Back from the Beach...

Hello Again! Does anyone still check my blog for new posts?
Our family has just returned from the coast. It was a fun and fast week. I really didn't want to come back to be honest. School starts in a week and I don't feel ready or able. How can summer almost be over???? Wasn't it just May 31st? OK, enough whining.
The beach was beautiful as always. A thousand little creatures to observe and waves to ride. We witnessed 3 weddings, believe it or not, as well as two men hopping up from their towels and calling their family members in from the surf (because they thought they saw fins).Did I mention that it was Shark Week on the Discovery Channel while we were there? (I think everyone was a bit jumpy.) I knew we had seen too much of it when Kate declared to me that the tide pool had a shark in it.
Anyway, we had the chance to take lots of photos which is so much fun. Friends asked us to photograph their family in the dunes and we loved the challenge and learning opportunity. Hopefully and prayerfully we got some shots that they will love.  And now for a few of my favorites from the week...

Just Plain Fun!

Last week I finally got to meet a friend of mine, Adeye, that I have only known through blog land for the past 18 months. When I discovered her blog, she was the adoptive mom of 2 and pursuing 1 more little girl in the Ukraine. I gleaned and gleaned from her godly wisdom and exhortation. I was bolstered by her courage. I had so much fun getting to know her from afar. Then, as God would have it, my real life girlfriend , Kristin, and her husband, decided to adopt through the same ministry and country as Adeye  and they were able to meet in person this past winter. Fast forward 6 months....

Now that the adopted little ones are all home, Kristin and I made the trek north and Adeye made the trek south and we were able to meet , the 3 of us and our 15 children, just over the Virginia state line. I have no more words so I will just let the photos tell the story.

Guess What ! We're Adopting Again!!!!

As much as I wish it could be another of God's little girls somewhere in the world, this time we are adopting a creature of the 4-legged persuasion. I have 3 daughters that are horse crazy (one of which is completely bonkers) . The completely crazy one has been begging for a horse of our own for many moons now. Anyone who knows anything about horses knows that they can be very expensive to keep. Therefore the answer was always a resounding "no", unfortunately. Well, the prayers must have been ascending from our house  to the throne of Heaven in droves because a couple of weeks ago a friend of Randy's    (who has a horse farm and has been attending a Bible study that Randy has been leading ) offered us a horse for a few months. He appreciated the fact that the horse would have so much attention and love and would be ridden, and it was one less for him to worry about. Swell!! except for the fact that we had no place to keep a horse. We called a neighbor who also has horses and asked if she had room for one more. She did!!!One more mountain, we cannot afford horse boarding. Our neighbor offered that the girls could exchange stable duties for boarding costs. Really???? No one but God could have worked this out. How amazingly sweet  of Him to give my girls the desires of their hearts like this. So, without further ado, meet the newest, much anticipated,  member of the Allen family...Barron, our bay, Tennessee Walker.

Help if you are able...

I wanted to post about a blog friend, Holly, who has a huge heart for orphaned children and  is fund raising for her second adoption. If you are looking for an opportunity to help with the orphan crisis around the world, consider giving to Holly's adoption fund. Two ways...first, you could simply bless her family with a love offering or , second, you can go to her blog (A Purpose Driven Life) and read about her fund raiser on Etsy. This company allows a certain percentage of all sales tomorrow (7-6-2010)  to go to Holly's adoption fund AND you get some beautiful or whimsical jewelry to give as gifts. It is a win- win situation!!! You can scroll down my favorite blogs list and click on Purpose Driven Life to visit Holly's blog and help out. Thank you in advance!!!!
ps-Once you are on Holly's blog, scroll past the latest post. The next post down is on her fundraiser. May God bless your efforts to help the "least of these".

Finally!!!

Randy , the girls and I finally got to meet Miss Nadia Ferguson last Sunday. Boy, was it just me or did it seem like a lifetime since I first lay eyes on her last December when Jim and Kristin announced their adoption?????

Anyway, it was certainly worth the wait. She was sweet and delightful and entertained us all. I will never get over watching an orphaned child become treasure in the eyes of a family. Of course, she always was precious in the eyes of God. So glad he opens our eyes to the truth of where TRUE treasure is hidden on this earth. So glad Jim and Kristin set their hearts on finding it....

Happy Father's Day....My Gift This Year !!!

Well, this was an interesting Father's day for me. I just have to say that I am glad my father is still with me. He almost wasn't. Almost two weeks ago my father was driving in his 89 toyota pickup (yes, that is 1989) and turned on the airconditioning. He heard a strange sound and then there was an explosion within the engine area . The next thing he knows, the truck is on fire and smoke and flames are billowing into the cab through the vents. My father was able to get out but, in grabbing his wallet and cell phone, he burned his hands. By the time the fire engines arrived, flames were shooting 15 feet into the air. The truck was a total loss.
My father did receive some burns, but I don't have to tell you how tragically this story could have ended. In my mind, I can see the door jamming closed and my father unable to get out of the fire. I easily could have been planning and  attending his funeral this week. So ...I really want to thank my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have and keep my earthly father for another day and another Father's Day.

Grab a tissue first....

Hope is Fading from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.

Adoption...Modern Day Miracle

My family and I were blessed to witness a miracle today.  Today we watched as a little girl on the other side of the world lay her big blue eyes on her family for the very first time. Her name is Nadia . This adoption journey began 6 months ago and culminated this morning when Jim and Kristin were able to hold their child for the first time and wisper to her that she was loved and wanted and coming home. Nadia went from orphan to treasure in the blink of an eye. What could be more miraculous than that? !! Congratulations to the Ferguson family and all the extended relatives....miracles this big have a way of spilling over into every life they touch!  To God be the glory...great things He has done!!!

Hello Again and Hunter is 14!!!

OK...it has been a while since the last post. School is over for another year.Finishing up this year was a full time effort. In the fall I am teaching 9th, 7th and 3rd grades plus keeping a preschooler happy. (I think I am tired already.) But for now, I am enjoying my first week of summer with my girls. I cannot remember anticipating another summer as much as I have this  one.  And now it has come...

I have been wanting to post my eldest daughter's, Hunter, 14th birthday party. It was actually almost a month ago now. She had her best buddies over for a cookout, homemade ice cream Sundays and some girl time. She is now 14 and I have no idea how she got that old. (Wasn't I just watching the stick turn blue and telling Randy that we were going to have a baby?) Anyway , this one is a spitfire... fiercely independent, passionate about horses , knowing exactly how the world should run, computer whiz,  adoption advocate , lover of  fore lorn animals and anything Japanese. I am grateful that Jesus is always watching over her, and I pray that she will stay by His side all of the days of her life. Happy Birthday Bootsie!!!
( In the first photo , Hunter is wearing Western chaps that she received from her Grandparents as a birthday gift. Even a horse lover can be pushed to her limit.  Note her body language as she is obliged to try them on. Hee hee!)

Happy Mother's Day to You!!!

I wish I had a beautiful photo of my cherubs to post on this day when I celebrate God's plan and purpose in making me a mother...after all, He used Hunter and Logan and Olivia and Kate to bring His plan to fruition. But I couldn't find a picture of them all to post and my thoughts really went a different direction anyway...
When God whispers in my ear and reminds me of my purpose as a mother to these children, I hold these inspirations very close to my heart as precious nuggets of pure, gleaming gold, grounding me AND allowing me to soar, all at the same time! He has given me two lately...
A few Sundays ago, sitting in the service with Kate on my lap, I couldn't help but think of her life if God had not brought us to her. The choir was singing a old time hymn of pure scriptural truths , the kind of song which was written after the author had LIVED it, TASTED God , and SEEN with his own 2 eyes that He was good. I looked at Kate and wondered what she was actually hearing, how or if the Holy Spirit was reaching her sweet, little 3 yr old spirit....... and what boldly came to me was... not THIS one, Satan....you will NOT have THIS one.... Kate is ultimately responsible for accepting Christ Jesus as her Savior in her lifetime, but she is now in a home and church and surrounded by people who will ALWAYS point her to Jesus as the answer. Would she have had this in Guatemala? Will the thousands of orphans still in Guatemala ever hear the Truth???What about the millions of orphans around the world??? Only God knows the answer to that, but Kate(and Olivia) have it now!!! This, God whispered to me, is one reason I appointed you as her mother, because I know that you will strive to show her My truth for as much time as I give you with her.
A couple of weeks ago Kate had to have another MRI. I hated the thought , dreaded the procedure, and resented the situation. As I was forlornly carrying Kate into the hospital, God gave me another nugget. He said, "Lisa, in this life, Kate may need some extra medical attention...will you see that she gets it for Me???" From that point on , I looked at the day in an entirely different light. Of course I will, Lord! ( maybe another reason God appointed me as her mother...I will strive to be obedient even if I don't like a situation).
I have 3 other daughters with which God has given me many a chance to beg for nuggets. Sometimes He has given them, sometimes not. But all four of them are shaping me into the woman God wants me to be. For this, I am eternally grateful to them and to God!!
Being a mother is an amazing journey. God really gives us a glimpse into the magnitude of love that He has poured out on His children. It is an impossibly hard job at times and,yet, a job with the highest return. To have been chosen to raise the next generation of God's people in this dying world is a position of vast honor. I pray for myself as well as all of you on this mother's day. May we keep on keeping on, pointing all those little pairs of feet toward the cross and throne of Jehovah. May we ask for and receive those golden nuggets.May God show us,time to time, just why He brought each of us our particular children. May we view motherhood through the eyes of the One who purposed us to be mothers before the foundations of the world, and not through the eyes of this, now, broken world.
Happy, Happy Mother's Day to you!!!

Mesmerized

Kate and Olivia were invited to a birthday party this weekend...for princesses only! I had too much fun photographing this social event of the season: ) I caught two princesses adoring their royal jewelry. Couldn't help but think, when I first saw this photo, that 20 years from now, the exact same scene may be playing out as two close friends examine the diamond ring proudly worn by one or the other. Huge huge sigh : )

Spring is in the Air...

Springtime is in the air here in North Carolina. Randy and I decided we would take the girls to some local gardens and take a few photos. Of our 4 daughters, we only had 2 takers, but we headed out anyway. I have to say, the colors of the flowers were in full burst! There were some areas of these fragrant gardens that were breathtaking, especially in the sunset. How splendid of our God to give us such colors and scents and seasons. Can you just imagine the colors and fragrances and gardens of Heaven!?!

Amazing Love...How Can It Be...

What an amazing day! Another Easter has come and gone, but the magnitued of its impact on our world and all of civilization endures! Once again we are reminded of the great length and depth that God Almighty has gone to in order to Adopt those who would put thier faith in Christ Jesus and give us the right to be called the Sons and Daughters of God. We are reminded that He reached his hands to this gigantic orphanage that we call Earth (filled with people who had been cut off from thier heavenly Father through sin) and paved the way to redeem us , adopt us, and welcome us to His home in the end. Easter represents the end of our lives as orphans and the beginning of our lives as treasured heirs of God. Adoption ...... His idea, His plan , and His heart.

"Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God shouldst die for me....."

Happy Easter!