Broken

Broken...
lives, hearts, homes, relationships, this world.

It is so hard for me to write this post. Last week was rough. Things have not been well with our Native American exchange student for some time. Levi is no longer with us.

Our hearts are hurting. He is filled with regret. Life is so complicated. Commitment is a challenge. Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. Peace is not always present. Battles have to be fought and victories are not always won.

We pray that Levi can return to our home. His future is unknown...unknown to us, but not unknown to our Lord.

God knows the plans He has for His child, Levi. I used to tell Levi that his theme verse was Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We are praying that he will believe and remember the Truth that he heard while he was with us, and that he will battle every day to make a better life for himself.

I am choosing to think on these truths:

• with Jesus, we can have peace in all circumstances
• God pursues individuals...He knows where and how to make Himself known to Levi
• because of my belief in the power of the Holy Spirit, I can expect the unexpected
• God overcomes opposition through the prayers of His people
• God orchestrates opportunity through prayer
• Even though I feel that time is running out, God has more than enough time to accomplish His plan

Please pray earnestly with us.

I am as flexible as a garden hose in July...

Flexibility is a requirement in my life right now. Byron's sister said the words in my title to me one time and I thought it was so funny! I am learning to be more flexible.

Some of you might be wondering how things are going with Levi, our student from Rosebud Indian Reservation. He has lived with us for exactly three months now. These months have been some of the most intense I have had. Some days are great, some days are stressful, some days are stable.

Levi is respectful, cooperative, and helpful. He has made attending school a priority and is working hard on homework. He is interested in life and asks questions all the time. There are so many things here (everywhere!) that he never experienced on the reservation. We have enjoyed having him with us and consider him part of our family.

He has had a few rough events in these three months. We have tried our best to work through them with him, helping him learn that he can trust us to look out for his well-being. We have shown him that we (and others) truly care about helping him make a better life here. We are excited to help him with plans for his future. It has been easy to come along-side him, since he is working so hard to do what it takes to succeed. It hasn't been easy for him, but he is making lots of good choices.

When we agreed to have Levi join our family, I could not have predicted some of the experiences we would encounter. I was prepared for things to be hard. For a while, just after making the final decision to have Levi live with us, I even had a day of panic. The unknown of what was coming filled me with fear. I believed the lies Satan fed me that said I needed to be completely available to parent my own four children, and no others. I believed the lie that said my children needed me too much for me to take on anything new, since three of the four were beginning public school and college for the first time. I was afraid to take a risk! We had arranged our lives to be predictable and safe. I knew that whatever came my way on a daily basis was likely something I could handle without problem.

Fortunately, God spoke truth to me and calmed my fears. He showed me all of the many people who have invested in my children over the years--friends, family members, teachers, coaches, church leaders. I realized that they would be just fine in their new educational experiences. He showed me how much my KIDS had to offer someone coming into our family. It wasn't just going to be my husband and I investing our time, energy and resources, they would be "givers" too. I realized how wonderful it would be for our family to do something for someone with no expectation of receiving anything back in return. God showed me that He would direct my paths.

I am learning not to plan for what the future days are going to look like. God is teaching me to take each day as He gives, and He is also providing what I need to get through what that day brings. I once said that hosting a teenager from Rosebud would keep me in God's word and on my knees. I didn't know the truth of my words at the time I spoke them. Thanks to God for providing for our every-single-day needs. I will try to let Him direct where we're going and I'm just going to keep working on being as flexible as a garden hose in July!

This and That Randomness

Meggan wanted to plant a garden this year. We are enjoying the fruits of her labors. She has made homemade salsa several times and it is fabulous--always gone within a few days. She is enjoying school and doing well. Sometimes homework is a drag. She is fortunate to have a great group of friends that make school more fun!

We bought a carton of eggs that was frozen. Most of the shells cracked. It was a mess, but Meggan enjoyed peeling the shell off of one to see what a frozen egg looks like. It looks like this:

Cross Country is over for Ryan and Levi. We had great weather for most of the meets.

Ryan is glad it's over, because he has his own running plan that he is ready to get back to. Sometimes working within the coach's plan was a challenge for him. He is very independent and self-motivated. He is also doing great in this new venture called public school.

Levi has cross country behind him and is looking forward to trying wrestling. We are proud of him for trying new things. He is getting into the swing of school and his classes. He has recently enjoyed some weekend trips with other families: one to K.C. for a day of fun, including a trip to a pumpkin patch; the other took him to MN for pheasant hunting.

Brandon has been enjoying fall hunting season by making a trip to Missouri. He brought back deer meat from a friend's kill. We ate it fresh last night, and a new friend of Brandon's joined us for supper. He is from Minnesota and is at ISU without a car. He hasn't sat around a table with a family for a while! I hope we weren't too overwhelming. This is the first fall in eight years that Brandon hasn't been playing football, which leaves more time for hunting.

Speaking of football...
Ellyn doesn't know what she's going to do when football season is over. She can hardly stand the thought of her football manager "job" coming to an end for the year. She loves football and the other manager/friends.  I bet she'll fill her extra time with something... like dance, the school musical, friends, etc. She never seems to have a dull moment in her life, which is partially due to loving her siblings so much and hanging out with them during her free time. She almost couldn't handle last weekend when Brandon and Levi were each gone hunting, and Ryan and Meggan were gone to a retreat.

Each week I say, "I think things will settle down a little around our house this week." Byron laughs now when I say it. There is always something unforeseen that seems to take the extra minutes of this season of our lives. 

The things I had planned to do once school started are still surrounding me. The piles of photos will have to wait. The messy craft table will also wait. This blog...it has to wait as well. :)

But Byron and these silly darlings will not wait...

Where do I start...

I have been away from my blog for more than two weeks, and I hardly know where to start. We've had a lot going on, and  I really want to get it all recorded before it slips from my memory, so here goes!

--On Aug. 14, we had the "End-of-Summer Scavenger Hunt" with 4 other families. It was our second scavenger hunt and was a blast! I want share more about it, so watch for a separate post about how to plan a photo scavenger hunt with friends!

--On Aug. 15, we added a member to our family. A 17-yr-old boy named Levi, from the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota came to live with us for the school year...we're praying it will be even longer. Our church created an exchange program and brought 23 kids from the reservation to live with host families in towns around the area.

--On Aug. 16, we moved Brandon into his dorm room at Iowa State University. It wasn't too hard on me emotionally, since he rode back home with us after we carried in his stuff and got it put away. :)  We took a picture of Byron and Brandon outside of Byron's old dorm room, which is in the same building. The other pictures I took of the day don't even have Brandon in them! My good intentions of taking lots of pictures was spoiled by rain. I could have at least taken one of him in his dorm room, but didn't!

--On Aug. 18, my youngest two, Ryan and Meg, started public school for the first time.  All four school kids posed for this picture:

first day of school - 2011

Then, they hurried to jump in Ellyn's car to head off to school. Except her car wouldn't start and it was blocking my car in the garage. I slowly worked my car out and we rushed off to school with the kids in a panic that they were about to be late for school on the first day!

--That same day, I started a new journey (which was my 2011"one little word") of being home all day with only a dog to keep me company. I had wondered all year what this day would be like, so I had saved lots of errands for this first day of school and had scheduled an appointment to donate blood (in case the day got too long!). Instead, the time flew by and I almost didn't make it back on time to pick up kids at school. :)

--The weekend of Aug. 20-21 brought a trip to the Des Moines farmers market with all seven of us on Saturday morning and to the Iowa State Fair on Sunday afternoon (Byron, Meg and Levi).

--On Tuesday, I hosted a craft day with friends. I had wanted to host a craft day since reading about Meg Duerksen's craft weekend back in February. I started smiling the minute I saw cars pulling into my driveway and ladies getting out carrying bags of crafty goodies and sewing machines! We had such a fun day and took lots of pictures--it definitely deserves its own post.

--This past Friday, Byron, Ellyn and I left for Rosebud to take Levi back for a funeral of a dear family member. It was my first time to go to Rosebud, after first hearing of it 4 years ago when Brandon went on a mission trip there. This weekend was also the Rosebud Fair, so several of the host families made the 8 hour drive to take their students back home for some fair fun and a chance to see their families.
We drove 8 hours on Friday and 8 hours back home yesterday. Ellyn stayed and rode back with another family today.

We are pretty tired today, so I am glad to be having a lazy Sunday afternoon! And especially glad to be catching up on the blog. :)