Extending the Family and I Got In!

Our family has grown again.  Since November and up into this June, we will have gained 5 new family members!  Our little niece, who is 4 months old now, was born in the Fall.  As of yesterday my sister in the States officially adopted 3 more adorable little African Americans (we call them the chocolate cousins) and her son will be marrying his fiance in June this Spring.  So exciting!  From just 4 kids, there are now going to be 23 cousins.  That's a lot of kids!

My nephew brought his wife-to-be up to Canada to meet all of us.  It was very special for our families, the sisters in particular, because it was his initiative.  In other words, his mommy didn't make him come.  We felt we must have done something right in order for the cousins to feel so close that he would want to do that.  What we loved about hearing their story was that God was such a key part of it and that my nephew didn't delay once he knew how he felt about her.  He literally drove over and told her and that was it.  Very few guys seem to have that kind of courage these days.  "Goals"....as my kids say.

My new little nieces and nephew that my sister adopted have got to be the cutest little things I've ever seen.  They have sad stories in their background, but they have finally "landed" in my sister's home and we couldn't be happier about it.  Is she overwhelmed?  100%.  She went from her youngest being 12 and having an empty nest feeling already to having a 6 year old as her youngest and is now far from being an empty nester.  She now has 6 adopted children and just 2 biological.  How cool is that?  She would tell you she doesn't feel qualified or ready or even able, but isn't that when God gets all the glory?  When you can't do it except in His power?  We've never prayed so much for one another.

I'm excited for when we'll all get together in June for the wedding.  That'll be a party.  I'm watching closely as the reception is at their farm which is almost identical to our's.  I will be very curious how they will pull it all together and make it look "wedding-ish".  I keep trying to plant seeds of having weddings at our farm as well one day.  We'll see if I can get buy-in when the time comes.

In other big news....I got accepted into college!  I mean, my son did.  When you homeschool through highschool and your child applies to school and then gets in, you kind of feel like YOU got in.  Everyone assumes he was accepted into the school because my husband pulled some strings.  Not at all.  He had to do it all himself.  We created the transcript, but he did the work.  Needless to say, we were so happy for him!  He'll finish working at the restaurant he works at this summer and then head to school in the Fall.  What makes this extremely cool is that my husband will be driving himself, my oldest son and now the next son, all at the same time as they all will be going in the same direction together.  It'll be so great for them to be together each morning and then debriefing each evening.  Only God could coordinate that.  It'll be a 3 year program with a co-op so he'll even make money during his diploma!  That is always a bonus.  Thanks to my husband's job his tuition will be paid for so he'll graduate debt-free...what a gift.  Again, only God.  Once he's completed his program, he has the option to go on to aviation if he wants to or he can even finish an engineering degree if he decides that's the direction he wants to go.  Or....he can also just start work if he gets a job with one of his co-op placements.  One thing I have learned is that I don't need to worry.  God works all things out.

So big things going on.  I pray daily that God will show up, that I'll see Him working.  I certainly can attest that He has been answering those prayers.