Ready or not, here he comes...
Avery's first half day of kindergarten was on Friday. He LOVES his teacher and knows one boy in his class. 
and of course, a little bit of silliness!
He has another half day on Wednesday, then full time starting Thursday. He wants to ride the bus with Abi on Thursday, I said "We'll see."
She's off and running... to 2nd grade. Can you believe it?
It just doesn't seem possible but she certainly acts like a big girl these days!
She has a fabulous teacher, is reading great, and had a great first day.
The middle man heads to kindergarten testing in the morning. He took his 2 shots today at his dr. appointment like a pro, didn't want me to hold him or his hand, and only teared up after they were all done.
He's super excited about kindergarten. More pics to come of his first day next week.
This is an entry from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest. I borrowed it from a friend's blog (thanks TC)! I'm learning to live in the PROCESS and not wait on the END GOAL.
July 28, 2010
He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” ( Mark 6:49 ). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.
I pray this blesses you and gives you HOPE for today!
My middle man, Avery, turns FIVE tomorrow! Unfortunately, we couldn't find any of his baby pictures on our hard drive. Good thing I scrapbooked them and we can always scan some in the future. I added some extra pics to make up for it tonight.
Avery at age 2 in the snow...
Avery holding baby Aiden as almost age 3. 
Messy face at age 3. (well, he always has a messy face!)
playing soccer at age 3
Pumpkin farm at age 3. silly boy!
one of my all time favorites...
batting practice at age 3...
sweet boy at age 4...
spiderman at age 4 ( he was spiderman two years in a row, probably this year too!)
and tonight, at almost FIVE!
Avery, we love you. You are a sweet, generous, and sensitive child. May you never lose that but grow into a loving and godly man.
How can this be? My beautiful girl is SEVEN today.
It seems like yesterday, when she was just like this:
a pretty princess at age 2:
ready for preschool at age 3:
beautiful at age 5:
silly at age 6:
and so sassy at almost 7!
Happy Birthday Abi!
Stay tender-hearted and kind to all.
May you love with great abandon and grow in the Lord this year.
We love you!
Warning: This post will make you cry. Read at your own risk.
I received a sweet email today from my friend, Sumer, who moved to Africa this summer. She had forwarded me a note my sponsored child, Askaley, wrote to me. I share it with some trepidation, it is very personal and special to Aaron and I. But I want you to see the impact we have on these children, how much our giving, our obedience, means so much!
Here is the email from Askaley:
I love you so much, Pam. I miss you so much. I just want to see you. I got your photo and your lotion. I just want to say something about you, I am just going to the mountain and I am praying for you because Jesus also prayed on the mountain and God will hear me. I am just praying for you and your family. I got the picture of your babies. Did you get my letter? I miss you so much! I am so happy that you are my sponsor. I see you like my mother because when I cry you are crying with me. You are my mother for me, you are in my mother's place. I live at the dorm in the summer camp. Please pray for Sumer. Sammy is giving for me his hospitality. You know that I have no mother and father, so that you are a gift. I have only one, you. That means that I am depending on you, but I am depending on God. I get your babies letter and drawings. And thank you for them. I am so glad that I have someone that when I cry is crying with me, when I am happy is happy with me. Keep your gift from God, because I have nothing to give you.
I love you,
Askaley
WOW, doesn't that just hit you where it hurts? The things I am worried about, how silly and petty. How quickly we forget! What a good reminder, to trust in the Lord with ALL our heart, to lean on Him, to not worry. What an impact we have had on this sweet 13 year old girl, but what an impact we have had in our lives as a result. 
I use to be a dipper. A toe dipper. I would ease into the pool, slowly lowering myself inch by inch, foot by foot, until finally submerging myself.
Then, I became a diver. I hurled myself off the diving board, into the abyss. I stepped off, on this journey, and fell...HARD.
I fell in love, with Korah, Ethiopia, with a ministry called Project 61. With children who live in a dump, who dig in the trash for food. Yet, they have so much JOY, so much LOVE, were so protective of me.
Meet Askele. (A-skal-ah) She is our sponsored child, age 13. She is leaving the dump, leaving Korah, in September, to go to a Christian boarding school. I love her dearly. She called me mother.
I treasure the extra time in Ethiopia when I got "stuck" for nine days due to the volcano. I spent this time with Askele, with her friends, teaching them English, playing with them, loving on them. And I was truly blessed.
I gave her all my clothes, my shoes, and she turned around and gave most of it to her friends.
This is her wearing my favorite shirt.
braiding my hair.
As we drove away, my heart was broken, not for the children we left behind, but for what most people never see, never grasp.
I grappled with this for the last few months. Why? Why does God allow children to live in the dump, to dig for food, to be orphaned, scared and hungry?
And again, and again, I come back to these thoughts.
Because HE is SOVEREIGN.
I am becoming more content to rest in the mystery of it. But the mystery of it, how God is working in all this...I am learning to trust Him in it.
The utter depravity of it all, the sheer poverty and sickness, death, and sadness...it can weigh down your soul and render you weak and useless, or it can stir your soul to life in a way that changes you. And other people as a result.
It can make you become a diver!
I believe this is God's way. His heart is broken; he is grieved. But we are God's feet. We are racing to these children's aid. We are his hands. We are feeding these children, and their families. We are feeding HIS sheep.
Some of the sponsored children of Korah. Kids are just kids, anywhere!
There are more opportunities to sponsor children. Email me or call me if you are interested. Or if you want to help feed them for the summer before school starts. There are so many opportunities.
Just DIVE in!
