denver botanic gardens

With four kids, spring is a crazy time around our house. The end of the school year brings many additional outings, including field day, art shows, and field trips...LOTS and LOTS of field trips! If you are at all familiar with spring time in Colorado, you know that anything outdoors can be unpredictable, at best. I always want to sign those permission slips saying that I'll chaperon with a little note..."Weather pending."

If the weather is nice, I love to go on field trips. But over the years, I have been on my fair share of miserable, cold, windy spring time field trips. Not so fun.

That's why I was THRILLED with the weather forecast for Denver yesterday. 72 degrees, slight breeze, no clouds.

Finally.

I had a wonderful time with Maddie and four of her friends (can I just say, chaperoning girls is SO very different from chaperoning boys...). Truly, the weather could not have been any better. Seriously.

(Maddie is not as short as she looks in this picture. Strange optical illusion thing going on...)

And, oh, the flowers. I've decided I need to hire a full-time gardener.

Easter 2011

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday, celebrating our Risen Savior! Started the day with Easter baskets (yes, my big teenagers still get baskets...) and a big breakfast, all before having to be at church by 8:15 a.m.!

Maddie was so excited about her new Bible

Then we headed up to Grami and Papa's house in Parker. Delicious dinner and great time. So thankful for parents that love my kids and live close enough to be involved in our lives!

Finished the day with our traditional Strawberry Shortcake, this time topped with Papa's homemade ice cream. Yum!

Easter preparations

The Schwarz home is in full swing with preparations for our Easter celebration. All week, we have been having special Holy Week devotions, twice a day! We have gotten up early and I've made a big breakfast each day, then we read scripture and a devotion I found here. In the evenings, we have been having dessert each night (not a regular occurrence!) and spend time reading as a family again, and ending with prayer together.

(Ignore Caleb, he was in one of those moods...)

Yesterday was Good Friday. On Good Friday, we have a special meal that was a tradition with Bob's family growing up. We make homemade soup (Chicken and Rice this time), and a German bread called kuchle. Micah and Maddie helped with the soup...

Those darn onions...

Taking a break for "Ants on a Log"While the soup was simmering, we decorated Easter eggs. Caleb and Nate opted out this year. So sad.

So glad we have traditions to usher in this amazing celebration. It's so easy to let this day come and go, with little to no fanfare. We have worked hard this week to remember why we celebrate. To worship together. And to prepare our hearts to say, "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"

back in time

I had the privlege of going with Maddie on one of my favorite field trips. We drove to Denver and went to the Four Mile Historic Park, a living history museum. This is is such a fun place! The kids get to experience many of the things that the pioneers experienced in the late 1800s as the headed west for greater opportunities.

Here are the goofy girls that talked and giggled all the way to Denver and back...

Westward Ho!

Panning for gold

Making corn cakes

Eating corn cakes!

So much fun! Definitely recommend this place if you are looking for a fun, educational outing with your kids!

spring fever

Last Saturday was a family work day, and we began our spring cleaning of the backyard. It was great to get outside and all work together (well, almost all. As you can see in the pictures, Nate is no where to be found. He was sleeping. He has been a grumpy teenager lately, so we let him take a Sabbath...).

So much to do to keep a home and property in shape! It's never-ending.



Maddie wanted a piece of "earth" all her own. She wants to grow her own "Secret Garden," even if it isn't very secret...

Schnazzy!

Last night marked another milestone in Caleb's life. The 8th Grade Dinner/Dance. This is a huge event that the kids look forward to all year. I volunteered to serve dinner, so I got to see some of the festivities before the actual dance began. I was amazed at how much these kids have grown up in the past two years...handsome young men, beautiful young ladies. Half adults, half nervous kids. Still having a foot in both worlds, but so close to stepping over the divide to full adulthood. I have found that I love this stage. Yes, we deal with battles, frustrations, and all that is a part of breaking free into his own person. But, we also have incredible conversations, laugh hysterically at his humor, and stand amazed at who Caleb is becoming.

Last night, as I helped him with his hair, tied his tie, took pictures, and watched him interact with friends at dinner, I knew. He is becoming a strong man. The baby that I rocked, the toddler that I chased after, the little boy that I read books to, the big boy that inspected every detail of his world, is wriggling loose of our grasp. And rightly so. Oh, he still needs us. Maybe now more than ever. But we stand a little further away. Our guidance is less demanding, more suggesting.

And we watch in awe as Caleb steps over the divide.

So proud.

Final preparations
In the foyer, waiting to enter the gym
(As you can tell, I took this picture from a distance;
didn't want to cramp his style.
And, as you can tell, Caleb has no trouble socializing with the girls...)

Yep, no trouble at all. As a matter of fact, he sat at a table with 8 girls.
No other guys.
Yep. Here he is, grinning away...

What a handsome guy

through tears

I took the kids to say good-bye to Sonya and Alissa today. We stopped by on the way home from school. When we arrived, the Bodonies (the adoptive couple from AZ) were already there to take the girls. Alissa showed me the photo album they would take with them. Filled with love, memories, laughter, and, most of all, their family. Watching Ellen hold on so tightly to Sonya, as both of their hearts screamed to not let this happen, was too much. We tried to say our quick good-byes, but the girls were too overwhelmed to enter into another goodbye. Through tears, I kissed the tops of their heads and whispered words of love.

Then we left.

We prayed all the way home.

And cried.

please pray

More from Mandy's post, because she says it so well! Read the previous post first, if you haven't already. I was with Ellen last night, as she packed her girls' belongings and prepared them for the trip to Arizona. The family is heart-broken, but continuing to trust God's sovereignty over Sonya and Allisa's lives.

it's 6:30 a.m. when i tuck my trusty point and shoot into my purse, praying that a courtroom will become the backdrop for a miracle.

i'm strapping ian in the ergo at 9:00 as we throw bags and purses on the conveyor belt and stroll through security.

my eyes begin to well as i watch ellen shake hands and smile at the couple pursuing the twins. my heart can't take it. it's nearing 10:00.

11:00. we stand in this long corridor, sun streaming through walls of glass. our eyes ever aware of the opening and closing of the doors marked 2F. lawyers come in and out, hugging ellen and checking their phones. i hear them talk and can almost see their minds darting back and forth, making sure they haven't missed any loop hole out of this legal disaster.

it's on their faces.

they know this law.

ian is content and happy, making case workers smile and giggling as his aunt ellen smothers his cheeks with kisses. kelly, the lawyer we love, pulls ellen and steve into a nearby conference room. "it's going to be quick." she tells them. "it's going to feel sterile and cold. the poor judge. his hands are tied." 11:30.

the court is ready for us. the darkness is thick in the room. it's cold in there. bitter. i squeeze laura's hand and whisper "Jesus" over and over as, through tears, lawyers present this dumbfounding case. "we know what the law says" they mumble as they grab tissues and ask for water breaks. it's coming, we can feel it. the judge smirks while the caseworker recommends the transition to the reservation. his eyes show his disgust for what he's about to do. ellen is given an opportunity to hold the mic. all eyes are locked on her as she proudly informs the court that she is wearing the very same shirt that she wore 12 months ago when she first brought sonya and alissa into her home. her voice is breaking, her tears flowing as she shares "i promised the girls i would fight for as long as i could to keep them in our home. i promised them i would use as much time as God gave me to humbly ask that they be left where they are." she pushes the mic away. she kept her word to her 6 year old girls. she fought hard. and long. i cry as i watch her sit back down. she has my utmost respect. i cannot imagine.

it's near 12 when it happens. prefacing it with regret and condolences, he makes the official recommendation that the children transition to the reservation. our hearts break.

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the girls will leave with mr. and mrs. badonie as early as friday. what? my heart still won't believe it.

what can i do? i've asked over and over.

and my answer was clear for me this morning. pray and ask others to pray.

Tomorrow, Thursday April 14th, we will all stop what we are doing at 9:00 p.m. ..... my hope is that children will be in bed, the days clutter will be tucked away and our hearts will be still and quiet and ready to go boldly before the throne on behalf of Steve and Ellen, Sonya and Alissa and Mr. and Mrs. Bodonie.

pray for peace. pray for God's presence. but let our hearts cry be for the salvation of Mr. and Mrs. Bodonie and for the salvation of Sonya and Alissa.

do me a favor. if you intend to pray tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. leave a comment here, on facebook or shoot an email to ellen.

ellen@vanguardchurch.org

i desire for her heart to be encouraged by the numerous people standing in the gap for her right now.

Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers. ~ J. Sidlow Baxte

the goad family

Posted by my friend, Mandy, on her blog. This is about our very, very close friends, Steve and Ellen Goad, and their family. Please be praying for them!

i spent the morning working side by side with laura on a photo book for our dear friend ellen.

close to a year ago, ellen and steve welcomed twins, sonya and alissa, into their home as foster children. it became very obvious, very quickly that they would pursue adopting these girls and the year that followed was an unending roller-coaster of prayer and pain and advocating on behalf of these beautiful twins. the past few weeks have brought about heartbreaking news. the caseworker will recommend that these girls, steve and ellen's girls, will be taken down to Arizona to live with their great aunt and uncle on an Indian reservation. now, there are details upon details about this situation and the anger and frustration that wells up because of it. there are two sides, for sure, but all i can see is the side of two tiny 6 year olds who have been given a family, a mommy and a papa and 3 handsome, protective brothers. and that side is hurting and broken and that side can't understand why.

me either.

and working on this album of their past year together was such beautiful, heart wrenching work. there are birthday cakes made by their aunt, brothers carrying laughing, wet girls on the beach, stockings on Christmas morning, there are vacations and cousins and grandmas and grandpas and one thing is for sure.

they became a family this past year.

i told laura this morning as we were both tearing up while we looked through and selected pictures that forever captured priceless memories, "i've held and rocked and cuddled and protected ian for fewer months than ellen has held and rocked and cuddled and protected sonya and alissa. birthing him didn't make me his mom. those things did."

there is still time my friends. time for a miracle. time for the case worker to change her mind. time for the 60 year old aunt and uncle to change their minds. heck, the judge could even rule against the case workers recommendation. our God is not small. He is not confined by rules, or laws, or the icwa act. i believe that if it is God's will for these girls to be in the Goad home, it will happen. i want God to be glorified, i want people to come to know Him through this, and i desperately want what is best for these two beautiful, spunky, vibrant girls. and it's cool to know that He wants that too.

i do know that seeds have been planted in these two young hearts this year. seeds of hope and faith and strength and courage and love. and God will take those seeds and water them and protect them and as these girls grow, these seeds will grow too. may the Love of God sustain sonya and alissa no matter where this life takes them. may they follow Him and may He use their faith to move many mountains in this world.

will you pray with us? pray for this family. pray for God to move mountains for these precious girls.