from us to you.

Merry Christmas to you all.

may your day be filled with love.peace.joy.Christ

much love,

the boswells

*Disclaimer. This post is not meant to be whiny or taken as me complaining. I am a very blessed mama and wife. I've prayed for this life and these kids and I love all of it. In a world where I feel like mamas compare with other mamas, I just want to be real. I often see other moms and wives with more kiddos who seem to have it more together than I, and I compare. So, I'm just setting the record straight for the Boswell Household.*

Being Real? Since Charlie's birth I've had a lot of people ask how we are. Ask how the kids are adjusting. Ask how I'm holding up. And I have two options. I can give the generic, prettier "oh, we're fine" or I can be real. The not always lovely truth. I've opted for the latter. Things right now are hard. I'm surviving hour by hour. Feeling like I'm failing more than I'm thriving. Counting down the min.utes. till nap time. Loosing my cool. Crying for just a few minutes of quiet. Literally, crying real tears. When people say to me "Oh you look great! How much weight have you lost?",  in my mind all I'm thinking is "man, I'd really love to be able to eat breakfast and lunch all in the same day. And eating my dinner while it was warm would be nice too!" Or when people call me super woman. It's almost laughable. If only they were a fly on my wall....there's nothing super about it. I yell. I need grace. I feed my kids lots of pb and j. I need grace. I dread the end of nap time. I need grace. Our house is rarely 'clean'. I need grace. I unload my frustrations on my poor hubby. I need grace. Lots and lots of grace. And I need Jesus. There's nothing super about me. I don't have it figured out. I'm not on top of it. I am right where He wants me, though. In a place of desperately needing Him. Of needing His grace. And I'm so thankful to have a God who provides it.

one month

Happy One Month, Charlie Girl. 

what pure joy you bring to us all  

Charlotte Faith 12.12.13

10 lbs 14.6 oz

21 1/2 inches

85% for weight

75% for Height

Sugar

Spice

And everything nice

That's what little girls are made of.....

Oh! And ruffle bottoms!

A full heart.

One week.

It's already been one week. One week of up all nights. One week of new baby smell. One week of feedings every hour. One week of a thankful heart I'm able to feed her and provide what she needs. One week teeny tiny diapers. One week of even more pink. One week of teaching Solomon the meaning of 'gentle'. One week of perfect endless snuggles. One week of over the moon joy. One week of a full home and an even more full heart. We so very thankful for our little love, our Charlie, our peanut, our Charlotte Faith.

Contentment

I'm told my hands are full. I'm told I'm busy. On occasion I'm told I might be crazy. But really, all I am right now is content. Charlotte Faith joined us on 11.11 and our hearts overflow. A girl. We couldn't believe it and we are so thrilled. We are in a place we never thought we'd be in again and it's a feeling  I can't describe. My heart and mind go back in time. Of babies loved and lost. Of the two loves we brought home not long ago. And hearing her first cry brings tightness to my chest. 

 Joel 2:25

“I’ll make up for the years of the locust,
    the great locust devastation—
Locusts savage, locusts deadly,
    fierce locusts, locusts of doom,
That great locust invasion
    I sent your way.
You’ll eat your fill of good food.
    You’ll be full of praises to your God,
The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder.
    Never again will my people be despised.
You’ll know without question
    that I’m in the thick of life with Israel,
That I’m your God, yes, your God,
    the one and only real God.
Never again will my people be despised."

Hearing Trey recount our story from the last few years gives me chills. The locusts came and devoured. And He has restored. Is restoring. Contentment overwhelms me. And it's perfect. 

Why is orphan Sunday a big deal? Because of these two. 

And all of the other estimated 160,000,000 orphans world wide. 

Because every child deserves to be told they are loved. Cherished. Wanted. Needed. Worthy. They deserve a chance to blossom, flourish, grow. Why is the orphan crisis part of the Christian responsibility? Because God says so. And who are we to tell Him no? 

Best apple crisp ever.

Nothing says fall like warm apple crisp on a cool day. Lucky for you, I have the best apple crisp recipe to pass on....

3-5 pounds of apples. I like gala but any not too sweet apple will work

1 stick of butter. I never said this recipe was good for you...

2 cups of sugar

3/4 cup of flour

1 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

A handful of oatmeal

Peel, core, and slice apples. Place in 9x13 pan

Mix dry ingredients and crumble with butter. A pastry cutter works. Also a fork. Or your fingers...

Top apple with dry ingredient/butter mixture

Bake at 375* for 45 minutes

Try to wait patiently and enjoy the blissful aroma filling your cozy home

Let cool for a bit, divi up big ol' portions and top with vanilla ice cream

Enjoy a little heaven on earth

Happy fall,

Stepping out : the real deal

Trey and I had many cheerleaders when we decided to adopt for the first time. None, however, played a role as big as the Metz family. They helped us find our church home, walked us through steps of Solomon's adoption. Jade even took time away from her family and work to escort me to Uganda on my first trip so she could 'show me around'. We are so grateful for all the support, love, and fundraising efforts they have provided our family. Now, it's our turn to return the favor.

You see, Nathan, Jade, Maddux, Sophie, Ezra, and Ruby are stepping out. They are stepping out of familiar.comfort.home. and creating a new home in UGANDA! Right now, they are in the midst of training, preparing, and fundraising.... and have been given an amazing opportunity.

"God has answered.  While we were praying for increased commitments to support our ministry there was another family praying about something different.  They prayed about how they could be used to partner with the mission of the Metz family in Uganda.  We were asking for help and they were asking how to help.  Wow!  As God heard those prayers He orchestrated a beautiful answer.  So, here it is:

We have been offered a matching donation of $700 per month.  The deadline is only 90 days away but we are confident that God can use His Church to meet this goal!  Starting today, all monthly (recurring) commitments made to the Metz family will count toward this matching amount.  If those monthly commitments add up to $700 before November 5th then they will ALL be matched.  Yes, that is $1,400 per month.  This is God-sized activity!

If you have been interested in joining our ministry but haven't yet made that monthly commitment then we encourage you to start now.  Tell your friends!  We can do this!

To join in the challenge, click here and select "recurring gift".  

If you would prefer to mail in a pledge card email us at nathanandjademetz@gmail.com and we will get one to you right away!

Thank you!! We are so excited!!"

Would you take some time and pray about being apart of the Metz journey to Uganda? They have done so much and blessed so many and I can.not. wait to see how the Lord uses them on that glorious red dirt. 

In order to raise some money for the Metz family adventure, I'm doing a little give-away. Who doesn't love a hand-made-with-love door sign made by yours truly?

Well, for a small donation of $5 you can have a chance at winning it! All you need to do is donate the appropriate amount for how many entries you would like to my pay pal with your name. October 25th I will use random.org to choose our winner. 

Sooo let's get ready to bless their pants off and good luck!

Xo,

game changer.

I'm exhausted. bone tired. You know. The 3rd trimester, wrangle 3 kiddos, make breakfastlunchdinner. 'clean', laundry, dishes, annnnd work. Yep. That kinda tired. When I'm tired I find it easy to whine and complain. I can be a good 'moper'. I can grumble on occasion. I'm telling ya, some days it's just not pretty. But then. Then this came along and smacked me right upside the head:

"Gideon's story reveals that even your most mundane task/duty has a twinkle of the favor of God. For if He removed His blessings completely from you - taking away your home, family, work, possessions - the need for many of your daily tasks would disappear. Don't despise the very things that signify your seat under the umbrella of God's goodness each day." -'Gideon' Priscilla Shirer

And it's a game changer. Attitude adjuster. Truth. and suddenly I'm thankful. I'm thankful for these faces. I'm thankful for the 'duties' they provide. I'm thankful to be right where I am. 

Yep.

Boom. There it is.

Well, we wanted to wait until we got E home to officially 'announce' that we are expecting Boswell kiddo number 4 in November. 

Here I am in all of my 32 weeks preggo glory.....

When we first found out I was pregnant, I was terrified. Not of having our 4th child, but of NOT having our fourth child. After all the loss and heart ache we endured over the last few years, being pregnant again petrified me. We knew nothing was guaranteed. We knew we wanted this baby.badly. We knew it would be a long road of worry. But ultimately, we knew God's plan was best whatever that might look like. The first 13 weeks seemed to last for.ev.er. I was considered high risk up to 13 weeks. Each passing day brought some relief. 8 weeks turned into 13 weeks. 13 weeks turned into 20 weeks. 20 weeks into 30 weeks and here we are. 32 weeks. And we are in awe. In awe of all the movements I feel {and Trey can see!} In awe that God chose this journey for us. In awe of how quickly He brought E home so we can prepare for this new joy. Our hearts are full. {along with our house! }

Ok-here are the stats I get asked about daily:

No, this baby was not planned by us. But thankfully it was by Him.

Baby's sue date is November 19th (4 days after Trenner's birthday!) 

We do not know baby Boswell's gender. I've done the Chinese gender chart twice. Got boy once and girl once. Go figure.... Although, my OB is guessing a girl! We'll see!!

Yes, the boys are super stoked to have another baby! They go back and forth between wanting a brother or sister....

The baby and Edna will share a room. The baby will be in our room for awhile (easier feedings!) but eventually they will share...

Traveling pregnant was relatively easy other than the long flights and sprinting through numerous airports. I'm sure that was fun to watch. 8 month preggo lady. Running. Eesh.

Yes, we will have our hands full. Yes, things will be hard at times. Yes, life will be crazy. Crazy good....

The hat

This is one of the first hats I made once I learned to crochet about 2 and a half years ago. I made several hats to sell, but this one, I just couldn't part with. I had a secret wish, secret dream, of one day putting this hat on a special little girl. Maybe one I would call mine. I tucked it in the back of the closet along with my secret dream.

The first time I saw Edna's face, I knew. I knew she was special. I knew I would pray for her and love her, even if from afar. I secretly knew that I wanted her to wear this hat. It seemed so impossible. So unlikely. Yet, here we are. In God's perfect timing. After His perfect journey. I peek in at her sleeping and feel a bit overwhelmed. My heart swells. What started out as a dream, a seed planted by God, is now reality. A smiling, sweet, giggly, joyful reality. One that this hat fits. Perfectly.

H.O.M.E.