Rattins living Coram Deo

Our babies have special circus baby skills - Noah has finally mastered the standing-on-the-hand trick (and loves it!). Ana did this as a baby too, and we got great reactions about it from Kenyan moms when we were there with her as a baby!

We're greatly satisfied to have loaded up our friends' trailer with all the special needs equipment that has been donated for Uganda. Wheelchairs, standers, gait trainers, AmTryke bikes, a fleet of tumbleforms, various seats, trays for wheelchairs, crutches, gloves, chuxs, etc. We installed a hitch on Josh's dad's SUV. We borrowed our friend's flatbed utility trailer. We were to leave today to start our journey down to VA to put it on a shipment that is going out to Uganda. Thanks to the blizzard, our journey was delayed a day, giving me a chance to catch up on email and even blog for the first time in a crazy month. Pray for us during this month of travels: Christmas with my family in PA, visits with many friends and churches along the way, taking us all the way down to VA Beach and back! As always, on these trips, I'll be doing all of Gracie's therapies and schooling. Something I enjoy but also find very challenging with the two other precious ones a

I've done A LOT of Christmas shopping online this year with the three kids since it's nearly impossible to push a wheelchair, carry the baby, manage Ana, AND shop for anything more than a bottle of shampoo without one of the four of us getting injured in the process! I've signed up with Ebates which gives cash back for shopping at sites you would shop at anyway. It's free, so give it a try! (And if you click my link then I might get a reward for referral too!) And today is free shipping at a lot of sites.

To make home-made gift tags this year, Gracie colored and squirted paint onto brown paper bag (hand over hand). We cut some short pieces of thin red ribbon and sprinkled the red ribbon on top of the paint. Then we squished tracing paper on top and let them dry. (no glue, just paint) Several hours later, they were dry enough to cut up into rectangles. Then I punched holes in them and Ana was able to thread ribbon through the holes. It's a neat sort of 3-D effect with the tracing paper over the colors (not well represented by these photos). I recommend using very bright colors (we tried glitter paint but it doesn't show through well at all). Gold paint looks neat smeared ON TOP of the tracing paper but again doesn't show through the tracing paper well on its own. In class field trip. Anyone who knows Gracie can guess what is going on right now in the classroom that captivates her attention so thoroughly - YES, singing Christmas Carols!

There's a movie coming out in January that looks very interesting, especially for those of us with a heart for adoption! Here's a synopsis written by Christian Alliance for Orphans: New Movie Coming: Change of Plans A new made-for-TV movie slated for showing on January 8 explores adoption, sacrifice and life priorities in a way very few films today do. “ Change of Plans ” tells the story of a young, jet-set couple whose all-too-perfect lives may be irreparably altered by four orphaned children. I had the chance to preview the director’s cut this week and came away inspired and thoughtfully challenged. When Sally Danville’s (Brooke White of American Idol) best friend from college dies in tragic accident in Africa, she leaves behind four children—three of them adopted from countries around the world. Sally and husband Jason must now grapple with choices that will shape the rest of their lives. Step by step, the couple realizes that for every inch they open their hearts an

We have had one of our most stressful weeks ever with Josh's mom suffering a minor heart attack followed by a most incredible situation in our church family as a teenager that we are quite close to ran away from home... to Egypt! We have spent the week running around to and camping out at airports, trying to serve the family, and show our friend that we love her no matter what happens. In the midst of incredible challenges, we are so grateful that God is in control and caring for His children. We had to remind ourselves that normal life carries on while the rest of life came to a stand-still - so here are some updates on family life as we also continue to prepare to leave for the mission field. Holiday cooking has become more of a challenge as many of our household items are packed away or given away! Gracie made a lovely centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table - we celebrated Thanksgiving with Josh's parents and Grandparents. It was quiet and a nice relaxing day! Noah adore

I'm still waiting for more wedding photos - but here are a few of my beautiful children! Ana sang "You are my sunshine" to the bride and groom. Gracie in her new KidWalk loved dancing with bridesmaid, Crystal! Ana danced the night away! Father-Daughter dance - that's one talented Daddy, dancing with both girls at once! Dancing girls! Mommy and Noah - Noah was a good sport, passed around all day long!

We're so thankful to celebrate Gracie's FOURTH adoption day! We are so thankful for the privilege of raising these beautiful children that God has entrusted to us!

I lost all my photos of the wedding, so when I get some, I'll post more of my kids all dolled up for their auntie's wedding! Here's photo of Gracie "walking" down the aisle in her new KidWalk! She loves this new walker as it gives her a lot more freedom to move around on her own! She couldn't quite get it to move easily on the carpet and runner, but she stood up front as the Junior Bridesmaid for quite a while, watching the ceremony with great interest! How precious!

"I want to be a mommy and Mommy will still be a mommy." Daddy asks, "do you want to get married some day?" (Auntie Amy is getting married this coming weekend, so weddings are a common topic of conversation these days!) "Yeah, and I'll have some babies too." Daddy continues, "Oh? How many babies?" "Maybe 5... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... maybe some boys and girls... maybe like Noah." Daddy encourages, "you'll be a great mommy someday!" Ana: "yeah!"

Making a birthday treat for Daddy. Holding Noah!

If you're interested in some Christmas projects to share the finances that God has entrusted to you, here are two ideas! Bethany Christian Services has a gift catalog with projects all around the world to provide food, shelter, and families for children at risk. Action International Ministries in Gulu, Uganda has great financial need at this moment. You can donate online to "where needed most" to help pay for Ugandan staff salaries, a Christmas party for the orphanage or school, and meet other financial needs.

This weekend is Orphan Sunday - click on the banner below to access fantastic resources for prayer, for church, and for your own family including sermons and prayer guides!

Grapes getting old before you can eat them all? Got the munchies but trying to eat healthier? FREEZE your grapes! Really, it's delicious! I pop them all off the stems into a tupperware and just freeze them. My 2 year old was quite shocked when she asked for a grape and it was "crunchy and cold" - she refused to eat it! ;-P But I think they're delicious! (One snack I definitely won't be having in Uganda, so I'll enjoy it for now!)

There's a young lady that I may have blogged about previously, but I wanted to remind you of her blog. She is in Uganda and has adopted and fostered countless children. She wrote recently about a a 23 year old with "disabilities" (looks like cerebral palsy perhaps) who was never loved, never held, never cherished, and passed away shortly after this missionary met her. This could have been my Gracie, but for the love and grace of God to entrust her to us. This missionary wrote a post that is so well written, I'd like to share a quote with you: " In an effort to be real, I want to tell you. Adoption is wonderful and beautiful and the greatest blessing I have ever experienced. Adoption is also HARD and painful. Adoption of older children is a beautiful picture of redemption. It is the GOSPEL in my living room. And some times, it just stinks. As a parent, it stinks to not know when your daughter took her first steps or what her first word was or what she looked

Here's a neat article that paints a verbal picture of Gulu, Uganda: "On My Way to Work" http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/on-my-way-to-work-gulu-uganda/

Our first week back at home after 2.5 weeks on the road has been filled with adventures! Reminding us that we are who we are! Rattins, prone to sin, and prone to adventures! BOTH cars broke down on the same day, just miles after returning from over 3000 miles on the road - Praise God that #1 - the cars broke down AFTER our safe return and #2 - Gracie now rides the bus to school! Our building's fire alarm apparently went off multiple times in our absence. It went off at 9:30pm on one of our first nights back. We woke the kids up and went outside because the hallway near us seemed a little smoky. It was a false alarm. The kids were too sleepy and cold to be impressed with the fire truck and firemen. Josh went to his elder's meeting last night and the building fire alarm went off again just as Ana fell out of bed and Gracie was crying for unknown reasons (maybe not wanting the knee immobilizer on her leg while she slept? I would cry too probably!). I decided to ignore the fi

October is Pastor Appreciation Month - don't forget to show your appreciation to your pastors, elders, and lay leaders this month! They pour themselves out for the church for the Glory of God, but some recognition from the church body will only serve to encourage them on in their work! http://www.parsonage.org/cam/

(Isn't Gracie ADORABLE with a missing top tooth?!) Josh sent me to a Biblical Counseling conference, keeping ALL the kids for me while I attended! What a husband! He camped out at his grandma’s in Illinois and great-grandma got to spend some quality time with Noah – what a blessing for all of us! I drove each day an hour and a half to the conference and we jumped through some hoops to make sure that Noah had enough milk. (Great-grandma with 6 week old Noah) The rest of the week we were able to meet with two churches and several individuals about our missionary endeavors and support-raising. The girls loved spending time with family, playing outside in a YARD, and taking family walks. By the weekend, we got busy preparing for our cousin’s wedding which was a delightful event. Ana literally danced the night away, fascinated by the wooden dance floor on the grass in the backyard under an elegant tent. She did not stop running/dancing/hopping around the dance floor for two ho

It was a great privilege to have a family reunion in Pennsylvania over the weekend! We were able to take a break from support raising to spend a few cherished days with my family. The kids had a blast, the weather was beautiful, we used our museum passport pass at yet another museum (best $55 ever spent!!). Here are the dads (including my dad) with the grandkids! Beautiful bunch of kids, no? :) A special surprise blessing happened as we realized that our future ACTION colleagues in Uganda were on the road from Oregon to Pennsylvania. Our paths crossed at a rest stop in Ohio and we got a chance to meet each others' families! What a blessing and an encouragement as both families raise support to meet up with each other on the field in Uganda! If you'd like to read more about this amazing family, go to their website at www.actioninternational.org/rieger . Now we're in IL visiting Josh's extended family - another great blessing as Josh's grandparents get to spend tim

Our journey continues with time for learning and exploration for the kids scheduled in. Gracie is getting her therapies in this week through science and children's museums! What a fun way to get in her weight-bearing, her sitting, her right hand activities, her fine coordination of left hand, etc. And of course, Ana enjoys the museums just as much! Noah is a good sport with all these adventures - such a calm consolable baby (and a GOOD eater!). He's been a joy and continues to be a little doll! Ana can't quite figure out how to stay in bed while sleeping at night - as long as she sleeps, I guess any position is okay! (yes, she's fast asleep!)

We're enjoying day #2 of our lengthy support-raising trip. Our first stop is near Philadelphia with our dear friends. Ana has been "so excited" all week to arrive at "Timmy and Tabby's house" and is just giddy to be here with her best buddies! We got to go to a wheelchair accessible playground and Gracie loved the wheelchair swing! How fun! Happy kids, Timmy, Tabby, and Ana, at play!

Bottom line: Ana did great! No cavities, she received a PINK DORA toothbrush!! She was a little confused by the whole experience but cooperated nicely while Noah cooperated nicely by snoozing in the Ergo carrier on my front - I wasn't sure what my plan was going to be if he was fussy and she wasn't cooperative! Praise God for two cooperative children at the right time!

happy 3 weeks Noah!