We're out!!!

We're out, we're out, we're out, we're out!!!!! We are out of IBESR!!!!! I'm so excited! I have been dancing, jumping, praising....... God is so faithful!!! Praise the Lord!!!

Look what the Lord has done, take two!!!!

To the Cundiff's home.......Noah, Mia & Hope






















To the Burnett's (Todd & Kristina)...... Jonas & Ellie














To the Collins'...... Steven & Belle














To the Burnett's (Troy & Cathy)....... Manthania & Isaac














To the Almon's........Glory













To the Brown's...... Samendia & Jefferson














To the Koenig's......Samara, Shakira & Caleb
















To the Olson's ......... Isaiah













To the Yunker's...... Richecard













Well, if you counted you will see that makes 17!! God is so awesome!! 17 TAs children coming to the Evansville area!! Praise God!!!

"You are the light of the world."

What makes everyone watch fireworks?

I realize it is tradition to watch fireworks during special Holidays, especially Independence Day. However, I bet most of us could probably admit that when we notice fireworks going off, we stop and watch, at least for a moment. Is it because of tradition? I don't think so.

I believe it is because that in the midst of darkness there is a beautiful light shining. In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world. We are suppose to be that beautiful light in this dark world. We should shine with the light of Jesus enough that people notice. Not that they see us, but that they see the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Do they see the light of His love, His joy, His peace, His compassion......

I pray today you are the light of the world, that you allow Jesus to shine through so all will stop and watch. I pray they will be drawn to your light and in that moment they are drawn to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Lord, help us to be Your light.

My baby!

Well, as most of you know my baby, Jordyn, raised the money to go on her trip to Haiti. She worked hard and not only raised the money for her flight, which was all we asked for, but she raised enough money to cover almost her entire trip. I was so thrilled that she was able to experience God's provision in that way.

She was AMAZING!! She never one time complained of the conditions. She ate the food she liked, never complaining of the stuff she didn't. She didn't one time tell me she was hot, not one word was negative!

I told her before we arrived that anytime we were at the O, she could do what she wanted. If she wanted to play in the nursery that was fine, if she wanted to play downstairs, fine. I wanted her to know she didn't have to stay with me, that she was free to do what she wanted, and that is what she did. However, if I couldn't find her I pretty well knew where to look. I almost always found her in the nursery. I think it was her favorite place. In fact, one day it was time for us to head back to St. Joe's and I was looking for Jordyn. Everyone else was downstairs ready to go, so I went to the nursery and sure enough the nannies pointed to the middle of the room where I found her sitting, playing with all the little ones.

She was an awesome big sister!! She helped me soooooo much. At meals she would beat me down to the kitchen and fix her 3 siblings plates before she fixed her own. If they needed anything she wanted to get it for them. I kept telling her she didn't have to do all that. I wanted her to enjoy her trip, but that is what she continued to choose to do. She played with them, loved them, held them and slept with them. They are so blessed to have her.




One more thing I want to share, Jordyn has her favorite as people usually do at the O, but what impressed me about her though, was her favorite is not the cutest, healthiest, most desirable. She even at one time said to me, "Mom, some of the other kids didn't want to hold him because he looks different, but Mom, he's my favorite." I'll let her share about him on her blog, but I did want to share that because I saw her heart of love and compassion in such a great way!

Jordy, I am so proud of you. I knew you would love Haiti, but I didn't know you would love it like your Mommy does. I saw in you what people have told me, "You are so happy here. You literally glow." Now I don't know that I glow, I think it's the sweat shining in the pictures, but you Jordyn, you glow! God's love was pouring out of you and I want you to know how very proud I am of you. I love you baby doll!!

Just a blur.....

This last trip was so busy for me it feels like just a blur. There was so much work to be done and meetings to attend that I felt like my babies and my husband had to miss out. I think every time I walked past Mia she said, "W'ap travay, Manman?" "Wi, Mia, M'ap travay." (You working, Mama? Yes, Mia, I'm working.) I am so accustomed to being a full time wife and mother that I found I don't handle it well if that is not my main focus. Lord, thank You for allowing me to be a stay at home mom. I wouldn't change it for the world. Having said that though we did get a ton of things accomplished and the group did a fabulous job getting the jobs done.

As you know Jeremy and Jordyn were on this trip with me. Upon our arrival, he and Jordyn were out of the van and trying to wait for me(again working), but Mia saw them and came running. I heard, "Papa!!" and when I looked up Mia was running to him and jumped up in his arms. She was followed by Noah who ran to Jordyn. Last but not least Hope joined the crew and we were together at last. I don't have any pictures of this moment unfortunately. Hindsight, I should have asked someone to catch it for me. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20, huh?

I did want to post some pictures though of our our times spent together. A family almost complete.

Family

Well, we are back and we had a great visit with the kids. We were able to meet Mia & Hope's Mom and two brothers. I had seen their mom before but we had never been able to talk as Mother to Mother. She is an amazing woman! She wants the girls to have a good life. We were able to talk a little bit and she said she was really hoping the girls would be able to go home before she delivered her baby. She has no idea how much we would love that too! I told Jean Nathan that he had a lot of work to do. :)

She told me the girls were happy with me and loved me. I told her we are all family and the girls would always know who she is and how much she loves them. I am so happy to have this picture for them. I believe it will mean a lot to them. So without further ado I would like you to meet more members of our family....

M'ap vini pitit mwen!!

It's getting so close, but sometimes feels so far. One week from right now I will be in a Hotel in Miami, anxiously waiting for our 10:25am flight the next morning. Thank you Lord for providing yet another opportunity to be with my children as well as serve in a country that you have so deeply placed in my heart! I'm coming my children!!

My little graduate!

Even though it was a hard day for her, we are still so proud!!! Thanks, Shannon for the pictures!

Rough day......

So Mia's graduation day was not all we had hoped it would be! She missed her Mama and in her words, she cried a lot! I was so sad when I heard about it, but was able to call and talk to her and told her I was bringing her a present in July and she seemed pretty happy about that.

Mwen renmen ou, Mia!! Pa kriye!! M'ap vini nan de semenn! Mwen sonje ou anpil, anpil! M'ap pote kado ou pou pwomosyon. We ou tale!!

Bon Fet, Noah!!!

Happy Birthday, Noah!! I can't believe you are four today. What a big boy!! I prayed for you today, that you would have a blessed day! We will be with you in 3 weeks and 5 days!!! I can't wait!! Mwen renmen ou, anpil, anpil!!

This amazing man!

In the fall of 1985 I met this amazing man. Of course, at the time, he was not yet a man, but a 14 year old boy. I knew there was something special about him, but I had no idea what an affect he would have on my life. God had a plan though and in time it would be revealed that I was created for this man. See I believe, just as Eve was created to be a help meet for Adam, I was created for Jeremy.

From that night, in 1985, until June 19, 1993 the enemy tried to pull us apart and at times it looked as though he might succeed. I praise my God though that on that day the two of us became one flesh and all the plans of the enemy were foiled. I truly cannot imagine and wouldn't want to imagine what my life would be like without him. He brings such love, joy and strength to my life. He always knows what I need to hear and can always make me laugh. He treats me far better than I deserve and always tries to find ways to make me happy. In fact, he is the one who posted the comments from Noah, Mia and Hope, knowing it would make me feel better. I don't think he realizes it isn't the things he does that makes me happy, but it's him. I am so proud to be his wife.

He is the best Daddy! He loves his children so much and works so hard to make sure they have all they need and want. He gives them so much love, I love to just sit back and watch. One thing is for sure his kids LOVE him too! They can't wait for him to come home everyday. When one of them realizes he is home, the shouts begin "Daddy's home!!" and they run to find him. The poor guy rarely gets a chance to even change his clothes before they start telling him of all their plans for the evening. Each one wants some part of his night, especially Camden who has asked all day, "How much longer til Daddy's gonna be home."

Jeremy will probably never grasp how much he means to me. I love him more than he will ever know and I thank God for him daily. So, on this weekend of celebrating Father's Day and then our Anniversary on Tuesday, I wanted to take a moment to tell the world ( or at least those in blog land) how blessed I am to have this amazing man.

Jeremy, I pray you have a wonderful Father's Day. I can't wait for us to celebrate our 14th Anniversary on Tuesday. It's hard to believe it has been 14 years, they have truly been wonderful! Thank you for who you are and all you do! I love you!!

Missing our kids.......

You know most days I do pretty good. I miss them everyday, but for the most part I feel like I can handle it. Well, the last few days I have felt it beginning to get stronger and stronger and now, today, it's painful. I want our kids home!! I love them so much and can't wait for them to be with us. So this post can be read by anyone but unfortunately it won't be read by who it is for.

Noah,
Hey buddy! I know it's your birthday Monday and I'm terribly sorry I won't be there for it. I sent you a present and YouYou will give it to you when she comes home. Please know that Mommy and Daddy love you very much and wish more than anything that you were home for this, your fourth birthday. You are getting so big and I am so very proud of you. I miss you more than any typed word could ever express! I love you and I'll see you in 4 weeks.













Oh, my Mia,
My beautiful Mia! What a blessing you are to us already! I know you have been missing Mommy lately and I'm sorry I can't be there to hold you when you're sad, to pray for you when you don't feel well, and to play with you when you're looking for fun. I promise I'm praying everyday for you to be able to come home soon and if there is one thing I know it's that we serve an awesome and faithful God who wants you in our family. So Mia, you pray too and I know God will bring you home. I love you and I'll see you soon.



















Sweet Hope,
I'm amazed at your beauty. When I see your smile it literally brightens my day. You are so special to me! I know that you are not as aware of whether you are "home" or not but I am. Mommy and Daddy are working on your room that you will share with all your sisters. I can't wait for the day when I will see you in it. What a big girl you will be sleeping in that big bed. I love you baby and I'll be with you soon.













Love,
Mommy

Drop your but and run!!!

I have been pondering some things lately about weights that hold us back. Yes, the title is a play on words(hopefully most of you realized that but I did feel the need, obviously to clarify). You know how in the word it says to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." This passage makes me wonder how many times we allow, not sins, but weights to hold us back in our race. Are we Christians that do whatever we want because it's not "sin", even though it might be a weight. How many times have we heard or even said ourselves, "I can do this it's not a sin." Have we ever, however, stopped to think that it might be a weight? Do we ever ask the Lord to reveal our weights or do we only focus on sins? Do we not ask because we don't want to put our flesh under any more than we already do? Are we being so self centered that we basically are saying, Lord, I know you have more for me, but....?

Can you imagine running a race with a TV strapped to your back, a refrigerator chained to your ankle, or a library of books in your arms? None of these things are sins. I don't think it is "sin" to watch TV(as long as you are not watching inappropriate material). I don't believe it is a sin to enjoy food or read a good book. Could it be though, that we sometimes do these things instead of spending time with the Lord? Could it be that if we asked, the Lord might say, "That is holding you back"? Do we choose to be held back by our lack of desire to lay aside those weights?

Sometimes, I think the biggest weight is "but". How many of us have said, "but Lord", or "I feel the Lord is leading me to....but...." How many times have we allowed natural circumstances dictate what we will do for God and what we won't? Will we still go to Heaven? Absolutely! Does God still love us? Absolutely! Can we still live a good life? Absolutely!! But imagine the sadness we may have one day, when God shows us everything He had for us and we didn't walk in it. I have decided my phrase for the day, month and maybe year is going to be "Drop your but and run!!"

New pictures from a recent trip......

Happy Hope!!


Noah teetering



Serious Mia



"Wouldn't my Papa be proud?"



"Look how big I am now!"



"Check this out! If you bite the end and suck the ice cream out, it's almost like a milk shake."



Noah and his girls





"What do you mean I need a tissue?"





"If you take tiny licks it will last longer. Don't believe that whole bite the end off stuff. It's lies, all lies!!!"




"What? I'm not doing anything. No, I was putting the lid back on, not taking it off. Really!"

Sorry Mia, you're busted!!

Blog Mania!!!

My baby is growing up too fast!! Her Daddy has decided she is now old enough to have her own blog. So when you get a chance you'll have to check it out.

www.jordyncundiff.blogspot.com

Jeremy is blogging!!!

Ok, he is once again attempting to blog. Check it out!! He won't keep it up if nobody reads it.

www.jeremycundiff.com

Destin, FL

We are having a great time here in Destin! We thought we would post a few pictures for you to see. Most days, as you will notice, we have stayed on the beach. The kids have been boogy boarding and Camden has been working on his surfing moves. They are loving the beach. Today was the only day we didn't go(the red flags were out) so we went to the pool instead. They have caught tons of little fish with their nets and Ali even caught a tiny jelly fish! We head home on Saturday, but for now we are on VACATION!!

Enjoy!!

Jordyn is working very hard!!!

Well, we have told Jordyn if she can raise enough money to buy her plane ticket then she can go in July. She is soooooooo excited!! She has already sent out support letters and her grandparents brought her a bucket of change tonight that is probably around $200. We are planning a garage sale to help her, but we are in a terrible location so we have to find a location first.

I asked her, for her letter, to think of why she wanted to go and include that information. Her first response was, "I want to meet the rest of my family." Enough said! Please pray God supplies all her needs according to His riches in glory!

Jordyn, Mommy wants you to go!! I can't wait to see you with all the kids but especially with Mia, Noah and Hope!! I'm believing God's grace will abound to you and you will have all sufficiency!!!

Bon Fet Zanmi 'm!!!!

Happy Birthday my friend! I pray this day will be a wonderful day full of God's peace and goodness. Thank you for all you do for my children, but most of all thank you for being such a great friend. Love you!!

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you.

Tagged by Laura McBride

Ok, well....This is suppose to be a list of 7 little known facts about myself. I'm not sure how well people know me so we'll see if I can surprise anyone with my facts.

1. I married my childhood/high school sweetheart a month after graduating High School. We met when I was 11 years old and surprisingly new shortly after we would spend the rest of our lives together. There were a few times it looked like that wouldn't happen, but God brought us back together and I am blessed to be married to such an amazing man. I love you, hon!!

2. I LOVE surprises! Whether it's a gift, a fact, a plan I don't care, surprise me. God knew this about me and surprised me with 5 of the 6 children we have. Jordyn was our only "planned" child, but everyone of them was deeply wanted!!

3. My favorite color is yellow!! Unlike Laura McBride, I don't know if I own anything yellow. I don't have any clothes that are yellow, no rooms, my wedding didn't have yellow, but really I do love it! It's so bright and cheery. The only thing I can think of in my house that is yellow is Noah's desk in our classroom. It's the only desk that I got to pick the color, therefore it is yellow.

4. I always intended on becoming a nurse. All through high school I took classes to prepare me for Nursing school, but as you already read got married instead. I knew at that point I would be a stay at home Mom when we had children so I decided to not waist my time or money on college and went to work at a bank instead. I worked there until Jordyn was born and have loved staying at home since.

5. I am a proud PK. Growing up my dad pastored Glezen Revival Center Pentecostal Church in Glezen, Indiana. Yep, that's right "holy rollers". Our church was often accused of locking the doors, dancing, rolling on the floor and swinging from the chandeliers. We loved to laugh and say, "That's not true. We have NEVER locked the doors." :) He now is a Pastor of an Assembly of God Church in Petersburg, Indiana.

6. I want a Yorkie(female to be specific)! I have been trying to talk Jeremy into it for over a year now, but for once he is not caving easily. (Honey, don't forget #2, I LOVE surprises.) I think they are adorable! They don't shed! They are easy to take places! They love to be played with so it would be great for the kids! And my mom has a friend that sells them, so I would know where to get one and she doesn't charge $1,000+.

7. I LOVE BEING A MOM!!! My kids are amazing! I love having Jordyn, Ali & Camden home with me and can't wait to have Mia, Noah & Hope here as well. Yes, I'm sure there are days where they need a break from me and I from them, but all in all we love being together. We love to play games inside and out, watch movies, swim, plant flowers, go for walks, do you get the hint. I don't even mind taking them to the store. Yes, I will come home with tons more than planned, but that happens if Jeremy goes too. :) I can't imagine if they were all "in school". My life would be so different and a different that I am not interested in having.

So that's it.....

Apparently I'm suppose to tag 7 other people so I'm going to tag......

Jeremy Cundiff
Angela Fairfield
Gail Gray
Gretchen Huijskens
Shannon Hoffman
Kathy Koenig
Laura Burton

Please post a comment on this post when you have posted your 7 little known facts!