Him

I have been wanting to do this post for a while...to talk about the most important person in my life. The one that I cannot imagine being on this adventure without! My husband.
Before I get to far into this, I will warn you that this might be kind of sappy and romantic.  Riley is an incredibly thoughtful, compassionate, romantic and committed husband.
The picture shows all of that!?!?

I amazed that God has given me Riley to share my life with. We definitely click....most of the time and I will say that our marriage continues to be refined each and every year into something even more precious and beautiful. (I told you it was gonna be sappy!). So I guess I wanted to share a few ways that my man continues to show me that I am the queen in his life!

**First, there are all the seemingly little things that add up. Filling up all the vehicles all the time so I am never without gas. Starting my vehicle in the morning. Bringing me home starbucks just because. No questions asked taking the kids when I have the opportunity to get out with friends. Filling the house with treats (my favorite: peanut butter M&M's and watermelon Perrier). Drawing a bath for me and my favorite magazine waiting for me. Planning dates. And the list goes on...

**I would have to say that 95 percent of my clothes that I own (that includes everything) was bought by my husband. Don't get me wrong...I like to shop but often end up veering toward the children's stores and never really take the time to try on anything myself. Riley has great taste and knows what I like and I can't remember hardly anything that didn't fit sight unseen!

**Trips. In another career, Riley could be a travel agent. He is a big picture kind of guy but is amazing with details. I guess that is why he is in ministry as well (which by the way, I am so blessed to be walking beside him as he leads & serves@Journeys Church)! Anyways, the deals he finds are unbelievable and our trips away as a family and couple are always amazing. We couldn't do these without grandparents and aunties who help out!

**Building a house. On the side, Riley has committed to building our family a new home where we can continue to become a family as we grow. His willingness to sacrifice and love is incredible. Watching him begin this steep learning curve with patience and resolve is amazing. I am so proud of him and love him more for coming up and following through with this crazy idea! Hopefully we will be in next year sometime...

**As I said earlier Riley is a pastor  and church planting comes with many many great moments but also challenges. His ability to balance work & home life and love doing both truly shows me & the kids his priorites in life. Let me just say that I am honored to be his wife...

**Adoption. First it was pretty cool that we both came to the same spot at the same time. WE both began the research of what we needed to do to bring a child home. But I will say this - i did no where near as much paperwork &  correspondence that Riley did to ensure that we were able to bring a child home ASAP. The fierce love & determination that Riley has for G, M, E & J is something that cannot be broken. And they know it.

I could continue to speak so many wonderful things about my husband. Isn't it great that through marriage, we are able to share so many things together...both good and bad...and continue to learn more and more about each other and fall deeper & deeper in love?

My answer. Absolutely.

with our newest goddaughter

 And the reason that I was inspired to write this post is that my man booked a trip for me to go hang out with my other best friend for 6 days...sans kids...and the kids are going to have a blast with dad!!! Love him.

Enough said.

Talk to you in a week.

Blessings,
Candra

in love...

isn't he adorable...runny nose and all!

could not imagine life without him.

simply amazing & precious.

running...

So today, we had a very cool experience. let me give you some background....
In September, Riley teaches a class at a Bible College on Biblical Foundations of Leadership. He often gets to hang out with the students at lunch and at chapel. Of course, this year he had a lot to talk to about outside of class with our recent addition to the family! In these conversations both the RUN143 and a baby home start up in Durban that we are supporting came up. The students were super engaged in these conversations and that was that.
Fast forward to today...
We were blessed to have two of the students here at our home talking about an idea for a fundraiser that they had already pitched to the Bible College student body and faculty. So get this. It is amazing. In April (I think 8-10th), they are going to run 130 km in 3 days from Camrose to Red Deer. They already have about 20 people committed to running/walking. They are going to take pledges and sponsors with all monies raised going towards the Durban Baby Home!!! And just before this, they go on tour with their choir - apparently, they always choose somewhere to give  money donated to and the people in charge chose this project.
It is exciting to hear that these students are passionate and initiated this on their own & that they have a heart for God and to serve & love orphans half way around the world... And it is exciting to be a part of it in some small way as an encourager and prayer support! I will let you know more details as they emerge...

have a happy monday!
Blessings, Candra

Waiting...

I don't know why things happen the way they do. Often, it seems that we are left with more questions than answers... In the journey of adoption, many parts of the process are out of the individual's control and then we are left with waiting. As South Africa (our son's incredible birth country) just passed a new act (July) that governs adoption, the referrals to families have been temporarily stopped while all parts/parties involved in the process fall in line with the new act. Add to that the World Cup and it has been a long wait for the children to join their families. Given our experience, I do know that the professionals involved  work tirelessly and advocate immensley for these children. They have been in my prayers alot too.
And, there is a a huge wait for the families that want to meet the new addition their family! I am sharing this as we personally know three couples and several others by blogging that continue to wait. And, I know that there are many other families in the same boat waiting for their children from other countries...So, today I sit praying that processes would be upheld and that the action coming out of them would come quickly- that these children would be able to be brought home to their families!
Love and blessings to all of you who are waiting...
We are praying for you.
Candra

Randomness...

I have been waiting for this moment of the day to come... the 2 little ones in bed for a nap and dishes happily cleaning in the dishwasher. I even put "blog" on my list last night so I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty today. And I don't! Yesterday was a tough day... I don't think my E has ever tested my patience so much! But 2 and half going on 10 is hard to rationalize with. Today has been far better...now to just get some sleep at night. This little one, as adorable as I think she is, is often up many times a night....

 too cute

 On the house front, we are close to getting the exterior basement walls up, amidst mud and snow. I am amazed at the commitment level of my husband to learn and do this for the sake of our family, amidst ministry and work. Even in the snow and mud...

fun times in November

And now to share some thoughts that have been rolling around in my head:

*If you get the chance to read a book called "Not for sale"...do! It has opened my eyes to a world that I often choose to ignore - the present day global slave trade. It is well worth your read.

*I love that every so often (more often than not), my kids play so well together. It brings so much joy to my heart as I hear them playing in the other room. Last night:
G: I have a book that I want to read to you M. It is called Orphans in the sky!
M: I love orphans.
G: well, orphans can be adopted into a family. Do you know someone who has been adopted?
M: yeah, my brother!
I love how their minds have already understood the connect point that children can become a part of a family in various ways and that it is part of their everyday conversation.

* I had the privilege of walking in the Adoptwalk last week and was able to meet some new people and hear their stories of their families. One in particular stood out to me. As she stood talking with me about how her children came to be part of their family, I realized that this is the "birth story". Because we have a commonality, I was genuinely interested to hear how her children came into her family. Having given birth to three of my children, I know that amongst moms, labor and delivery and the subsequent few days after is exciting to recall and share with others as it is when you first met your baby.  With adoption,  the same is true for the first day you meet your child, minus the physical labor and delivery. So I guess I wanted to encourage you to be as excited to listen & hear how a child comes into a family through adoption!! As this woman stood sharing with me, there was more and more excitement as she gave more details and I was truly blessed and encouraged to hear her story!


* I am so honored to be able to share some of our adoption journey with a mom's group in about 2 weeks time! I can't believe it has been a year since we knew we were gonna go for it!

and the beautiful completion

And just because I can....

a couple of days ago we had ALL finger food for lunch. And the kids loved it...and hardly any cleanup!

Like I said...random!

Blessings, Candra

sharing...

This past Sunday, I had the privilege of sharing at our church about what I have been learning lately. Every once in a while we have "Abiding Sunday" where several people from Journeys are able to share. I was able to be one of them this time. I thought I would share it online as well, as I pray it may be of some value. Anyways, here it is in written form!

When Riley asked me to share this weekend, I said yes, thinking that I would have lots of time to prepare and that I'm sure something would come to mind to share about. Well, last night, as I sat typing this, nothing was there. What am I learning these days? What is God teaching me? I could probably talk for a while about several topics that I would like to talk about - adoption leading the way, orphans  & being a mom. God is stirring the pot and each of these areas are in there but somehow, even though I wanted to - I didn't feel like this is what I was supposed to share. So, as I prayed and thought about it a couple of verses that have been significant to me over the last few weeks came to mind. The first is one from proverbs that I have been thinking about for a while. Proverbs 31:25 says: " She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come"

As many of you know, we as a family have gone through a whole lot of transitions in the last year. We went from being a family of 5 to a family of 6. We spent a month half way across the world separated physically from our older three children, our house went on the market in the summer, Riley came back to work after his sabbatical, our house sold, we moved and and now are in a new home while we build another one! When it is put in one sentence, it seems like a lot.  And those are just the big moments. The everyday ones are sometimes tougher to face...choosing to be content everyday, having enough patience for those around me, especially my kids, enjoying my days, keeping up with my housework, finding time to get out with people for coffee, making time to spend with God etc. etc. etc.  I try not to use the word stressed in my vocabulary but life does become very busy for me at times.  SO I think as I began to reflect on all that God has entrusted to me and what I am supposed to be about, this verse was very timely. I pray for strength (and patience) DAILY. Strength not only to make it through the day but also to have significant moments in my day. i once told Riley that I want to live life with him, not get distracted by it. For me it is too easy to get distracted by the tasks of the day and only have energy & strength for those and then not have it for the unexpected that occurs during the day. 

It intrigues me that the verse starts  "she is clothed with"...getting clothed, for myself, is making a choice of what I want to wear.It is far easier for me many days, to cloth myself in impatience, selfishness, pride, self pity...rather than choose to rely on God's strength to sustain me. Through this past few months, I am learning to rely on His strength, which is hard for me as I am fairly independent.  I am also trying to intentionallly choose it daily in response to His call for me in these moments of my life. the second word is dignity. I looked it up  in dictionary.com  last night and it said:

bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity of an occasion or situation.

I want to be that type of women. I want to choose that daily not only for myself but also for my kids, my husband, my friends, my colleagues; I want people to see me as a person who respects herslef and those around me. I want my kids to have a good example to follow and I want others to see Christ's work in me.  I read another quote online that dignity is a precursor to freedom. As I was thinking about this, it is totally true in my life. When I am not feeling very good about myself, I tend to tear myself apart, usually through guilt.  Freedom to be who I am in Christ is hard to find in these moments, in fact I think impossible as I am so focused on myself that the freedom I have been given isn't often on the radar. I am learning to choose dignity and strength daily. the next part of the verse for me is the best part! There are alot of things on the table in my life these days. What I feel called to during the next phase of life, raising four beautiful children, soon to be working (and starting back to work in the frigid cold). So when it says laugh at the days to come I had to read it over again. I try and hide it but I am overwhelmed sometimes about the tasks entrusted to me in my life and most of the time I want to worry about the days ahead, rather than laugh. 

So in the last few days it was timely that God brought another verse to mind that I felt that I should also share today. It is from Philippians 4:6-7 " Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus".  

I have read these verses many many times in various circmustances and although comforting I forget about them in times when things are cruising along. I choose not to (althoughunintentionally) take everything to God in prayer. I think I can do it on my own. i begin to worry...and then I spiral. I am a worrier by nature, although getting much better - my mind goes crazy sometimes. I want to worry, not laugh. So when I spiral then I remember these verses and get back on track. I guess what I am trying to say is that the second part (vs 7) is where God has parked me this week. I need to be vigilant in my prayer, my anxiousness, and my thanksgiving so that I am open to the peace of God. Which will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The NLT says "Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." That is what I desire  - that continually, during the transitions of my life (which never seem to stay still), during the seemingly good and the definitely not so good  - that my heart and mind will be guarded. That it will not automatically go to the worst case scenario.  There have been many unexpected circumstances in our lives lately, some really really good & exciting and some quite the opposite. It has been exciting to live in the reality of these verses as they have come to mind again and again. To live in strength & dignity as a woman, wife, mom and friend, to laugh at the days ahead (which I have found hard but well worth the effort for myself and how my kids perceive the future as well), and to let God's strength & peace guide my life. Thanks.

Blessings, 

Candra

TV

So we have been videotaped again! Earlier in the summer for the run, Riley did a spot on CBC radio about run143. On a side note, we are gearing up to do it again...check out at RUN 143!! If you want to join in any way shape or form let me know!  Looking forward to assisting another family along on their journey of adoption! Getting back to the theme - TV - we also got to share our story with Sasktel cable network and they did a short 10 minute documentary on us and the run as well. We have no idea why we received these opportunities as there are many people that have experienced far more than us, but we'll keep talking about adoption as along as someone is listening!!! So today we were lucky enough to participate in Saskatchewan's first Adopt walk, an event designed to raise awareness about adoption and funds for the Adoption Support Centre of Saskatchewan. It was awesome and we had a blast. The kids loved doing the laps and we  all had so much fun hanging out with friends and meeting new friends!

getting ready to walk!

Getting back to TV, we were asked to do a quick interview with Global about our international adoption experience with little man so we did and they used some of it in their piece about the walk on the news tonite! (November 13 evening news - 1st story of the newscast) I hardly think I looked at the camera cause I was too busy hoping the kids would sit well - they did awesome!!! And my husband - what can I say, he is a natural in front of the camera and he loves his family so much!
We also had a blast tonight hanging out with families that are in process or who have adopted from SA! I hardly saw my kids they were having too much fun...thanks again everyone for the great night! Those of you who are waiting - you are in my prayers tonite.
Blessings, Candra