I can tell already that the adoption process can be all-consuming if I allow it to be.  In my quiet moments, when the kids are napping, as I fold little child-size clothing scattered across my bed, as I close my eyes to pray, thoughts of her consume my mind.  I’m going to choose Philippians 4:8:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

I must choose to let the God of all creation consume my every thought.  I must take captive the temptation to dwell on Zoe all hours of the day.  I feel strongly in my heart that she’s already out there, growing in the womb, so I know that if I don’t take my thoughts captive, I will succumb to them and strive (by my-all-so-powerless-self) to hurry the process along, constantly fighting the temptation to make phone calls to check on ‘things’, while my heart races each and every time my phone rings.  I can’t live that way.

There’s much to be done.

We have to file our taxes in the next few weeks and pray that we get a large enough return to finish our addition and put down the $2,000 commitment fee that will be due at the adoption agency in a few weeks.  We will have updates to do for our home study.  We’re in the process of refinancing the house.  Once our addition is finished we’ll have to move all of our living room furniture into the new living room, move all of our exercise equipment and school room furniture/materials into the new school room, and last but not least, we’ll turn the school room into Zoe’s nursery.

I have total peace that we are working on God’s timetable and nothing will happen any sooner or any later than God has already planned it to happen.

I’ve been awake since 5am when Jesse woke up again with a 103 fever and splitting headache.  I’m tired.  However, I’ve gotten loads and loads of laundry done and it feels great to have a jammie day with my boys.  Looks like tomorrow will be a repeat since we won’t be carrying our germs to co-op.

~audrey

With each pregnancy after Joshua, we always picked out boy names and girl names leading up to the big ultrasound. Josh is very picky and never liked any of my girl name choices. He was always stuck on one particular name:

Zoe

In my mind, Zoe was Elmo’s friend on Sesame Street; not the name of my little girl. I never really liked it.  As we started discussing names for our daughter, I went down a long list of names with wonderful meanings.  Josh didn’t really like any of them.  He gently said,

“I still really like Zoe.”

All of our children’s names (first and middle) have significant meaning.

Joshua Nicholas: God is salvation, defender of the people

Jesse Clayton: God beholds (Clayton was my grandfather’s name)

Owen Christopher: desire born (we’d prayed for a third child and tried for over a year), Christ-bearer

I was sharing with the boys about the precious gift of adoption. I explained abortion to them and how they will have a little sister because her birth mother chose life for her baby; our baby. I had been looking up Hispanic girl names, hoping to add some of her heritage to her name. One name stood out to me and when I put it together with Zoe, I knew it was the one.

Zoe Amaris – Life promised by God

I am already aching with love for my daughter.  I can already feel her warm cheek against mine, rocking her in the still of the night; praising God that her birth mother chose life.  Speaking purpose and blessing over her even now.  What a good, good God.

I’m overwhelmed.

~audrey

What a wild weekend it has turned out to be.

I was awakened Saturday morning by a phone call from my mom.  She was in North Carolina visiting my brother and sister-in-law while my dad was in Atlanta with the Army reserves for a few days.  He’s being deployed to Iraq for three months so he was tying up lose ends and meeting some of his team for the hospital in Iraq.  Saturday morning he woke up and checked out of the hotel.  He walked outside, looked around…

His truck was GONE.  We’re not talking about a little pick-up truck with a stick shift.  This was a 2009 Ford F250 4×4.  My dad had packed the truck the night before so all he’d have to do is check out in the morning.  Therefore, his suitcase, GPS, his gun, all of his clothes, army gear, dental and medical records from 17 years in the army, all of it was gone.  When the police reviewed the surveillance tapes, they saw three men with a tool bag break into the passenger side door, break the steering wheel, hot wire the truck, and drive off in under 90 seconds.  Unbelievable.

My dad was stunned and shocked and even asked one of the officers:  There were Corvettes, BMWs, and SUVs in the parking lot, why would they want my big truck?

Surprisingly, he was told that four-wheel drive trucks are the hottest commodity on the streets of Atlanta right now.  They steal them and use them to rip out air conditioning units and strip the units for copper, they drive them into the front of convenience stores, strap a chain to the back of the truck and steal the ATM machines, then they strip the trucks and sell them to a salvage yard.  Incredible.

However, through it all, we can trace God’s hand in it and are very thankful that no one was hurt.  My dad rented a car and is back home now.  He will probably wait until he returns home from Iraq to buy another vehicle.  It is highly unlikely that his truck will be found.

We, on the other hand, spent the day outside prepping our garden area, feeding the worms (which appear to still be almost frozen), and building our chicken coop.  This is what the end result should look like.

It always amazes me that Josh can simply look at a picture and replicate it. He has built our entire 20’x20′ addition on the back of our house by himself. He should have been an architect. However, his work as a graphic designer seems to suit him just fine as well. Last night we attended the ADDY Awards. This is an awards dinner put on by the American Advertising Federation. Josh’s work won three bronze, one gold, and one of only four Best of Show awards. We are very thankful that God has blessed Josh with a good job and a boss who loves the Lord. It is surely a blessing to love your job.

And lastly, by the end of the night last night Jesse was running a 102 fever. This morning, Owen was coughing like a seal and Jesse was throwing up. I’m praying it passes quickly without any more captives.

Josh should be able to finish the coop this afternoon. My Sunday School leader called her brother who has a small farm in Aiken and he wants to GIVE us four of his hens. They’ve just finished moulting and have already resumed egg production. We’re hoping to visit his farm next weekend to pick them up.  What a blessing!

Pictures to come!

~audrey

It’s almost that time of year again!  The time of year when I pull out my charts and my spread sheets and my saved seeds and begin to plan our garden.

This is my third year gardening and I can say that I’ve never done the same thing twice…kind of like homeschooling!  Ha!

This year I actually have a garden budget and I plan to finally use the square foot garden method.  I will be utilizing two 4’x8′ beds and one 4’x6′ bed.  The 4’x6′ bed will be nothing but strawberries.  I plan to preserve 75% of my strawberries in the form of syrup and preserves.  We go through about a jar of organic strawberry spread per week at about $4/jar.  My entire bed of strawberries will only end up costing me about $10, so even if I only get three jars of preserves, it will still be worth it to me; but I’m planning for a lot more than that!

In my other two beds will be the following:

peppers

tomatoes

cabbage

sugar snap peas

basil

cilantro

green beans

celery

lettuce

cucumber

squash

canteloupe

garlic

shallots

brussel sprouts

pumpkin

watermelon

kale

beets

onions

okra

corn

and spinach

I will also be growing potatoes and carrots in five gallon buckets and I have a blackberry bush and rosemary bush in other areas of my garden.  I’m so excited to start taking my weekly pictures again.  I’m hoping to keep a better record of my successes and losses this year.

Right now, Josh and the boys are out back building the chicken coop.  I imagine once it’s built, it won’t be long until we pick up our chickens.  I’ll post pictures when they’re finished.

Just a few steps closer to our little urban homestead.

~audrey

If you haven’t discovered the blessing of Ann Voskamp, here is a video that gives us a glimpse of her new book, “One Thousand Gifts”.

~audrey

Boy, oh boy does my house need a good thorough cleaning.  I mean the whole house.  That’s what I plan to do tomorrow after my weekly group training at the canal.  Thankfully, it should be a lot warmer this weekend; up into the 50’s and sunny!

We’ve had a very nice week at home.  The twins haven’t gotten here until around 9am each day, we’ve taken our school work in small bites, and the kids have been able to play outside some every day (that makes a huge difference in my house!).

I’ll have Monday off next week because the twins’ mom doesn’t have to work, so I’m looking forward to bringing lunch to a friend who recently had her sixth baby.  I haven’t seen her in months.  Her four oldest are boys so my kids will be very excited to play with them as well.

I’m suppose to meet two of my running buddies at an indoor track in an hour and I’m going back and forth and back and forth in my head as to whether or not it makes sense for me to take all five children to an indoor track, push a double stroller, and likely get the girls down late for their naps.  But I know if I go I will be meeting my workout quota this week and it will also help me eat better for the rest of the day.  I think I’ve done well this week.  I’m hoping to see another 4 or 5lbs lost by Monday!  I need to be drinking more water.

Tomorrow will be the 15th and I’ll be posting my second Bible verse for Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team. I’ve chosen two verses that just can’t be split up.

“This you know, my beloved brethren.  But everyone must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.  For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”  James 1:19-20

Lisa Welchel, in her book Creative Correction uses part of this as her “mantra”.  The anger of Mom does not produce the righteousness of God. I always loved that!    🙂

May we all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger this weekend!

Happy Friday!

~audrey

My boys were quite disappointed to find out that, although their regular school friends got another day off today because of the snow and ice, we’ll be returning to school as usual.

I had to remind them that we took the entire month of December off and will be finished with co-op at the end of March. Or how about last week when we spent the majority of the week in our pajamas and played long games of Qwirkle when we finished school before noon.

Today, we slept in until 9:00am. Of course Joshua woke up much earlier and didn’t feel the need to wake anyone else. When I was making breakfast he came in the kitchen and said,

“When I got up earlier than everyone else, I decided to find Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands on the map in the school room.” (his georgraphy for this week)

That’s what a momma wants to hear!

Right now I’m finishing my cup of coffee and the boys are sitting at the table coloring.

I picked up a Lite-Brite for the boys for Christmas. It was only $10 at Target and it was a huge hit. I only got one, so the boys take turns with it, but Owen seems to like it the most and it’s helping him learn his letters at the same time. He can now fill in all the “O”s, “G”s, “W”s, and “Y”s by himself. We’re working on “R” for red and “V” for violet (purple).

Josh will likely work late tonight and the rest of the week to make up for their snow day yesterday. I have a roast and veggies in the crock pot and I look forward to a quiet, thought-provoking day with the boys.

P.S. I did my second 5k workout last night on the treadmill. It was much easier than the first workout. It’s amazing how quickly your body adjusts. Tonight is my favorite form of inspiration: Biggest Loser!

~audrey

We awoke this morning to 4″ of snow with the sleet still falling. The twins’ mom doesn’t have to go in to work, so she’s not bringing them, and Josh’s office is closed as well.

Everyone piled into our bed at 8:00am to watch the weather channel. Whole wheat French toast, boots, hats, gloves (or “gwubs” as Owen says it), and the kids were out the door to play in the frigid mess. I knew the continuing sleet meant it was probably pretty wet out there; not the soft powdery snow we had last year around this time. What a treat to have so much snow in Georgia in the last 18 months. And by so much, I mean two significant snow falls. 🙂 Before last year’s snow fall, the boys didn’t believe that God EVER made it snow in Georgia. They’ve been pleasantly surprised.

Josh and I were awake until 1:30am watching movies and constantly looking outside to watch the snow and wind as the winter storm finally arrived in Augusta.

Our house is quite cold. Even with the heat on 70 and space heaters in the living room and bedrooms, our 40 year old house with poor insulation, single pane windows, and badly sealed doors allow for a constant draft of cold air when you get close to any exterior walls.

It will be a wonderfully lazy day today at Wilkerson Academy. This morning, as we read all of the school closings on the news, the boys dropped their heads and said, “Man, I wish we had to drive to school so we’d have a day off!” Trust me boys, I don’t intend to have a full school day today.

I may get on the treadmill at some point to try to work out these sore legs, we’ll do some reading and prepare for co-op tomorrow, but other than that we’ll enjoy a lazy day just like the rest of Augusta.

Happy Snow Day!

~audrey

That’s all I can say after our first “group training” for the Couch to 5K this morning.

We met at 10:30am, stood around and chatted for about ten minutes, talked about the plan for a few minutes and then set off for our first “30-minute” training. HA!! Somehow 30 minutes turned into almost an hour (and over 2 1/2 miles!)! I didn’t know we were shooting for the 5K on the first day!! lol. It was a lot of run, walk, run, walk, wind, and hills!!

I felt like I was going to DIE at some points. Now I know what it must be like to give birth naturally. I have heard you get to the end and that’s when you doubt yourself and start panicking and want to give up…but you really have no choice but to finish. Yes, that’s how I felt. My shins and calves will be quite sore for the next 72 hours I assure you. I should be able to move again normally by next Saturday when we’ll do it all over again.

I have to admit though, it was a lot of fun to get back on the road with a bunch of women all aiming for the same goal. Exercising does help me make much better choices in my eating too. Who wants to come home and eat a grilled cheese or a cheeseburger when you’ve just worked your booty off for what felt like five hours!? 🙂 Clearly I’m miserably out of shape, but today marks a new beginning for sure!

When we finished training, I went to Publix and Earth Fare to get all of our produce for the next week. I came home, ate a string cheese, fixed half a turkey sandwich (no condiments or cheese) and finished it off with a pickle and huge glass of water. I’m feeling good!

Check back with me tomorrow morning when these legs have to get me out of bed! haha!

Thank you to those who have encouraged me already! Apparently it takes a village to get this girl in shape.

~audrey

I know it’s already January 7th, but I’m so excited to share this with you!

I am one of Beth Moore’s “sistahs”. Yes, it’s sisters…with some attitude. 😉 Spell check corrected it to “siestas” back in the beginning and she decided to keep it. Everyone who follows her blog is called her siesta. Beth decided to create a Siesta Scripture Memory Team. Anyone who wants to can join the team. On the first and fifteenth of each month you pick a different scripture verse to memorize. By the end of the year, we’ll have 24 new verses engraved on our hearts.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with scripture memory, just as I struggle to exercise. I have to make it a priority. My life depends on it (the exercise AND the scripture memory).

Here is the link to Beth Moore’s blog and the exact instructions if you choose to join the Siesta Scripture Memory Team. Tara was so sweet to order a Scripture Memory Team spiral for me when she ordered hers. I love it! If you decide to join in on the fun and want the cute little spiral note cards from Living Proof Ministries, you can order them here.

I decided to use one of Beth’s favorite verses for the new year as my first scripture.

“You crown the year with Your good blessings, and You leave abundance in Your wake.” Psalm 65:11, NET Bible

I’m very excited about, yet another, point of accountability this year.

Okay, right now all five kids are sitting in front of the television watching SESAME STREET! lol!! Time to get crack-a-lackin’!

Happy Friday Ya’ll!!

~audrey