Fall of 2023, Giving Thanks

Gratitude

This Thanksgiving, I thought I would carve out a little time to "journal" some gratitude on this blog and share some pictures of what we have been up to around here. There is so much to be thankful for that I'm not sure where to start. I haven't always been a "grateful" person. It's something I've had to work on and in time and with God's help, He is changing me into an extremely grateful person. I'm not perfect. I can have bad days just like everyone else and easily give into fleshly complaints, but how does the song go? "He's still workin' on me!" :) 

It feels sometimes like the blessings OVERFLOW when I think about  how much we are blessed, even just with simple things in life...nutritious food, family to love, our beautiful farm and animals, flowers, the smell of rain, the smell of freshly bathed babies, wonderful books to read, cozy quilts to snuggle up with and take a nap, the written Word of God in our language, our church family...I could go on. See how that works? You get started and can't stop! (grin)

(I'm thankful for this amazing guy, my husband of 22 years, and twin daughters.)

Thanksgiving was a lovely day today. Robbie and I got the twins asleep and after some evening self care (I am working on this also), he turned on a Christmas movie for him and the older kiddos while I got a few moments to share with you all our utmost blessings. 

One special blessing this year was adding my FAVORITE dogs to our farm! Golden Retrievers! :)

Robbie's and my first dog was "Riley", a spunky Golden Retriever we got shortly after we married. We fell in love with the breed and so while we have to keep Livestock Guardian dogs on our farm for our sheep and other small farm animals' protection, they're certainly not pets. They don't come into the house or jump into the truck when you ask them if they want to come with you on a ride. Nope. They like being with the farm animals and thus, we are back having our favorite breed of dog BACK! I couldn't contain myself the day "Scout" came. A sweet girl in her 20's from Kentucky spoke to me over the phone and sent me pictures. I was hooked! She heard our story of adopting our three kiddos last year and even offered to DRIVE TO US and deliver free of charge. (I did pay her for gas!) "Scout" has been such a hit with the family that we wound up getting another, "Bear". More pictures to come.

We also took a nice mini-vacation to Tennessee's highest ranked state park Fall Creek Falls. We have always enjoyed going there and this time, we stayed a few nights and really enjoyed the fall colors, hiking, a great family dinner at their new restraunt and some games, fishing and bonfires. 

Here is Anna at a local restaraunt with a new book Papa got her for her first birthday. 

(Did you k now there's a flower called "Sweet Annie"? I'm planning on planting some next spring. I think flowers are my love language.) Anna is my clingy one. Josiah gravitates towards Rob (but is still very much a mama's boy) and Ruthie is "little Miss Independent". She gets lots of mama cuddles, but this girl is ready to walk and explore the world around her. The twins are crawling and standing now. Walking is next (gulp!). :)

Breakfast with the babies is always entertaining and sometimes loud, but always a JOY to see their smiling faces in the morning. Robbie is our main breakfast fixer while I get our room tidied and clothes laid out for the babies for the day. We have settled into a great routine with these little guys. 

Ruthie and Anna love going to the homeschool P.E. class each week. We sometimes walk the track inside the gym and "talk", eat snacks and nap in the stroller. Then we pick up the big kids and off to lunch together! We love these special days. The big kids especially love dodgeball. There's always a good turnout of kiddos.

This is one of our BIGGEST (literally) blessings this coming year. Drumroll please... 

Our new house rennovation!!!!! (Praise the Lord)

Our sweet, little 1800's farmhouse got a complete gut and remodel right before we bought it 5 years ago, but we need more bedrooms, bathrooms, a bigger kitchen, diningroom and homeschool room now. God is so good to always provide and as this is an old picture, the foundation is now complete and we start walls and roofing the first week of December! 

We went to the town next door's Christmas Night celebration and Josiah loves the lights. He stood staring at them. He's so cute!

Anna, with the sun shining on her on a new quilt I bought recently. I'm a sucker for a soft quilt, especially ones at low prices that I know how to quick fix. Well worth it! Anna approves of it too. :)

Our Jersey cows are thriving as well as our sheep. We scaled down on our sheep this past year when we found out we'd be adopting our little ones. We scaled down on pretty much everything! I even had to let my gardens "go". It's a season in life and when I look into the eyes of our sweet babies, it's well worth the sacrifice. I've honestly enjoyed the year of REST! I'm hoping I'll have them out with me playing in the garden this next year though.

Ah, and Thanksgiving! We always have Thanksgiving in the woods. We spend all morning cooking and load everything up into our farm's mule and drive it out to a special spot we've prepared with tables, chairs, a bonfire and decorations. Everyone grabs a plate, after the blessing, and loads up their plates with yummy food straight off the mule. It's so much fun! We play music and have a great time.

Here's the "dishing up part". 

Anna and Ruthie sat in their seats and loved tasting all the different foods, especially the cranberry orange bread. 

The "crew". 

Our bonfire started out small, but we made it bigger and enjoyed some great laughs around it after our meal. :)

I have been experimenting with drying flowers lately. These are cosmos (one of my favorites!). I'm making homemade bookmarks with them as gifts this year. I'm hoping they'll go through the laminator without a hitch. 

Some of the flowers, goldenrod and other grasses I dried to make the bookmarks. 

The twins and I take a walk everyday (unless it's too cold or rainy). Silas and the puppies like to join us. It's such a peaceful time I look forward to each day. Sometimes, I listen to a podcast, sometimes music, sometimes I just walk and pray for things laying on my heart and sometimes, Silas and I talk about the important things in life like dinosaurs. :)

Anna and I at Thanksgiving. I'm afraid to blink, these kiddos (all of them!) are growing up too fast. Where does the time go? They are so precious. 

I hope this post finds you (reader) well and THANKFUL! The art of gratitude really is an artform. It's a mindset. It's Scriptural and of God. We can all find something to be thankful for each day. We can start a gratitude journal or even write down verses/quotes about being thankful and post them around our homes, visually reminding us and our family members to have a heart of thankfulness always. I pray this Thanksgiving was a good one for you and that this upcoming season of the celebration of Christ's birth is even better.

Many blessings!  Kelli

We Had Some Family Pictures Taken

It's been awhile since we have had family photos taken. We have been a little busy, but here are some fun photos a friend took of us so we can get our picture frames updated around this farmhouse. (grin)

Miss Ruthie Cate

Miss Anna Celeste

Mr. Josiah Cade

My amazing 9 kiddos! I love them so!

Don't you love Titus' smile here? LOL :) 

My precious girls!

Norah just turned 14 this year and Avonlea will be 18 this September. It's hard to believe that these girls were just the twins' age and now they have grown into beautiful, young ladies. I am so thankful for my girls.

Miss Anna-banana :) 

Look at these handsome fellas!

There are more photos to come of the twins' Gotcha Day! Stay tuned. 

What A Year of Blessings! 

Adopting Our "Triplets"

The year 2022 was something I never could've envisioned. We had started the adoption process of our sweet Josiah during Mother's Day weekend. (You can read about his adoption story 2 posts prior titled "We Went on a Little Trip to Washington State".) Never in a million years would I have guessed that we would be adopting THREE, precious babies within 6 months! This entire story from front to back had God's hand all over it and my prayer is that I can share the details with you all soon (these days, there is little time for writing).  ;)

There are so many people in this world who don't believe in God. They claim atheism or agnosticism with pride and confidence, never even giving God a chance. If they would just sit and listen to the testimonies of believers, they too, could come to know this LIVING God. He speaks prophetically to those who are willing to listen to Him. The Holy Spirit tells us of things to come both blessings and warnings. This is a story of a blessing. Two, to be exact. Really, three. :) 

He gives, what I like to call, "roadsigns". He speaks in PATTERNS, sometimes so blatantly that one can't escape. So blatently that one knows that it IS the will of God without a shadow of a doubt. FAITH. When we use our faith muscles time and time again, they are strengthened for the next time God asks us to use them. It gets easier as we mature in faith. Here is a story of faith in action...

It started back in 2019 when the Lord gave me a dream about adopting through a family friend of ours. One I hadn't talked to in years. I didn't think much of it. I wrote it down in a journal and totally forgot about it. Then, came dream after dream about twins, specifically girls. When we applied to the adoption agency we were going to use, I told the lady that I felt very strongly that we were going to be adopting twins. Now, having a large family already (6 children), I think she thought I was crazy. We were matched about a year later with a birth mother in Washington State for a baby boy, our Josiah. We were so excited! I put the dreams and signs of twins away. We were getting a baby boy and our family was complete (or so, we thought!). I flew out for a week's visit, came home for a bit and then flew back when he was ready to leave the NICU and come home to his forever family. 

I remember a day where I went to go visit Josiahon our first trip. I couldn't find him where his normal isolet was located.  A nurse in the NICU said that he was moved to another spot. I found him, picked him up and snuggled him, thanking God for my sweet boy. A nurse apologized for the confusion. They had a set of TWIN GIRLS and needed the space. I remember telling God that I was so thankful for my son, but why was He continuing this pattern of twin girls in my life. 

I was about to find out!

After snuggles with my sweet boy, I went to have lunch with my mother-in-law, who came with us, and my two daughters. We were back in the hotel room and she shared a story with me about a friend out west who needed prayer and was pregnant with twins. I told her, we would keep her in our prayers. There was a part of me that was curious though. The Lord was BOMBARDING me with signs of twins for years. (Specifically, girls.) It was as though I couldn't escape it. (When I say I need to write this story in DETAIL, I do mean DETAIL. For now, I'll give you the general story.)

When I got home, it was a sweet time of bonding with Josiah. We came home the first week of June (his due date) and finalized the adoption very quickly thereafter. 

After a few months passed, we got word from the twins' birth family that the birth mother was seriously considering choosing adoption for her twins. She was considering OUR FAMILY. Wow. What an honor! (We weren't even looking to adopt any more children.) 

 "Lord, was this what you meant about adopting twins?" 

I was in heavy prayer. I was in need of my Heavenly Father to speak to me specifically. If we were going to adopt twins, I was going to have to be prepared. Our hearts were willing if this was what the birth mother truly wanted.  One morning, while taking my kiddos to a homeschool PE class, I prayed and asked God that if this was His plan, would He please give me a sign. I needed to know that this was HIS plan. When we arrived at the PE class, I sat down next to a mother that I had never met before. We started talking and I asked her if she was from our area of Tennessee. She said that she had lived here for years, but was originally from Colorado. My ears perked up. "Really", I said. I asked her what town specifically. When she named the town (we'll not name the town for privacy purposes), I about dropped my jaw. It was the EXACT town the birth mother lived in and the twins would be born. I got chills. God was speaking and preparing us.

My mother-in-law called me frantically one day. She was shaking and told me that the birth mother did indeed want to place her twins with our family. I was shocked, but at the same time, wasn't.  God had been speaking SO clearly. (I had a hunch they were girls too. Our Ruthie and "Mara"natha. The second name changed a bit though...more on that later.)

After she called me that day, I was put in contact with the birth family directly. We had some great discussions, getting to know one another, asking lots of questions and trying to form somewhat of a plan. I'll never forget the first time speaking with the birth mother. I was so nervous. I wanted her to know that we would love her babies like we loved all of our others. We would always talk respectfully about her to our children and we would protect them and love them unconditionally. 

(The twins and Grandma)

My brain had a few moments of thinking about the reality of raising THREE babies at once, just months apart in age. However, Rob and I moved forward with saying "yes" because of how clear God had been in speaking to us for what He was going to do. When He calls you to do something, sometimes it doesn't make sense, but even though it can look scary or even foolish, there is such blessing in obedience. 

So here we were, a family with 7 children (one, being a newly adopted baby) and we were going to fly to a state we had never been before and adopt TWINS! At this point, we were told that they were girls. God had already spoken beforehand though. He had even given us names for them. He knew them as they were being knitted together in their birth mother's womb. 

We were settled on Ruth Catherine and Maranatha Celeste, but Maranatha (it means "come Lord Jesus") is kind of a long name for a little one. We loved "Mara" for short, but after we learned that it means "bitter", we decided against using it and went with "Anna" instead. 

I wondered when the babies would be born. As we waited, we continued talking on the phone and decided on an adoption agency in Colorado to help us complete the legal paperwork process. They have also provided wonderful counseling support for both families. I remember, on my birthday, asking God when we would be getting the twins. I asked Him to reveal that to me as a birthday present. I sat in prayer for a bit and He brought Zechariah 11 to mind. I turned there in my Bible. As I read the passage, "30 days" leaped out of the page at me. I got chills. 30 days from my birthday was November 8th.  I had plenty of time to get bags packed and ready. Plenty of time to prepare our family for twins. 

Well, we got an unexpected call one morning (October 28th) that the birth mother had gone into labor! Her water had broke. There was no turning back. The twins were coming! Suddenly, this (somewhat) organized, self-controlled lady couldn't think. (gulp) My bags weren't all the way packed. "Lord, you said in 30 days! What's going on?" Robbie booked me a ticket to Denver and we loaded up what I had packed and off to the airport we went. I flew out by myself first. I was able to get to the hospital late that night and meet the birth mother and see the twins. Adrenilene kept me going to whole time. I was so excited! It was such a pleasure meeting her and her mother. When, I went back to see the babies, I lost it. What an emotional day. I cried tears of joy to see these precious girls that I would have the priveledge of raising. I cried tears of sadness at the loss for the birth family. Adoption is joy and sorrow all rolled into one and sometimes, the emotions seem too big to bare. God was with all of us though and there was a certain peace throughout the whole process, even when things got a little rocky. 

We wound up taking 2 trips out. We had to leave the girls after a week of being there and after the birth mother had some thoughts to sort out. Remember that November 8th date? Well, it was on that day that there was court and the judge recommended moving forward with our family adopting the girls. The birthmother called us and asked us if we still wanted to adopt the girls. THAT was the day we knew God had moved and the girls would come home. We were asked to come back out and with joy and excitement, we were on our way to get our daughters. We flew in on December 6, got a lovely visit with them the following day and on December 8, we "took placement" of the girls. That was an emotional day of picture taking, hugs and paper signing. We exited the attorney's office with Anna and Ruthie and headed back to the rental house, to our children who were anxiously waiting to meet their sisters. 

We were in Colorado a total of 9 days. We were so thankful for our farm sitters and arrived home 9 days before Christmas. That week was such a blur of figuring out somewhat of a routine and settling in and bonding with the twins. We were finally home! We had 9 days to buy all our Christmas gifts for one another, as well as do the grocery shopping and catch up on the farm. There were a lot of pictures taken of babies in cute outfits and I'm still in amazement that we were able to pull off Christmas cards, complete with a letter and picture (Not quite sure how THAT happened, honestly! I know they were late! There were a lot of people praying for us and we wanted to fill them in on what was happening.)

We have been home and settled since then and the twins are growing and changing every day!  They are gaining weight beautifully (they were premies, born at 35 weeks) and really babbling, practicing sitting up and giving us some good sleep (finally) at night. Josiah is mesmerized at them. We are already trying to stay a few months ahead preparing baby gates and wondering how we will teach three babies how to walk, potty train and keep our eyes on. Having triplets, essentially, has been a lot of work, but the rewards have been abundant. Robbie and I crash at the end of the day and look at each other and smile. We are TIRED. {grin} We are BLESSED.  Being in our early 40s, I think this is how God is going to keep us young! We don't mind. :)  I think it's really neat that we have a sweet, little brood of babies at the tail end of the family. Before we adopted the twins, I thought it might be more than we could handle...

But God.

God gives us the strength everyday to love on these children. Even the hard days aren't as hard as I initially thought they would be. We have had mostly amazing ENCOURAGERS, a few skeptics and some very faithful supporters at church and through family and friends. 

We are excited about the days to come, watching all of our 9 children grow. This mama is enjoying mothering twins and I have developed a very high respect for parents of multiples. It is hard work. It is sacrificial at a whole, new level. Mamas of multiples, we "get" each other. I don't know too many of them personally, but when you say you have twins/triplets, you get "the look". The look that says "I understand". {grin} "I've been through that and girl, I get you." {wink} They also know the double/triple blessing that it brings. 

I hope you enjoy the videos we put together. We created these keepsakes so that our children can look back on these memories and know how much they are loved by not only us, but their birth families too. They loved them SO much that they made such a hard and brave decision to choose adoption. In a world that doesn't value babies in the womb, we are so thankful that our birth mama chose LIFE and ADOPTION. We could never thank her enough! 

Enjoy the videos and I will do my best to continue updating this blog with sweet photos of the babies and the journey God is taking us on as a family. 

Josiah's Adoption

Ruthie and Anna's Adoption