm not sure if our men were just as happy as we were to be there, or if they had some kind of inside joke going on... they just look like they been up to something to me.

Both of our oldest kids play guitar and love Toby Mac, so we knew we had to bid on this guitar in the silent auction. Well, we won! This is just funny because we came to this dinner to learn more about caring for orphans and first we won a guitar and then look who we met.....

Country singer Brian White and his actress wife, Erica. See I told you this was a celebrity dinner.... and they were two of the speakers. And yes, my cowboy has his guitar hanging on his shoulder in this picture.

And here's the real celebrity, Mrs. Ordinary Hero, Kelly Putty. After the dinner was over and she had graciously talked with pretty much everyone there (250 folks), she sat down in the back corner and poured out lots of advice to us. Wow, our heads were full but let me tell you, it's a wonder we even slept, we were so pumped about all that we had learned. If you are not familiar with Ordinary Hero, please check them out HERE. They advocate for children all around the world and they are changing lives ..... one person at a time. Thank you Kelly for your investment in the lives of others, including the four of us. : )

So, the big question.... where are we in all of this? Still brainstorming, seeking guidance and praying. But, we are on the move. We will hopefully be a legalized non profit organization in just a few short weeks and at that point we will begin sharing our vision more publicly. We are establishing relationships with ministries that we hope to partner with and we are laying out plans for some new things that we are really excited about. Our main focus will be on advocating for orphans. We hope to educate on caring for orphans and adoption, which is one form of orphan care. Our main objective is to bring justice to those in need, on a local level, as well as globally. BUT, we aren't capable of doing this on our own, and wouldn't prefer it that way if we could. That's why we will need YOU to join forces with us. I've said many times lately, the number of orphans, widows, and the least of these is so great that in order to bring them justice the church will have to link arms and go in together to wage war for them. It's time..... are YOU ready? Please pray for our organization and I will keep you updated in the upcoming months. We hope to have a blog up and running very soon and then we can share ways for others to get involved.

In a few weeks I will share our scripture inspiration for the name of our ministry and all the bird emphasis around our lives lately will make much more sense.... until then.... tweet, tweet!

His Little Feet Choir

I first saw this video below when my friend Jodie sent it to me last week. I later received an e-mail from my adoption agency sharing more about these precious boys and girls. Check out the website for His Little Feet Choir and then turn down my music and watch the video.

A tip from How We Roll: I get asked all the time, what I do with my little kids while I homeschool the older ones. I am preparing some tips for this question but thought I'd go ahead and throw this out. On the morning that I first watched this video, Cross heard it and came running to my computer. He then wanted to watch it over and over. I bet he watched this video a dozen times while I did school that morning. So there you go, somedays little ones watch youtube videos while I teach. ; )

This just made our night!!!

We carried our older kids and twins to see Soul Surfer tonight. If you get a chance, go see it. You will be inspired by the courage of this young girl. Our oldest daughter has always loved Jeremiah 29:11 and even has it painted on a canvas in her room. I loved that this story was centered around this verse. A family favorite around here.... the verse and the movie!

(pause my music at the bottom, then watch the trailer for the film)

BTW, I have not forgotten to post about the Ordinary Hero dinner..... it's been a busy week. Post coming this week-end, promise!

Birthdays Galore!!!

Wondering where we've been? I've been MIA in blogland while planning, hosting and recovering from a sleep over birthday party... actually, make that TWO sleep over birthday parties. Dallas and Maggie were born on the same day, three years apart. How crazy is that?! Anybody else have that in your family? When we had five kids, we only had three birthdays because obviously the twins shared a birthday and so did Mag and Dallas and then Lexie had her own special day. We loved that Dallas got a baby sister for his 3rd birthday but it makes for lots of partying in March.

Well, this was a big year for both of our March babies. Dallas turned 13.... wow, we now have two teenagers, and Maggie turned 10. They both wanted sleep overs and this party loving mama couldn't say NO. I do love planning the kids birthday parties and making it very special for them. We try to make a big deal over birthdays because when you have 7 (almost 8) kids, you just can't make a big deal over each one of them on other holidays. I'm realizing that is a blessing in disguise.

Party number ONE consisted of 10 boys, bowling, 6 pizzas, lots of pitchers of coke, and ice cream cake. I'm not sure what time they went to bed all I know is that the problem was not keeping them quiet, it was keeping them in the house. Why in the world do teenage boys think it is fun to go outside and run around in the woods at midnight? Makes me scared just to think about it.

These are 10 of the most amazing young men of God that I know. They were all so polite and well behaved. The next morning we all got up very early, they showered (thank the Lord) and we all loaded up and headed to a kid's outreach event at our church, Christ City Church. These boys spent the day sharing the love of Jesus with inner city children.

Instead of gifts, Dallas asked his buddies to bring a can of baby formula for us to send to the babies at Drawn From Water, in Ethiopia. How awesome is this?

This is Dallas with his cousin and constant companion, Mason.I'm his mama so I have the right to brag and I'm going to. This is one incredible 13 year old young man. I say all the time how he is going to make some lucky girl an amazing husband one day if I ever let him go. Since he was just a baby, I have prayed that he would grow up to become a preacher. Now he knows that because I pray it out loud over him but just last night as we were sitting in the den he said, "I've been thinking a lot lately about when I grow up".... I asked what he meant and he said, "I want to be a preacher". I don't think I have to explain what that does to this mama's heart. I don't know the plans God has for His life but from the preview I'm getting, I'm betting it will be something HUGE!

Happy Birthday Son..... we love you very much!

Party number TWO..... 10 girls, Johnny Rockets, cookie cake, and lots of games. These girls know how to do some talking. Our van sounded like a school bus full of sugared up girls on the way home. They had so much fun. They played every game they knew and then made up new ones. We heard WAY TOO MUCH Justin Bieber,

and enough giggling to last a year. They danced, jumped on the trampoline and kept us laughing all night and day.

When you homeschool, you pray really hard for God to bring wonderful friends into your kids lives and He has always been so faithful to do that for our children. Look at these precious girlfriends that He has blessed Maggie with.

This year she asked for a cookie cake and it was a big hit. Not a bite left!

Maggie also asked her friends not to bring gifts for her and instead to give one of their gently worn outfits to be sent to the transition home in Ethiopia where our baby girl will live while she waits for us to come and get her. We have been told that the home is in great need of clothes for the older kids and this seemed like a great opportunity to provide some clothes for them. We will be packing these clothes up and sending them to Ethiopia in just a few weeks with friends of ours who are going to pick up their son.

I'm not sure how well you can see the clothes but this is a picture I took of the girls surrounding all the outfits spread out on the floor. It's a big box full! These girls were so excited to know that they were providing a young girl about their age with a brand new outfit to wear. I love the cheerful heart of a giving child and here's a picture of 10 of them.

Please let me offer a disclaimer before making this next statement..... all of my children do not have giving, selfless hearts that would rather do for others than do for themselves. I'm not calling names but they are little and extremely cute;).

Now for the statement. If you know Maggie at all, you'll agree with this. I have never seen a child as giving as my sweet Mags. She truly thinks it is better to give than receive. She has the heart of a servant and always puts herself last. She asked me at least a dozen times a day, what she can do to help me. She dreams of being a full time missionary and has since she was very young. She often speaks about when she is grown and on the mission field. This probably frightens those of you who would work five jobs to put your kids through college but I've heard her say many times, "I probably won't go to college because I don't need a college degree to be able to tell others about Jesus and that's what I'm going to do". Yes, she's 10 and we will encourage her to obtain plenty of education for her future but I also know that God has a calling on her life that she is tuning in to at the tender age of 10. As hard as it is for a mama to pray this, I do ask the Lord regularly to scatter my children all over the world as they go and make disciples of ALL nations. Is there really anything more important that they could do? I don't believe so!

Sweet Mags, we are so proud of you and I pray that I some day have a heart as big as yours. Happy Birthday Darling!

Well, two parties down and I'm still worn out. I need about a 12 hour night sleep but I can't... I got better things to do. Like what? I'm so glad you asked.... my hubby and I, along with some dear friends are headed to the Ordinary Hero dinner in a couple of days. We are so excited.... I will be sharing details when we get back. Just a hint.... their is a tie in to the "bird" I mentioned in my last post.

Then guess what we are doing this week-end.... another birthday party! But not a sleep over this time. Cross is about to turn 3 and he don't know it yet, but he's having a laid back, chillin kind of birthday party. As long as he gets a cake with dirt bikes on it, he'll be happy. I think I can handle that! : )