Cubbies

So I help teach Cubbies on Wednesday night. That sounds a lot cooler then what I actually do. I occasionally bring the snack and remind the kids to use their quiet voices... But today at Cubbies, I had an awe moment. We had just did our lesson about God being our shepherd and us being His sheep. Our verse was

  John 10:27

My sheep listen to my voice;

I know them, 

and they follow me. 

So our game tonight was "Shepherd says" very similar to Simon says besides the name change. It went something like this. Shepherd says to run across the room. The kids run across the room and back. And it hit me! How many times do I do the same exact thing. Start out doing what God says then totally just go and do my own thing not even realizing I had stop following God's. It was a scary realization so as I continue on this week I am going to focus on John 10:27 and remember to listen to God's voice a little better. 

Three Years Ago...

I wasn't planning on blogging today... I have been thinking about it but actually planning on doing it. Yeah right. But here I am writing out this blog post. Mostly because I happen to finish my homework early tonight and instead of going to bed I checked my e-mail. I had a message from Rachael Stoner. It said...

Remember this. I am so thankful for you :)

Attached was the first e-mail I had ever sent to the Stoner's introducing myself. It will be exactly three years on December 10th that I sent that message and it was on December 20th that I started the application process of joining ABWE. 

Reading over that first e-mail I had sent to the Stoner's, I am kinda impress how well it was written. It was definitely a God-thing. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how much my life has changed in the last three years from moving to France, getting kicked out, going back, moving to Romania, and ending up with my current job as a nanny. 

As I am getting ready to fly across the country to help out my cousin next week, I have really been thinking about decisions and life choices lately. This e-mail was a great reminder that God is in control of everything and he has a much better plan for me then I ever imagined. 

A Year to This Day

This weekend a year ago, I had gotten a message from the Stoner's through a friend saying that Dan's was having health problems and they wanted me to contact them as soon as possible. That call was pretty much life changing. We were in the middle of the last month of camp. I was wore out and tired looking forward to flying back to France in only a couple weeks to see my adorable kids. 

Little did I know that call was going to lead to many more calls via skype with bad internet connections over Starbucks drinks in a Cluj mall. Those calls consisted of the Stoner's explaining Dan's cancer to me and my possible future plans. Over the next month, I made the decision to apply for my Romania visa and see were God would lead me. 

God lead me to stay right there in Romania. It's crazy to think of everything that has happened in just the past year and I am excited to see what else God has planned for life. Even though some days it feels like I am going to be in the same place forever. It's nice to be reminded how far I have came along in the past year. 

It's Pretty Wonderful

I started this blog post with no idea what I was going to blog about but having an urge to write something since I have a little free time for once in my time. I am sure I could find more useful things to be doing right now other then blogging like cleaning my room or getting a head start on that five page paper but I decided to blog instead. 

I will confess to my real motives about blogging. Facebook can sometimes be depressing with everyone announcing their plans of life. There is a part of me that is jealous. So I decided to blog and think about the wonderful things in life like my boys. 

Even though I miss the Stoner's and my boy Josiah telling me I am beautiful, it's pretty wonderful to see these smiling boys faces everyday. 

God is Able

This morning started out rough for me. I had planned to wake up early and go work out but I couldn't get the car out of the garage and blah, blah, blah.... It was rough but I did make it to the gym. 

On my way to the fitness room I ran into Beth. She is a regular at the y she has been going there for as long as I can remember, she knew I had went to France to help the Stoner's. So she asked me about my time in Europe. I told her how I ended up in Romania working in the orphanages. Beth is adoption from China, so as I told her about my time working in the orphanages. She completely understands but not from my perspective but from a perspective as a little kid. 

Beth was adopted when she was eight. She remembers what it likes to live in the orphanage and hopelessness a child must feel. But Beth was lucky enough to get adopted unlike many others. Beth understood when I told her of my wish to adopt all the kids and to give them hope for a better future. 

Talking to Beth this morning, reminded me of how much I still miss Romania two months later and how God does work miracles. I am sure as a kid growing up in a orphanage, she never imagine that she would be blessed by such an amazing family here in the U.S. So instead of putting God in a box I am going to pray for all the kids I work with for God to move in their lives because 

He can do anything!

Triplets

The boys are so cute. I already love them. And the family spoils me pretty bad. For Easter I got my nails and eyebrows done at the Salon. Then Easter afternoon I was visited by Bryson and Bronson with an Easter basket full of chocolate and goodies. Not to mention that the grandma cooks me Thai everyday for lunch. The running joke is that the grandma is actually my nanny and I just take care of the boys ;) 

Bryson, Braxton, and Bronson.

They are adorable, are they not? I love it when Braxton looks at me with his big brown eyes, or when Bryson tries to talk to me, and when Bronson gives me a look like how could I ever think about putting him down. 

In our Sunday Best

So much for that 75* weather. I can't say I was too happy to see it snowing this morning when I woke up but I am sure I will get over it quickly when I go to cuddle with the boys today. Have I mentioned how much I love my job?! Cause I really love it. Anyway so this weekend the weather was so nice it was perfect for Sunday afternoon pictures and getting the first sunburn of the year. Oh Yeah!

Rachel's Outfit: Dress:Banana Republic, Shoes: Goodwill;
My Outfit: Dress: France, Shoes: Target