2 week update

It has been 2 weeks since we adopted. Overall, the adjustment has gone quite well. Elijah, Faith and Mercy are continuing on at the missionary school, and I have begun some preliminary homeschooling with Polita and Nthabeleng. It is good to have a routine, but I am a little bummed that we had missed so much school during furlough, so I couldn't have them stay home for a week or two just to get time to know their new sisters better. It is really neat to see some of their similarities as they get to know each other better. Polita and Mercy do not mind cold water for swimming, but Faith and Nthabeleng did not like the cold pool AT ALL!! Mercy, Polita and Nthabeleng really love the Buddy movies (5 golden retriever puppy movies and we have 4 of them). Elijah and I made some homemade play dough and all of them enjoy making things with play dough. Mercy is running a restaurant today and Polita and I are ordering food from her little menu! Good times!
We are figuring out health stuff as there have been fevers, a sore tummy and a skin rash in the last week with Polita and Nthabeleng. Having a language barrier makes a lot of things a guessing game, but we have managed our way through most of our problems. As sad as it is for them not to be feeling well, it is a good way to get some extra cuddle time. Although, I will like cuddling more when it isn't 95 degrees in my house. I went to the store for some different skin care products today as the skin rash has become quite annoying for my littlest one, and I hope it helps. I am trying to avoid Vaseline as I feel like it clogs pores, but we will see what her skin decides.
I enjoy my days with the girls, but I am also missing everyone at Beautiful Gate. I am their primary caregiver so I need to stay clear of BG for a while in order to help their bond grow with us as well as to help the older kids not get too jealous as they wait for the day they get adopted. Our adoption ceremony will be next Thursday, and so I will get to sneak back on campus for a day.
Tomorrow is Faith's 11th birthday, so we will be having a few friends over for a birthday party. I hope that having a birthday party for their sister will not overwhelm Polita and Nthabeleng. I imagine it will feel a bit strange to see her opening presents, but hopefully they will understand better once their birthdays come along. I got them both a tiny little gift so hopefully that helps, besides not seeing Elijah or Mercy get presents :) So I guess I am saying 2 weeks in and we are doing well, and they haven't fired me yet as a mother.

Family of 7

Well, I am pretty sure that you all know why I have not written in a week. Our lives have completely changed and we are settling in to a new routine. We are the luckiest family in the whole world to have been blessed with 2 amazing little girls. They have been great as they have tried to figure out how they fit into our family. They sleep well, eat well, and play well (beyond normal sibling stuff). We have had a few very heartbreaking moments with many tears or misunderstandings, but we also know that is totally normal. It helps for me to remind the kids how crazy it would be if they suddenly moved in with one of our staff. Yes, on the surface they know our staff, but to move in with them, eat their food, figure out their rules and such, it would be so hard. That makes us all a bit more compassionate, when we can walk a moment in their shoes.
We are on day 6, and I can tell you that today was the first day that we felt like a family. The girls have been really shy around Bryan and Elijah, but today felt more comfortable and less shy. I praise God for that! We played in the sprinkler, ate dinner outside, had some tickle fights, and then played soccer. We were all smiling and laughing and it felt sooooooo good. I know that our journey will have many ups and downs as we figure each other out, but today was a very good day and I thought since I have the energy, today would be a good day to write too!!! Sorry for those of you who have been dying to hear from me, but I have been going to sleep as soon as my last kid heads to bed so no writing. :)

Day two when Polita and Nthabeleng found new clothes and headbands to try on.

Day 4 We all had some fun running through the sprinkler together, YEAH!!!

Day 4 Nthabeleng will only go through water with a helper :)

Day 6 We had a great time playing soccer and Faith was so excited after each kick the girls made, she got them all excited. Enough that Polita let me through her in the air which is something she never let me do at BG!!!!

Day 6 Little does she know that Mommy is about to throw her in the air too, but I know she likes it ;)

The Secret is OUT!!!!!!

I am writing this today (Monday), but I will probably not be posting this until tomorrow. I have been keeping a VERY BIG secret for a long time and finally, I can share. We are adopting!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are going to be adopting 2 beautiful little girls ages 7 and 5, and they are joining our family this week. Our court order came out on November 24th while we were on furlough, and now that we are back, we get to be a family. I have been having a hard time not talking about it, so I feel like that may be one reason for less blog posts lately.


We have talked about adoption for many years, and after our last furlough, we spent more time praying about God's timing and plan. God surprised us with His answer and we are thrilled about opening our hearts and our home to two precious little girls. My kids are thrilled and one of the best parts is that they are already good friends because they live at Beautiful Gate.

We moved off campus last year to finalize things for our home study because we may not live on campus and adopt because it would cause too much confusion for the girls (I completely understand that rule). So we are going to be spending a lot of quality time together as a family of 7 for the next month in hopes of helping them feel welcome and loved by their new forever family. It is crazy to be writing that about myself this time instead of everyone else who has come through Beautiful Gate!


Elijah, Faith and Mercy have been amazing through this process, and we have had some amazing heart to heart conversations. We all know that there are good and hard things that will be coming our way as we get to know our daughters/sisters, and their hearts are very open. When asked about their biggest fears they have been saying things like being afraid of not being a good example or worrying about the girls not knowing God. At their age, I may have worried about not having my own space or having to share with siblings who might break my stuff :) They have been praying for their sisters for awhile now and the things they say brings tears to my eyes (I should write them down for the days when the 5 of them are making each other crazy, hahaha). I am so humbled that the Lord would allow me to be the mother of 5 kids (and honestly, a little afraid too), and I am looking forward to this next step in our family.
I remember rejoicing when a child was adopted because it was their last night as an orphan and I am rejoicing with my whole heart that I can make that dream come true for two children. I will get to tuck them in, sing them songs, play countless games of duck -duck -goose (their favorite currently), hold them when they cry because they miss their moms (biological and BG mom), teach them to swim, teach them to know God, hold their hand when they are scared, give them space when they push me away, but be there when they need me back, and so much more. God willing, these two precious girls will never be orphans again! This is the best, most exciting, and most terrifying week because this is when all the dreaming and imagining go away, and the real begins. Thank you friends and family for your faithful support, and for your continued prayers for us all as we transition into a family of 7!

Going home to Lesotho!

We leave tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!! Back to Lesotho!!!!! Yeah! So I am a little excited to get back to Beautiful Gate and see everyone in Lesotho again. I can't believe how much I miss everyone after only 9 weeks, but I do miss them. Sometimes I see posts from our volunteers and my heart actually hurts to be away from the kids and staff. They are such a part of our lives that it feels incomplete without them around. I know that we are really going to miss our friends and family here, but I am ready to get back (no offense to all of you, most of you know my heart and why I long to be back in Lesotho). I remember thinking that 5 years was going to be an eternity and now I am thinking that 2 years is going to FLY by. There is so much more I want to do, people I want to be with and hearts I want to touch before my time is up. I have this strange sense of urgency, and I want to make every moment count while I am there.


On Sunday, our church took some time and prayed over us. I felt so honored to be able to be sent as a representative of our church. So many friends and family support us and have put their trust in us and it is an honor (also a little scary at times because it is a BIG calling). At the end of the prayer time, Mercy took my hand and said, "I don't mean to brag Mommy, but I am so glad that our family was the one chosen to go to Lesotho." Wow, what a beautiful thing to say. There have been moments when you all read through my tears because I thought I may have ruined my kids by going to Lesotho. Then my sweet little 8 year old says she is so glad we were chosen by God to serve there. I am so humbled by that.


We gave our kids some fun little memories while we were in MI, but it will be the 7 years they spent in Lesotho that will change their lives and their perspectives forever. God is so good and He is doing amazing things. We are as ready as we can be for our next adventure Lord!!

Family time

Our timing for being home was perfect and it is hard to believe that it is almost to a close. 2 months flies by in a blink and there are still so many friends that I did not get to see. On the positive side, we have spent a lot of time with our families, and that has been very refreshing. Late night games and movies, watching the kids dance with their cousins, watching football, bowling, laser tag, eating big holiday meals, and just talking about life. My parents came up for 9 days and I even got to be a part of a small family reunion at my aunt and uncles house. Sometimes, it is like we really haven't been gone for a long time in the way it is so easy to catch up. Bryan's extended family got together for a fun day of bowling and catching up as well, and it was good. We are both very lucky to have such great family whom we enjoy being with.
We were also reminded in these past weeks how quickly all of it can be stripped away. Bryan's dad made it through cancer treatments and was having some ulcer problems when we arrived home on furlough, and then he had a heart attack which caught us all unawares. Thankfully, he got the help and care he needed at the hospital and had a stint put in. Unfortunately, that was not enough, so he had open heart surgery a week later. Wow, we are so fortunate for modern medicine. I do not think he would still be with us if we were living in Lesotho. I feel that I will always compare medical things between the US and Lesotho because I always fear for my Basotho friends when they need specific medical attention, since it may not be available. Or the one doctor who knows how to do the procedure is on a holiday. Our time here was a blessing and dad is recovering well. I am thankful for good medical care and also for good dental care (I had some cavities filled, had a root canal and had 3 wisdom teeth removed, yes I am ready to be done with all that!!!)
We have missed out on several scheduled visits with friends because after all our time here in the states, NOW it has decided to snow :) I have to admit that it is beautiful. I glanced outside tonight and it was just sparkling in the lights. God has made a beautiful creation with snow. Yesterday Mercy even said that it looked like a snow globe out the window. It is exciting for her to see this much snow! All that to say, we are sorry we missed seeing lots of you while we were home, but we are thankful that we were here during a time our family needed to be together. We will (hopefully) be leaving next week Wednesday as long as the weather cooperates, and then the real adventure of a lifetime begins once we get back to Lesotho for our final 2 year commitment.

Christmas and Babies

It has been over 2 weeks since I wrote anything on here. I think that in itself will give you an indication of how busy our lives have been!!!!!! I have eaten more food, been to more parties, and played more games that I could even count (ok, maybe I could count the parties and my belly will prove the food part). We have continued to be very loved and blessed by family and friends, and it has really filled us up. I loved seeing everyone and doing the fundraising that needed to be done last furlough, but being in one place for 2 months is pretty great.
I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas!! We missed our first Christmas in Lesotho in 5 years, but we gained some good family memories too. It will be a Christmas to remember for a few years because we will miss it again for a year or two. It was not a white Christmas like my kids were praying for, in fact it was raining a little bit. We have less than a month for the snow to fall, so I am sure my kids will double their efforts in the praying snow department!

On a more serious note, I have been thinking so much about babies this Christmas. Last Sunday, a friend of ours shared a sad story of her grandchild's traumatic entry into the world and his death. Only a week before Christmas, and they are left to mourn this child who was desperately wanted. The parents wanted to give him their love and care and to tell Him how special he was for many years to come. Another baby entered the world this week to an incredible loving couple (Congrats Steve and Heidi). This child was born healthy, and it was so great to see the huge smile on the proud father's face today. That little baby will be loved, cared for, and raised to know and love her Lord. A third baby entered the world today whose mother is barely more than a child herself with no job, and no real means of supporting her child other than government assistance. I do not think that she knows the Lord and I know that her mother was not a good role model, so I wonder how raising this child will go for her.
Jesus came into the world as a baby. He did not chose the easiest or most comfortable way to enter the world (I seriously doubt the comfort of a manger and rags, poverty and a mother who was probably shunned for having a baby out of wedlock). He experienced so many things (like poverty and living in a strange land when they fled to Egypt) and can relate to so many things that we all go through because He lived as one of us. It breaks my heart that my friend's grandchild did not get to live, and it breaks my heart that children is Lesotho are thrown away as if they are no more than a candy wrapper. It is also hard to watch children growing up in poverty struggling to find their next meal. But, it is also beautiful to see a family coming together to celebrate the birth of their child. Some situations seem so much more unfair than others, and yet, we do not walk through any of the hard stuff without our loving Father by our side. We do not go through the injustices without Jesus walking along with us, and saying that everything is going to be ok and He understands. We do not go through the valleys without the Holy Spirit comforting us, or carrying us when the shadow of death is upon us. I am glad God sent His son to us as a tiny baby so we can know how much He cares and understands.

Showered in love

I feel so blessed and overwhelmed with love today. We are now living in our home town of Zeeland. A wonderful couple from this area has gone out west for the winter and are letting us stay in their condo rent free. It is on a pond, in a quiet community and it is a great fit for our family. What a blessing to have our own space so we are close to our church family, and we can invite people over. It was great staying with our family for the last month, and they were so generous with their time and space, and we lacked for nothing.
Yesterday, we moved into this condo, but I had agreed to meet my nieces after school (they had a half day) so we could all hang out and then we went to a hockey game that my brother got us tickets to. I did not have time to get many groceries, only breakfast and lunch stuff since it was 10:45pm and my kids were in the car.
Today, our accountability group (friends who have walked with us for the last 5 years and prayed with us) stopped by dropping off groceries, baked goods, and even a gift card. We feel completely blessed and overwhelmed by the love and generosity of our family and our church family/ community. One of our sending churches even collected some gift cards for our family so I could get my kids, and Bryan and I some new clothes.
We have had so many offers for visits and heard from many friends and family who want to see us and it is overwhelming, but good. Being away for a few years and then walking back into such a loving community really makes us feel lucky. We have been out of sight for a long time, but we have not been overlooked or forgotten. For those of you who have been walking this journey with us for the last 5 years, thank you. Thank you for your love, your prayers, your comments and encouragement. We just celebrated our 5th anniversary as missionaries to Beautiful Gate on December 4th, and we are feeling revived and re-energized to finish our final 2 years well.