Moving...

the blog ;)

find us at: lukeandtamra.wordpress.com

decided it was time for a new look and even purpose for the blog. still very much a work in progress. have patience...

First trip to "The K"

We went to a Royals game at the end of August and it was all 3 of our kids' first time to a Royals game. Fortunately the Hollands came along to show us how it's done. :)

Highlights From Summer

I have done a horrible job of updating this blog so here are the highlights from our very hot summer! We spent a lot of time indoors, which really was just as well because this momma was not really up for the task of taking three kids under 3 out on her own!

 BabySis trying out BigSis's new bed that we used while potty training (which was a huge success!)

 Some sister bonding time

 BigSis trying on one of my birthday gifts...if only I could be as stylish as her!

 We did manage to get BigSis potty trained this summer. Hip hip hooray!!!

A trip to Grandpa & Grandma Call's "Little Farm" 

(affectionately named so by BigSis)

 BigSis & BigBrother LOVED the petting zoo put on by some of 

Grandpa & Grandma's friends

 BigSis riding on the donkey. I told BigSis to tell "him" thank you after her ride, she looked at me funny and then got down to eye level with the donkey and told him "thank you!" Not what I was thinking but I guess he is the one that had carried her on his back. :)

 BigBrother loved riding the donkey

 But I think he loved all of Grandpa's tractors even more!

 A proud Grandpa!

BigSis loved helping Grandma out in the kitchen

Visit to the Children's Garden at Botanica

 Reading a story with the Hungry Caterpillar

These days...

are consumed with these beautiful faces...

BigSis...our little diva!
full of energy & imagination.
now potty-trained. hip hip hooray!
loves to cook up all sorts of goodies in her kitchen.
seems to be transitioning quite well into her role as BigSister...a natural (including bossing around her younger siblings) :)

BigBrother...our curious guy!
loves knocking down towers (if you're quick enough to get it built!)
gives great hugs...even to his sisters
will melt your heart with that grin and those dimples

BabySis...sweet, sweet baby!

loves to coo and grin

lights up whenever her BigSis or BigBrother are around

that sweet grin brightens my day when the days are long (and the toddlers are cranky) :)

We're continuing to adjust to life with 3 kids. I'm continuing to learn what it means to find my strength in the Lord and not myself. Learning more about these sweet kids' personalities everyday and praying we can parent them well.

One Day at a Time

This is quickly becoming my motto. :) I have been intending to update this blog for at least two weeks now (we've been a family of five for 4 weeks already)...but am just now getting around to it. I'm sure you're all wondering what I've been doing to waste away all the free time I have now that I'm done with grad school. I had great plans of using all this new free time to deep clean and organize my house, work on some sewing projects, go to story hour at the library with Brece, enjoy the summer weather with playdates at the park...you get the idea. Somehow, along with not updating the blog, most of those things haven't happened either. Oh well! The house is sort of clean (some of the time) and I did make it story hour once with two toddlers in tow. The last four weeks have definitely been consumed with adjusting to life as a family of five. All in all things have gone pretty well. It has been a huge adjustment for all of us and we've all had our moments (adults included) but each day we are learning more about the kids' personalities and they seem to be adjusting really well to us. We've had lots of great help...people have come to stay with us, we've had lots of meals brought to us, and lots of other needs met. I'm also learning to trust that God will give me strength for the day at hand...and trying to learn to not worry about tomorrow or the next day. Definitely much easier said than done! So thankful for His grace and faithfulness!

I will try to upload some videos and/or pictures soon!

We're expecting...

two kiddos...not twins...and I'm not pregnant, but there is a sibling pair that is moving in with us on May 31st! :) We're excited, overwhelmed, scared, happy, and a host of other emotions. We've known this was a good possibility for a few weeks and the kids (a 17 month old boy & 5 month old girl) were able to come and spend a couple of days with us last week. We really enjoyed getting to know them a little bit and Brece has been asking ever since they left where they went and when they're coming back. We are fostering to adopt and have already started the process to adopt them. Yikes! This wasn't supposed to happen this fast...but God's timing has been very evident to us throughout this entire process and we are excited to see the rest of His plan unfold for these two precious children and our family...with 3 kids two and under. We'd love your prayers! ;)

Blessings Abound

When I first chose the title for this blog I was overcome by the blessings from the Lord throughout our lives but specifically in the gift of marriage he had given us, which was soon followed by the blessing of Brece. I think that "Blessings Abound" may be about to take on a whole new meaning in our lives...

Many of you already know that Luke and I have felt the Lord calling us to care for kids in foster care. We had talked about our desire to adopt children before we were even married, but last fall the Lord really started to place a burden on our hearts and we started specifically praying that the Lord would reveal his will and timing for us in this. The more we prayed about it the more the Lord confirmed in our hearts that he wanted us to care for children who are in the foster care system. There are so many scriptures and thoughts that we've had over the past several months...I'd like to share just a few of them with you.

I think one of the most compelling reasons for our desire to adopt children is that the Lord has adopted us  into his family. And he did not adopt us as his children because we had anything to offer him...we were dead in sin, his enemies...yet he called us to himself and redeemed us.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, 

with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

~Ephesians 1:3-6

Luke and I both feel very blessed to have been born to families that loved us and cared for us from the time we were born. Neither of us experienced much loss or heartbreak as children and we both were surrounded by families and extended families that poured a lot of love into our lives. I recently reflected on this as I read the parable of the talents and that to whom much is given much is expected. Who are we to keep these blessings to ourselves. The Lord has abundantly blessed us and it is out of this abundance that we hope we can give to the children he brings into our lives.

The Scriptures are also very clear (James 1:27) about the church's responsibility to care for the orphans. We believe that as God's family we are all called to care for the orphan but that this looks different for different people. Over the past several months the Lord has continued to burden our hearts to specifically care for and/or adopt children in foster care. We had to take some classes this winter to prepare to do foster care and one thing that we were really struck was the responsibility that foster parents have, not only to the children in their home, but to the birth parents as well. We have been talking for a long time about what it means to minister to those that are hurting. We've been involved in different ministries or donated to different things, and while those things are all very good, it can allow us to keep a certain distance from those that are hurting. We feel that the Lord calls us to enter into a relationship with those that are hurting, walk alongside of them, and invite them into our home. It is our hope and prayer that we will be able to do this with the families the Lord brings into our home.

We know that this will be a difficult road at times with many unexpected challenges. But it is our prayer, that by God's grace we will learn to love these children and their families well and surrender ourselves to his will. We know that many of these children have been hurt deeply and it is our prayer that the Lord will bring healing to their broken lives and hearts. It is only in Him that we are all redeemed and healed. As I recently read Brece the story of David and Goliath I was struck by the verse "for the battle is the Lord's"...we enter into this with the confidence that this is his battle and he will heal the brokenhearted. We pray that we can give all of ourselves to him and that he will work through us for His glory alone. I heard this song (scroll to the bottom of the blog post from the link to play it) on the radio yesterday and I think it really sums up what we're feeling right now...we definitely have fears about what may come but our prayer is that we will not build walls to protect ourselves but rather we will love God's precious children recklessly and that we will learn to trust in the Lord, empty ourselves to him, and know that he is the one who will bring healing to all of us.

Finally, we are claiming this Scripture as a prayer for the families the Lord brings into our lives as we enter into what we believe God has called us to do...

Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'

If you take away the yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

if you pour yourself out for the hungry 

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to dwell in.

~Isaiah 58:6-12

We {HEART} Our Cousins

In the last 2 weeks Brece has gotten to spend time with all 3 of her cousins. Much fun was had by all! Sure makes us wish we all lived closer and could see them more often!

Brece & Josiah enjoyed hunting for eggs...well, Josiah enjoyed hunting for eggs & Brece had fun walking around with her basket looking at various things in the yard.

Dance party to "Wheels on the Bus"

Celebration!

I passed my oral comprehensive exam last week for my Master's degree (what a relief!). We celebrated with the Hollands by going out to Oklahoma Joe's (how I miss good KC BBQ!) and then to the Cheesecake Factory for some dessert.

 Brece LOVED the cheesecake. (haven't really found any foods she doesn't love... ;))

 Keziah couldn't get enough of the whipped cream topping

 Thanks for letting us stay with you and for celebrating with us Hollands!

Our Big Helper

Brece loves to mop the floor

Look at that stack of dishes she washed! 

Making sure the counter is nice & clean 

 Brece loves to play in the dirt & plant things with Grandpa

Josiah & Grandma came to visit!

 Brece's first tea party

Brece loves...

1. Eating (& hamming it up for the camera)
cupcakes + spaghetti = very messy brece!
2. "K-State Willie"
It doesn't get much better than watching Willie the Wildcat live while eating a giant cookie!
3. Painting & coloring
Brece tried finger painting for the first time today and loved it! She's quite the artist!

Joyous Celebration!

Brece's cousin, Josiah, had a birthday in early December so she was well aware of what goes along with a birthday...presents and CAKE! She eagerly anticipated celebrating Jesus' birthday and getting to eat some cake to celebrate. We had a great time celebrating Christmas with both of our families and as our own little family of 3.
Christmas Eve at Grandpa & Grandma Radatz's with cousins, Adiella & Keziah
Michelle and I tried a snowflake and shaving cream craft with the girls. They weren't too thrilled about putting their hands in shaving cream. Brece kept saying "messy" and scrunching up her face. Oh well...we had fun trying
We had the pleasure of having a family from Indonesia for breakfast Christmas Eve day that we spent a few days with while we were visiting Caleb in Indonesia a couple years ago.
Brece checking out her new table and chairs. Playing with play-dough and coloring at this table are two of her favorite activities now...and then baking the play-dough cookies in her new kitchen that Grandpa Radatz made.
Daddy picked out and bought these sunglasses all on his own. Brece thought they were "stylin" and loves walking around with them on top of her head.
We met the Calls in Manhattan for a K-State basketball game and then celebrated Christmas on New Years
Brece checking out all the cool stuff Grandma Call made her, including an oven mit, apron, and potholders to use with her new kitchen and a new purse.
Josiah and Brece had fun helping everyone open their gifts. They were both gift-opening experts by the time it was all said and done!