It's been a while

So many things have happened since I last wrote. I guess we can conclude that I am not a true blogger.

In March Jacob turned 16 and Lydia turned 6. Jacob has been very busy with school, Spirit Borne and his social life so he has not yet gone for his G1 but it will happen soon now that school is slowing down. We have mixed emotions about that.




We celebrated Easter again at Uncle Brian's and Aunt Brenda's where the kids had a great time doing the outdoor Easter egg hunt. This was Anna's first time doing it and she had a wonderful time filling her bag. She now uses the word "chocolate" fluently.



On our drive home we all enjoyed a walk across the bridge in Campbellford. It was a great day!




In May we celebrated Mother's Day and Josiah's 13th birthday.


I can't believe we now have two teenage boys. They are amazing young men. I so enjoy watching them learn and grow. Also, love the discussions on deeper things in life we now have from time to time. I must admit, being a mom is not an easy job, but there are those moments when it is so rewarding and I know that I have been able to be a part of guiding and shaping their lives in some way and that compares to nothing else.
We had an amazing day at our track and field meet with Cornerstone Christian Academy again this year. Josiah, Esther and Lydia participated and all won some ribbons. Josiah came in first in the senior boys 800 m. So proud!!
Last week Jacob was a part of a fundraiser for Spirit Borne, the performing arts group he is a part of. It was a dinner theatre and he played the part of Wally the nerd. He was great! I am sure he will not be happy with me but I just had to share this.....



Anna is doing wonderfully! She has been with us for almost a year now. That went by so fast. She has fit in to our family so well it is almost hard to believe, but we know that God has had this whole journey in His hands and He has blessed us so abundantly. I did not know that my life would be so profoundly affected by this journey or by our sweet little girl but God always knows what He is doing and I trust Him more than ever.



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Blessed and Thankful!!

 This beautiful little girl brings so much joy to our family.  She is told how cute she is regularily by each member of the family.  She now tells us that we  are cute too. It is such a treasure to see how each of her older siblings love to play with her, hold her and cuddle her several times throughout each day.  They would much rather play with Anna instead of doing their school work.  But she is often sitting at the table with us coloring or playing with play doh while we do school. 
Anna is doing a lot of talking now.  There always seems to be a new word or two coming from her.  The other day Josiah was holding out his hand to get some play doh pizza from her and she held up her hand and said, "Hang on".   She also insisted that Lydia say "Please" first before she would give her a toy.

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, a reward from Him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."     Ps. 127:3-5

I can't put into words how very blessed I feel. I am so thankful for each one of our children. 

Merry Christmas

We have been enjoying this Christmas season to the fullest. We have been baking cookies, watching our favourite Christmas movies, and the girls made some Christmas cards for their friends. Once again I did not get Christmas cards sent....my apologies. Last Sunday all three girls were in the Sunday School play as angels.



I think we all feel like this Christmas is extra special having Anna with us. For the past three years we have looked forward to having a new little one in our family and this year she is finally here. Anna has brought so much joy to our home and God has taught us many things through the experience of adoption.
I am so thankful that He chose to show us who He is through Jesus.
Merry Christmas from the Leemings!



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Anna's Dedication

We actually had Anna dedicated late in September but I wanted to put this picture up.  It was a great day with friends and family.  It is wonderful to know that we are not raising our children on our own, but we have a great God who helps us each step of the way.  I could not do it on my own.

 When the boys were young I remember asking my cousin, who was raising five children, for some parenting advice.  She thought for a moment and then said, "Just love them".  I knew that was great advice because in truly loving our children there is so much involved.  It means taking the time to enjoy them and affirm them. It means taking the time to correct and discipline them when they need it, which is often.  It means taking the time to sit and talk to them, to get to know them individually.  It is laughing with them, sometimes crying with them and sometimes asking them to forgive us when we need to.  Loving them means so many things that I am still learning about after 15 years of parenting.     

I often pray for each of our children and the longer I parent the more I realize that praying for them is such an important part of my loving them and being their mother.   I will sometimes dedicate them back to God again in my heart, realizing they are His kids and I have been given the wonderful priviledge of loving and raising them for Him.      

Psalm 127 says that children are a reward.  I feel so richly blessed.                                                                                        

John Bentley of Harmony House

When we went to China we had never heard of Harmony Outreach. After we received Anna our guide worked hard for us to find the orphanage where Anna had been living. We were amazed to find out that she had been loved and cared for by Christians for the past year and a half. This was something I had prayed for.
This past weekend we had the privilege of meeting John Bentley, the founder of Harmony House.




We were so blessed to spend time with John and hear him speak several times. He is a man with a great love for people in developing countries. He shared a message about truly dying to self and losing our lives to find the abundant life that Jesus talked about.
My own personal life and our family life is more abundant than ever since adopting our sweet Anna. God's love for us, His children, truly amazes me.



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Carving Pumpkins and Dressing Up

We all enjoyed some Halloween fun this year.





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Mark and I enjoyed seeing them go from house to house. Still puts a smile on our faces.


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Apple Picking

We had a fun time with the girls going to Campbell's Orchard and picking apples.






Of course we came home and made apple pie.


Had such a great time with our lovely girls!


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