That which is joyful to me is at home

 Jorgen

 Liesel

Logan

 Mitchell

Seth

I have been doing a lot of reading lately.  Fiction, news, memoirs, news, news, news.  Man, the world is messed up!!  There are so many news articles on FB that link up to things that are sad, make me mad, and leave me shaking my head.  However, when I pull my eyes away from my phone or computer, I only have to look at these five people and realize that life truly is joyful.  Most of my frustrations surround laundry and what to make for dinner.  That really isn't that bad of a deal, is it?

So, my efforts are to attempt to make my tiny corner of the world a better place.  I am desperately trying to teach my kids (by example) to think of others and fill a need when they can.

This summer, our family will be hosting an orphan girl from Ukraine.  O. is an 11 year old girl who likes cats and dogs and elephants.  She has lost her parents.  I do not know if she has siblings or any other family in the world.  In the one photo that I have seen of her, she appears to be a sweet, happy girl.  We are hoping to share not only our home with her, but also our love, our family and our love of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I read an article on resilience a few days ago. (HERE)  Studies suggest that if a child has ONE adult in their life who is strong, stable and supportive, they can avoid stress becoming toxic stress: that with which they cannot cope.

So wish us luck.  This summer I hope that we can change the life of a sweet girl.  I know that she will change ours.