Time to Hit the Road

A lot could be said about how moving is like labor! I had long, long hard labors. In the midst of it, I wanted to never endure them again. Yet later, it's like the weight of the difficult part of it had faded and I was left with focusing on the many blessings. Well ..... moving .... while fighting off a flu virus would rank right up there for me!

Many of you have prayed for us these last days as we not only learned we'd be moving soon, but then found out in was in a matter of days! We are SO very grateful for your prayers!!! Yesterday, I hardly had strength to walk around for very long .... yet tonight we're preparing to be on the road early in the morning. Oh how we'd appreciate you praying with us as we travel!!

As we sat around tonight trying to establish our game plan for the morning, I posed the question to our kids .... how many pizzas do you think we served in this kitchen? It was fun to hear their guesses. Some of you know that our current home was a huge work in progress. The kitchen was the major focus of renovation. We loved having company over and making home-made pizzas while chatting with them and learning of what God was doing in their lives. SO many memories in this kitchen.

When listing our house with a local realtor she was commenting to David that a marriage only withstands a certain number of house renovations. Ha. But I hope we defy the odds, as we're embarking on yet another one in IL. Although not as extensive as here. :)

This move is one very emotional for us. We are leaving folks here that we have grown to love so deeply. Not only are we changing location, but major roles as well. In our time table we would have not had an extended stay in ND. And while it was full of some great difficulty as far as work/job went and the great unknown .... it was God's plan for our family. He taught us to trust Him and believe Him to greater depths than we've ever known. There might come a day I write more about the things He taught me through this last seven months.

Many special people await us in Illinois. Grandparents! (well one batch of them we have to wait til April to see as they don't do IL winter anymore), our dog Honey!, our church family ...... and a new house waiting and ready to be turned into a home. Still many details to trust God about. But we are learning to trust and obey Him day to day.

Perhaps in the days to come you'll get to see some pics of our progress on the new place we call home. We look very forward to updating you also on our future ministry with the ABBA Fund. Be sure to check out their blog, written by Jason Kovacs, for many helpful resources concerning adoption and orphan care.

North Dakota holds special memories for us as well, because this is where God led us to follow Him on our adoption journeys. We saw Him move mountains time and again for each one. Now as a family of 7 we embark on this new chapter.

Heads Spinning, Boxes Packing, Thanks Giving!!

As you know we have been waiting for over six months now for our move to IL. As fall came and went .... then winter began .... our hearts were growing weary wondering how everything was going to happen.

Well ...... the Lord has seen fit to move us to the next chapter of our lives and ministry in IL in the very near future. Through an amazing chain of events, a house has been secured for us yesterday and we plan to work hard to making it a wonderful home base for ministry. It is incredibly overwhelming to comprehend that this is happening. This would be the "Heads Spinning" part! The last six months + have been increasingly difficult for us here and transition is always hard .... It's time for us to process through that and move forward.

We would very much appreciate your continued prayers for a good sale of our house here in ND. We'll make the complete move at that time. We'll be spending Maleah's birthday there .... What a special bonus. A packing we will go? .... yeah, insert prayer request here!

It's really impossible to express to you how much your prayers and love have meant to our family through this journey. We have asked the Lord time and time again to use what He's taught us through this season to bless and encourage others. We're trusting He will do just that.

Lots to figure out here in the days ahead. There is a need to secure work for David in IL. Now that we have a date we can pursue that further. It is also time for some difficult good-byes here in ND. We'd be so grateful for your continued prayers.

May the Lord be glorified through this wonderful testimony of His faithfulness! We will never forget what He has done for us. It is incredibly exciting to us what He has done in this next big step towards working more with the ABBA Fund through our new home base in IL.

Blessings,

The Roberts Family

Our Princess turned 4!

What a fun week it has been. Thankfully, the Princess Birthday Party was the day BEFORE the big snow storm, or we'd have had one crying princess on our hands! We ended up not being able to make it to Maleah's court date because of the storm, so we have to wait just a bit longer for that special day. However, celebrating we have certainly been doing.

We haven't had a great track records with Naomi's birthday the last couple of years. Last year Daddy was nasty sick with the flu (that made it's way through the family). The year before that Nathaniel ran into a tree sledding and ended up with a nasty break to his leg. So ..... we were really trying to not repeat any of that this year! We had a wonderful day with friends.

Nathaniel helped to set a very special table for the birthday girl and her guests. Gotta love a brother that will go to great lengths to make his sis feel special! Josiah treated her like a princess all morning long and entertained her while she waited for company. Maleah slept through much of the fun, but woke just in time to enjoy cake with us! :) Boy does she LOVE cake! That's a good thing because next month we'll be celebrating her birthday!

The boys all enjoyed sledding and ping pong (and lots of yummy treats!). What a fun day! More celebrating to come yet this month. Then we hope soon it's time to pack up the moving truck! Lord, please send a buyer!!! :)

Christmas Ponderings

You never know when it's going to hit you. It might come from a certain expression ... a little giggle ... a funny quirk .... or a memorable day. Ah yes, it's often on my mind. I suppose even more around special holidays. But today ...... it was the new pink robe that brought that pierce so tenderly and sharply to my heart.

I noticed she was gone for a few minutes. Sure enough, here she comes boppin' in to where we were .... having ditched the clothes behind with her little chocolate-toned body all adorned in her new robe. "Mommy! ... it's so comfy and cozy!", she said, as she twirled about showing us all. And as I reached for the camera to capture this fun memory, it hit me once again.

My mind drifted off thinking about another momma .... wonder what she'd think of this precious little sight, I thought. Would it make her giggle to see this spunky little girl all happy and dressed in pink?

Often these moments are a little bittersweet for me. I wonder at times if the other momma would approve, for lack of better words, on how we're raising this most amazing little girl that she gave birth to. As I was baking Christmas cookies this year, the thought came to me that she would want us to rejoice in these times and enjoy all these wonderful moments in Naomi's life. She would want her to be happy.

I wonder today if something made her stop and ponder and dream of this wee-one. Oh how I pray she is well and that the God of all Hope is her Peace today.

Soon we'll be celebrating Naomi's 4th birthday. Can it really be four years since I took those flights to get to Texas? How I would have given anything just to have one picture of that dear other momma. And so tonight as I stop and think this all through ...... yes, there are some tears. But oh the JOY of getting to witness this child have LIFE, because of one brave Momma's choice to walk a very difficult journey all alone and give her the best gift she ever could .... the gift to live.

What a privilege it was tonight to sit together and hear the Christmas story being read. For these girls to hear of a most special baby born many, many years ago. He came so that we might have life.

Oh Lord, help us to live our lives well ... for your glory.

Merry Christmas!

Winter in ND!

Well, in "our plan" we'd be spending this winter in IL. However, here we are. :) It has truly been a time of reflection. As we wait on our house selling and for some details to come together for our move to IL, we look back and recount all the times in our lives that God has proved himself faithful. What a comfort that is!!!

Recently, the kids all bundled up and ran outside for a quick photo session so I could complete a project for all the grandparents. This week we're to get a heat wave for above zero temps .... so I'm sure they'll be out enjoying the snow and sledding!

While we continue to trust the Lord about all the unknowns in our lives ...... we also REJOICE in WHO He IS and what HE came to offer. How blessed we are to have such a loving, heavenly father. What JOY is in our hearts to celebrate His birth.

Warm blessings to you from frigid North Dakota!

Birthday Boy, Doing Hair and Setting the Stage

Sorry ... any of you that actually read this blog ... I've been very negligent on any updates. What can I say? ... the delays and unknowns in our lives leave us in "coping mode" much of the time and not much extra left. November left us really aching for extended family and sad we'll not be with them for the holidays. But it also brought a visit from grandparents which was HUGELY appreciated, a Birthday Boy celebration, lots of hair and "setting the stage" for an open house.

Our youngest son turned 11! .... can that really be? He is for sure our bundle of dynamite. Always has been, probably always will be. I LOVE how our children are so different, even though every now and then certain aspects can put this momma over the edge. :) Josiah wanted a football cake so that was a fun project. We enjoyed a great evening with friends, lots of pizza and plenty of chocolate! He had a great day! :)

Hair! ... what more can I say? We do lots of hair in this house. Naomi was in great need of a trim, as her hair had never been evened up throughout the baby-days-stage. So I finally conquered the task. As you can see, she hammed it up for her brothers taking the photos. :) Then came some braids, which only stayed in 24 hours. YEAH, you read that right! We'll not be doing that again soon. Back to twists that she can handle sleeping on. Maybe someday her desire for braids will overcome her sensory issues and she'll be able to handle it. Until then, we'll try something else!

We've been swamped preparing for our local craft fair (pics to come later on our projects) and decorating the house for the Tour of Homes! Our town invited us to participate to hopefully get the locals through here and let them see the renovations. BUT!, with all our Christmas things being shipped to IL, this has been quite an undertaking! Time to get out the paper crafting supplies and go to work. Thus another reason for our lack of updates.

While we long to have this move over and transition more complete in our lives .... we often stop and talk about God's incredible faithfulness to us while we wait. HE is so GOOD, even when circumstances are not. HE is in CONTROL, when we are so not! HE is our STRENGTH, when we have nothing left.

The Lord has been so faithful to teach us through this time. In the days ahead I'll share more with you about that. In the meantime we have to finish a mass of loose ends for the upcoming Tour of Homes. Would so appreciate your prayers concerning the sale of our home.

About a Year Ago .....

Pop over HERE to the blog where we journaled our most recent daughter's adoption for a special story of God's faithfulness!! May you be encouraged, just as we have been to look back and see all that He has done! :)