Farewell, Rudi!

272. I purchased Rudi, our green Jetta, in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey back in 1996 during my first year teaching. I purposely got 4-doors because though I was extremely far from being married, I wanted her "to see children." Well, the ole girl almost made it to see Baby #5!

Rudi had her final commute home on Thursday night when William called from about 10 minutes away to tell me that the car sounded like the back wheels were going to fall off and he had no rear brakes. Poor gal crossed over into the "unreliable" category but made it to over 192K miles.

But, the reason for this post is to thank God for 12 years with that car! What a gift! We are so grateful God had allowed us to drive that car way longer paid for that not. We certainly have gotten our money out of that car. And to show how God is more than generous, we sold the car in less than 24-hours and didn't even need to leave our house or post an ad anywhere. The guy next door ended up being the buyer (after about at least 10 calls from people simply driving by) for the grand price of $425! Praise God!

Only God could work out such a story. Alejandro, the new owner, simply backed the car out of our driveway and parked her in the driveway next door! Lord, You are amazing!

Playing on the Porch

271. The three bigger kiddos were all playing outside on the porch yesterday before lunch. How nice! Though we still don't have the fence we hope to have one day, I saw the blessing of having multiple children close in age at play yesterday... for they had such a good time together. I set out the kitchen play items and gave them some of our old homemade play dough to have fun with and they were as happy as can be.

Lord, thank You for granting us these children so close in age! People always talk about "how nice it'll be when they are all older" but I see the blessing now. And thank You for giving us an oldest child who is so responsible at his young age. He does such a great job alerting to situations I need to deal with (i.e. if Kadin starts to go off the porch!). I so love these kiddos You've granted us to raise!

Random Praises from our Day

270. Hearing (for what seems like the millionth time) a stranger say, "Your kids are so well behaved?! They're all so good!" Lord, You alone receive the glory for that for I am fully aware of my sin in trying to train them. Thank You, Lord God, for being so incredibly merciful to me. They really are good kids.

269. Putting our sweetie pie Paloma Joy down for nite nite and watching her slip her little thumb in her mouth.

268. Watching seeds sprout and live emerge from dirt.

267. Being a part of the Body.

266. Experiencing moments of nausea but knowing it will only last for a season.

265. Eating in the sunshine, watching the kiddos feet dangle from the big picnic table, and hearing their sweet giggles at lunch.

264. Walking in the sunshine with the kiddos to the library.

Hope

263. My hope in Christ is sure! Therefore, I can enjoy the blessings of being hope-filled as I look to heaven and eternity. That is a gift that Jesus paid with His life.

Another Blessing

William and I keep meaning to put a blog post up on our big news but our days are just FULL. But today, my 12th Spiritual Birthday, seemed like the perfect time to share our special news with the world...

262. Baby #5 is due October 2009!

Missionary in Training

261. This morning Saraina-bug informed Daddy of some important news. Here's a retelling of the conversation...

Saraina: I work in Mexico.

Daddy: Oh, what kind of work do you do in Mexico?

Saraina: I do missions work.

Daddy stunned.

Saraina: But I live in New Jersey.

Lord, I do pray that You would use these kids to draw more to Yourself. Give them a heart for Your Gospel. Equip them to speak Your truth in love. Thank You for BLee's influence on the kiddos. May they grow up eager to do Kingdom work, for Your glory!