Our Boatload of Dreams.....

Welcome to Our Place Called Simplicity.

We invite you into our lives with one goal in mind: that you would be encouraged to live simply and truly love one another.

Married for 33 years, we are the parents of many. Eleven {so far} children. Eight of whom are adopted. We also have four sons and a daughter that we are parents of in Uganda as well. They were raised on the streets and had no parents until we "adopted" them 3+ years ago. So we really have sixteen children total {with more on the way}.

After 7+ weeks in Uganda, Emma {18} and I recently returned to the United States with our newest addition - a baby girl named Ruby Grace. Dw and Emma were leading a missions team in June 2011 where they had the privilege of meeting Ruby - a tiny 11 month old gem weighing only 6 lbs.

Our oldest daughter Abigail and her husband finally{!} allowed us the privilege of being Mimi and Jaja by bringing us our very first grand baby {from Uganda}...making us now, officially, a multi-generational adoptive family. Proof that adoption is a very, very good thing!

We've had the privilege of adopting our treasures from all over the world, some dubbed "special needs" we are convinced that the only TRUE special need a child has is to have a family.

Our peers are empty nesters, but we are certain that given this option to any orphan - "old mom and dad" or "no mom and dad", all would still vote for the old ones. So here we are - the old ones....doing it again....

If you are need of encouragement or wonder if God is able to move your mountain, please head over to the sidebar where Special Posts are listed. Start at Our Wild Adventure Part 1. You will be reminded of Almighty God's deep love for the orphan and how He will move mountains on their behalf....we call Him the Miracle-Working, Mountain-Moving, Awe-Inspiring, Gasp-Giving God!! Yippee Jesus!!

I am humbled beyond words and ever so grateful that the Lord is fulfilling a promise He gave me way back in 1982..."making the barren woman to be at home - the joyful mother of children" (Psalms 113:9). How I praise His name!!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

I Would Say the Word Would Be BURIED

Last night Emma, Josh, Liberty and Isaiah played in the snow for about two hours...
One of the things they built was this chair...hard to see in the dark, but there is a ottoman and two heart shaped pillows on it....


This morning I could not resist a pic of these cherubs eating breakfast....

These two love to giggle together..... Buried in snow I thought it would be fun to make a batch of my
famous Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins......and yes,
OUR COLONS THANK US!!
Later I took Emmy, Liberty and Kirstie to the ice rink to meet some friends...
I decided to take this picture to show you what the view from our porch looks like...
I sat in a rocker and pointed it from eye level....I would say we're sorta buried, huh?Here's our little foot path out.....That same little blue farmhouse with a blue sky.....Isn't even their barn adorable??The mountains are peeking through.....The girls and a couple friends... Next to the ice rink is a little ski hill in town...hard to see a few skiiers on the hill....The ski hill is about three blocks from our church right in the heart of town....Kinda' fun to drive by and see people skiing and snowboarding.....

I wanted to show you some of my favorite houses in town...the architecture is so charming...

While I had Emmy taking the pictures of the homes....we noticed some buried cars....

This truck too....and as we passed the truck we noticed this....Little mirror sticking out....so we circled around the block and came back and took a picture of an almost completely buried car....do you see the mirror on the left of the picture?? What a hoot, huh? Probably won't see that car till Spring...
Hope they weren't hoping to head anywhere quick!!

26 Simply Sweet Words:

Jacq & Jason said...

Linny-
Maybe you have already come across the following blog but one of my sweet bloggy friends shared it with me and I thought of Emma. It is written by a 21 year old missionary in Uganda who now has 12 (i think) girls. I am sure you have tons :) of time to read but if you do come across a couple of minutes I think you will be blessed by this:
http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com
- Jacq

Jim and April said...

i cant get over how much you have....what adorable pictures you posted btw!

Blessed Mom of Four, Now Five said...

Just catching up, these past few posts have made me smile...and I needed a smile...as my uncle passed away this week.

I wish I could play in the snow with you. We don't see snow here in south Georgia...well, about every 10-15 years we might.

The scenes of the town and the homes are beautiful. And, I love, love, loved the photo of Emma and Graham together in the chiar.

Be blessed my sister~!

~Truly Tina~ said...

WOW! Yes, I would say you guys are definitely buried in beautiful snow! One of these days I must visit the Colorado mountains during winter...well, maybe late fall/early winter so that I don't get trapped in a blizzard out there. :)

Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins sound delicious. Hmmm, would you be willing to share the recipe? Looks like you all are having great fun! Love the pic of the little ones sharing breakfast together. Simple joys.

Have a fantastic Sunday!

Ioana said...

awww, i know it sounds silly but that path you made for yourself to get out of the house is sooo cute. I wanna live where you live guys. for, you know, a few days. I am bad with cold.
But the area where you live is totally beautiful.

Angie said...

Yes, friend, you are indeed buried. But how beautiful, and I'm not a snow person. You live in such a beautiful area with those mountains!

Janet and Kevin said...

Wow! That's a lot of snow. We get snow in Indiana but not usually like that! Pretty pictures.

We leave in three days! Praying that there is no snow like that on our trip! LOL! Oh, and also praying for balmy warm weather even in Beijing! Hee, hee! Dream on, right"!

Hugs,

Janet, Kevin, Ted, Philip, and Eli (Gotcha Day 2/1/10)
myadoptionwebsite.com Journey to Eli

scrappy quilter said...

WOW you did get dumped on by the snow. We didn't get near as much however it's snowing here again. Every time I look out the window I think of you. Love the pictures of the kids...priceless. Hugs

Tesseraemum said...

Oh my word! How much snow did you get?! I am here to tell you we would not have been going to the skating rink. Here in central Ohio we would be under a level 3 snow emergency until next weekend=) Have fun!!

Shanti said...

Wowee! THAT is a lot of snow!!!

purejoy said...

ohhhh brrrrrr. i seriously don't know how i would survive!!

hope you all are doing alright and that uncle mark is settling in well.
thinking of you…

Jill Funkhouser said...

that is a crazy amount of snow. What city are you guys in again? It looks so cute.

Adeye said...

Oh my gosh, my friend--you REALLY are snowed in. That's crazy. We've had NONE....for weeks and weeks.

Jim and April said...

LOVE all the pics of the kids and holy cow that is a lot of snow!

The Ferrill's said...

Gracious! That is a LOT of snow! I think you might not see ME until spring! ;)
It is SO good to see little Jubilee in the pics...she looks so happy, Linny!

Kim said...

Linny,
What cool pics! I guess you get as much snow as Michigan (or maybe some more!)

Sara W. said...

Love all the pics!!! We love snow here, we also get plenty.

Your children are just so sweet!

Holly said...

Wow! My boys were just saying how they would love it if we got tons of snow. (And we probably will still. We always get tons here in West Michigan and one point or another!) I can't wait to show them these pictures tomorrow. They will love them!

Karin said...

That is a whole lotta snow, girl! Glad I don't have to shovel that. :) It's really pretty to look at though.

Our son called from boot camp this morning (first call after three weeks). We missed the call!! argh!!!

Kathy said...

I haven't seen that much snow in years. It's so pretty! Great snow furniture.

Patientlywaiting said...

Your pictures remind me of the song that talks about heaven and the store houses of snow. Well, I'd say a few of those store houses are now empty! The snow is beautiful!

Hugs,
Robin

Jill said...

Now THAT was a fun tour!!!! So bright and beautiful. The sofa and ottoman are just CLEVER!

We, in the Midwest, are having gray, wet days and NO SUNSHINE for over a week...we are longing to see the sun!

We Are Family said...

I found your blog on someone elses blog :) Oh, how I love the internet! I have been trying to go through your older posts and read your story. God is so faithful! Just want to say Hello. Your family seems to be simply awesome!
BLESSINGS!

Nancy said...

Yes...I would say "Buried" is the word! Maybe a nice cup of hot chocolate and a great book would be nice as the kids enjoy the new chair and ottoman (haha).
Nancy

Chrisann said...

I am so sad that I am missing the big snow! I would be loving it. Enjoy. I'm sure the thaw out will come soon. Love you guys!

Jean said...

Love your post and your trust in our Lord! What a creepy guy- yuck... Great idea having verses all over the house- isn't that why they made those stickies anyway!

I love the smiling faces at the counter!

Cute homes-love the architecture, too!
:-)