Well, I know I said I would get some pictures on here. And I will. Soon. I just have to copy them over from my husband's computer onto this one, and then we will get some posted. Sorry! It is on my to-do list!
I am extremely busy during the day cleaning, cooking, cleaning, cooking, cleaning... did I mention cooking? We eat often! I was completely spoiled in Colombia by being blessed with Rosario cooking for us. Then we get home and for 3 weeks we get dinner brought to our door. I am way out of practice. Can you believe I have not made a grocery list since we have been home? (That's on my to-do list also!) I just keep pulling things out of the freezer that we froze from our garden two years ago - carrots, zucchini and such. Plus, we have lots of rice and beans stored.
The thought has actually crossed my mind that we could just skip a meal. I mentioned this the other day to our Colombian kids. The one that understood me, Jaime, just grinned and shook his head no at me. So I fed them :)
Right now, I'm protesting. There are a bunch of dishes calling to me from the kitchen, but I'm drowning all the yelling out (from the dishes) with the aching of my legs and arms and with how nice it is to be typing on this blog again!
My arms and legs ache because Kevin and I were outside, with Tyler, for many hours today hauling wood and clearing an area for our buck, a Nigerian Dwarf goat who has yet to be named, and who is about 7 months old. I am very excited to breed him to our two Mini-alpines, Velvet and DD. We also have a full size Alpine, Alana, who is in milk, and her 1 month old buckling. The buckling we will sell. I REALLY like getting fresh milk from Alana.
Which reminds me, I need to get myself out of this chair to go feed Alana... I'll go ahead and post this now because I have no idea when I will sit myself down in this chair again :) Hopefully, soon!
Oh, we are going to start making our goat milk soap again tomorrow. We are going to be making it and selling it as a family business. If you have any favorite scents, be sure to let me know! In addition to the soap, we will soon be trying our hand at goat-milk lotion. I just need to get a couple more ingredients.
Talk to you later!
Karen
Thank you for visiting! We are a Christian, homeschooling family seeking to follow our Father’s will for our lives. We have been blessed with four children - three were a gift to us through birth, and one was born in our hearts and brought to us through the wonderful gift of adoption. Follow along with us as we continue to grow our family through the miracle of adoption for a sibling group of 5 from Colombia!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
To Colombia and Back Again!
Hello!
I know it has been a REALLY long time since I last posted, but our lives have been turned upside down and we are just now finding our way right-side up again :) As the time drew near for us to leave for Colombia, my time on the computer continued to dwindle. I had every intention of (and REALLY wanted to!) posting while we were in Colombia and adjusting as a new family, but those first few weeks were hard and we were exhausted. I praise God that things are now going well. Yes, we have trials and adjustments every day still (we have been home just over 2 weeks), but compared to what it was like in the beginning, it is very good.
One of the major changes in my own life from adding 5 more children to the family is that my time is no longer my own. That sounds really selfish on my part. Before we brought home the 5 we had 4 other children, but because of their ages, they were beginning to do more on their own and care for themselves.
The three oldest (11, 13 and 15) were pretty independent as far as chores, schoolwork, picking out their clothes, cleaning their rooms, etc. I was only really helping Lyric, our daughter from China, who is now 5, so I had that spare time to read, blog, search the internet, facebook... But now, because the youngest just turned 2, the ages of our younger children are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7! My time is no longer my own, and about 95% of the time that feels really good. (The other 5% is my selfishness when I want to do things only for myself. Like stay in bed all day long or watch movies at night until I can no longer keep my eyes open!)
Maybe saying "my time is no longer my own" isn't exactly what I want to get across. "I'm doing more for others (our 9 children) and less for myself" may be more along the lines of what I'm trying to say. Doing for others just feels right. I am so glad that God put adoption on our hearts.
In Christ,
Karen
P.S. I'll try my best to post again really soon - with pictures! For now, I need to go milk our goat, do the laundry, clean up, etc etc...
I know it has been a REALLY long time since I last posted, but our lives have been turned upside down and we are just now finding our way right-side up again :) As the time drew near for us to leave for Colombia, my time on the computer continued to dwindle. I had every intention of (and REALLY wanted to!) posting while we were in Colombia and adjusting as a new family, but those first few weeks were hard and we were exhausted. I praise God that things are now going well. Yes, we have trials and adjustments every day still (we have been home just over 2 weeks), but compared to what it was like in the beginning, it is very good.
One of the major changes in my own life from adding 5 more children to the family is that my time is no longer my own. That sounds really selfish on my part. Before we brought home the 5 we had 4 other children, but because of their ages, they were beginning to do more on their own and care for themselves.
The three oldest (11, 13 and 15) were pretty independent as far as chores, schoolwork, picking out their clothes, cleaning their rooms, etc. I was only really helping Lyric, our daughter from China, who is now 5, so I had that spare time to read, blog, search the internet, facebook... But now, because the youngest just turned 2, the ages of our younger children are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7! My time is no longer my own, and about 95% of the time that feels really good. (The other 5% is my selfishness when I want to do things only for myself. Like stay in bed all day long or watch movies at night until I can no longer keep my eyes open!)
Maybe saying "my time is no longer my own" isn't exactly what I want to get across. "I'm doing more for others (our 9 children) and less for myself" may be more along the lines of what I'm trying to say. Doing for others just feels right. I am so glad that God put adoption on our hearts.
In Christ,
Karen
P.S. I'll try my best to post again really soon - with pictures! For now, I need to go milk our goat, do the laundry, clean up, etc etc...
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Welcoming in 2013
Last night was wonderful and an awesome start to the new year! Our family welcomed in 2013 with some dear friends of ours, the Elliotts. It wasn't the plan originally for them to stay, but God orchestrated it so they could. We talked, laughed, ate and prayed. We watched the movie La Montana, which I'll talk about in a later post, and discussed our plans for 2013 and what God had on our hearts.
The Elliotts are going to begin their fundraising efforts to help with adoption costs of a special needs child, possibly from Ukraine, along with opening their home to special needs children through foster care. We are going to be welcoming home our children and adjusting as a family of 11. Big changes for both our families in 2013.
Kevin and I talked about volunteering more, especially with our older children. We want to do more for God as He has given us so much. We are excited to see what He has in store for us beyond adding our new children to our family.
Happy New Year, friends! I pray that you have big hopes for 2013 and you are looking to God for how He wants to be such a big, big part of your year.
In Christ,
Karen
The Elliotts are going to begin their fundraising efforts to help with adoption costs of a special needs child, possibly from Ukraine, along with opening their home to special needs children through foster care. We are going to be welcoming home our children and adjusting as a family of 11. Big changes for both our families in 2013.
Kevin and I talked about volunteering more, especially with our older children. We want to do more for God as He has given us so much. We are excited to see what He has in store for us beyond adding our new children to our family.
Happy New Year, friends! I pray that you have big hopes for 2013 and you are looking to God for how He wants to be such a big, big part of your year.
In Christ,
Karen
Thursday, December 27, 2012
God Has A Plan For Us...
and I can't wait to see what His plan is! We have been searching and searching for a place to stay while we are in Colombia that is in a good area and is affordable to us. We have been quoted anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000! That's a lot of money. Many friends and even strangers are looking on our behalf, and we just wanted to say thank you for that! The less we have to pay while we are there, the less we have to pay back when we are home and the more we can concentrate on our children instead of finances.
Wherever God has us, I pray that He uses our time in Colombia in a way that is honoring to Him. Maybe in some way He will use us to show someone in Colombia who He is. Maybe He will use someone to draw us closer. Maybe both.
Whatever His plans are, I can't wait to experience them!
In Christ,
Karen
Wherever God has us, I pray that He uses our time in Colombia in a way that is honoring to Him. Maybe in some way He will use us to show someone in Colombia who He is. Maybe He will use someone to draw us closer. Maybe both.
Whatever His plans are, I can't wait to experience them!
In Christ,
Karen
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Um... did you recently order 10 bars of soap?
Hi - if you ordered 10 bars of soap within the last couple of days could you email me again? I have lots of soap still and would be happy to get that to you, but I must have accidentally deleted your email! I looked at it once when we were in Michigan and think your name is Joann??? I hope you get this :) kevkarb@yahoo.com
To everyone else reading this, please disregard my absentmindedness for the next, oh, 10 years or so...
Thanks!
Karen
Update just after I posted this: I found her!
To everyone else reading this, please disregard my absentmindedness for the next, oh, 10 years or so...
Thanks!
Karen
Update just after I posted this: I found her!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, everyone! May God bless you and your family during this winter season!
This has been a Christmas like no other for my own family. In the rush to prepare for the all the snow that we keep hearing is coming we went outside and chopped and stacked wood today! Never would have guessed I would have been doing that on Christmas Day, but I have to admit that the exercise and fresh air felt really good :)
We visited family/friends in Michigan over the weekend and had a wonderful time. It was our plan to get back by about 5:00 pm on Christmas Eve to eat pizza and have a quiet evening, but the time with our friends/family was well worth the late night drive back home. We pulled in our drive-way at about 11:45 pm! No gifts had been wrapped and no tree had been lit (or even chopped down!) because of all the running around we have been doing getting prepared for Colombia.
After the children were tucked in their beds with visions of sugar plums Kevin and I brought out three small fake trees we had in our attic. I decorated them with lights and tinsel and made a funky star for the top of the tree that resembled more of a shiny turtle than a beautiful, guiding light for the wise men! Still, at 2:00 in the morning, just before we headed to bed, I took a second glance at all of our work and thought it quite a beautiful site. The three trees standing together reminded me of our Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit.
Kevin, the kids and I had our drawing just a little bit ago for the free soap give-away. I'm sorry that all of you who commented, emailed or helped spread the word about our blog couldn't win, but we did get to have 5 winners and I'm pretty excited about having that many. If your name is below please email me at kevkarb@yahoo.com and let me know your address! I also emailed or messaged you if your name was drawn.
Ami B.(you commented below about posting on Homeschool Share) your name was drawn first so you get 7 free bars of soap!
Alix - thank you for commenting below! Your name was drawn second, which means we will be sending you 5 free bars of our all-natural goat milk soap!
Bonita T. - thank you for emailing! Your name was drawn third. I'll be sending you 4 bars of our soap because the third child we are adopting is 4 years old!
Jennifer S. - thanks for sharing on facebook! Your name was drawn 4th! The fourth child we are adopting soon is 3 years old so you will get 3 bars of our all-natural goat milk soap!
Tina H. - your name was drawn 5th so you will get one free bar of our soap! Congratulations!
I would also like to say a special thank you to those who have bought soap or made a donation to help us bring our children home! Our chip-in button fundraising goal to raise the five kids one-way airfare from Bogota to Fort Lauderdale has been met! Thank you so much for blessing our family. Words alone are not enough to express our gratefulness at your generosity.
And... when we arrived home late last night on Christmas Eve a big box awaited us on our front porch. Someone whom we have never met in person and who is in the middle of an adoption from Colombia herself said they would be happy to send us some clothing for our Colombian children. I thought she was so kind and, honestly, expected some nice, used clothing to be shipped. (Which we would have been completely happy with!) But when I opened the box and saw very nice, new clothes for the children I was overwhelmed. Thank you. I pray that God blesses you and your family this season and with your adoption! Maybe we will see one another in Colombia in the new year.
Merry Christmas,
Karen and family
This has been a Christmas like no other for my own family. In the rush to prepare for the all the snow that we keep hearing is coming we went outside and chopped and stacked wood today! Never would have guessed I would have been doing that on Christmas Day, but I have to admit that the exercise and fresh air felt really good :)
We visited family/friends in Michigan over the weekend and had a wonderful time. It was our plan to get back by about 5:00 pm on Christmas Eve to eat pizza and have a quiet evening, but the time with our friends/family was well worth the late night drive back home. We pulled in our drive-way at about 11:45 pm! No gifts had been wrapped and no tree had been lit (or even chopped down!) because of all the running around we have been doing getting prepared for Colombia.
After the children were tucked in their beds with visions of sugar plums Kevin and I brought out three small fake trees we had in our attic. I decorated them with lights and tinsel and made a funky star for the top of the tree that resembled more of a shiny turtle than a beautiful, guiding light for the wise men! Still, at 2:00 in the morning, just before we headed to bed, I took a second glance at all of our work and thought it quite a beautiful site. The three trees standing together reminded me of our Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit.
Kevin, the kids and I had our drawing just a little bit ago for the free soap give-away. I'm sorry that all of you who commented, emailed or helped spread the word about our blog couldn't win, but we did get to have 5 winners and I'm pretty excited about having that many. If your name is below please email me at kevkarb@yahoo.com and let me know your address! I also emailed or messaged you if your name was drawn.
Ami B.(you commented below about posting on Homeschool Share) your name was drawn first so you get 7 free bars of soap!
Alix - thank you for commenting below! Your name was drawn second, which means we will be sending you 5 free bars of our all-natural goat milk soap!
Bonita T. - thank you for emailing! Your name was drawn third. I'll be sending you 4 bars of our soap because the third child we are adopting is 4 years old!
Jennifer S. - thanks for sharing on facebook! Your name was drawn 4th! The fourth child we are adopting soon is 3 years old so you will get 3 bars of our all-natural goat milk soap!
Tina H. - your name was drawn 5th so you will get one free bar of our soap! Congratulations!
I would also like to say a special thank you to those who have bought soap or made a donation to help us bring our children home! Our chip-in button fundraising goal to raise the five kids one-way airfare from Bogota to Fort Lauderdale has been met! Thank you so much for blessing our family. Words alone are not enough to express our gratefulness at your generosity.
And... when we arrived home late last night on Christmas Eve a big box awaited us on our front porch. Someone whom we have never met in person and who is in the middle of an adoption from Colombia herself said they would be happy to send us some clothing for our Colombian children. I thought she was so kind and, honestly, expected some nice, used clothing to be shipped. (Which we would have been completely happy with!) But when I opened the box and saw very nice, new clothes for the children I was overwhelmed. Thank you. I pray that God blesses you and your family this season and with your adoption! Maybe we will see one another in Colombia in the new year.
Merry Christmas,
Karen and family
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
New Sale On Our Goat Milk Soap! Help Us Reach Our Chipin Goal!
We would really like to reach our chip-in goal (only about $360.00 to go!) for the children's airfare by December 26th. I started thinking the other day that it might just be too hard to decide on which type of soap to order, so how about a sampler pack?
The kids and I are in the process of putting together only 16 sampler packs that will contain 12 individual sample size bars of soap! Each sample bar weighs anywhere from 1 to 2 oz. They are about the size of the hand soaps you get in a hotel, but ours are home-made, all-natural and go to a really great cause! We are still working out the best way to ship the sampler pack to give you the lowest shipping price, but we do know that we would like to offer the sampler pack for $20.00. ($20.00 plus shipping for 12 sample size bars).
Here are the types included in every sampler pack:
Colombian Coffee
Frankincense
Grapefruit
Lavender
Lemongrass
Oat N' Honey
Orange-Cinnamon
Patchouli-Lime
Peppermint
Peppermint Patty
Spruce
Sweet Orange
Individually, each whole bar is offered at $6.00 each. Or, you can order 5 whole bars for $25.00. We do have a couple of other types of bars for sale here (along with the types listed above), but didn't have enough made of each one to add it to the sampler pack.
If you would like to order, just email me at kevkarb@yahoo.com.
And don't forget to enter the free give-away for some of our goat milk soap if you haven't already! The details are just a couple of posts below on Thursday, December 6th! The drawing will be held and results posted on Christmas Day!
Thank you!
Karen and family
The kids and I are in the process of putting together only 16 sampler packs that will contain 12 individual sample size bars of soap! Each sample bar weighs anywhere from 1 to 2 oz. They are about the size of the hand soaps you get in a hotel, but ours are home-made, all-natural and go to a really great cause! We are still working out the best way to ship the sampler pack to give you the lowest shipping price, but we do know that we would like to offer the sampler pack for $20.00. ($20.00 plus shipping for 12 sample size bars).
Here are the types included in every sampler pack:
Colombian Coffee
Frankincense
Grapefruit
Lavender
Lemongrass
Oat N' Honey
Orange-Cinnamon
Patchouli-Lime
Peppermint
Peppermint Patty
Spruce
Sweet Orange
Individually, each whole bar is offered at $6.00 each. Or, you can order 5 whole bars for $25.00. We do have a couple of other types of bars for sale here (along with the types listed above), but didn't have enough made of each one to add it to the sampler pack.
If you would like to order, just email me at kevkarb@yahoo.com.
And don't forget to enter the free give-away for some of our goat milk soap if you haven't already! The details are just a couple of posts below on Thursday, December 6th! The drawing will be held and results posted on Christmas Day!
Thank you!
Karen and family
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