A Different Type of Gift Giving

This past week cold weather (per Texas standards) has moved into the area.  My kids have dressed as if it is Texas Blizzard 2014.  They have had on no less than 2 pair of pants + leggings, 2 pairs of socks, 2 tops, and even a ski suit was seen on one!  Laundry has quadrupled this week for the Morris family.

And I must admit it has been a little chilly and the fact we live in an older house with a tad bit of draftiness adds to the chill factor and guess who didn't have the gas turned on for the first little cold snap!  Yep that would be me!  We managed and added on a few blankets to each bed.  We survived I am happy to say and the gas is now on so we have heat!

I was reminded of how blessed we are even if my kids might disagree.  Even though we didn't have heat we had plenty of clothes, blankets, and shelter to keep us warm through the little bit of cold weather we Texans faced.  And the cooler temps (and the help of the early Christmas advertising) I am reminded the holidays are just around the corner!

This year we decided to celebrate the holidays a little different.  I have shared before how we are trying to live simpler lives.  Simple house.  Simple school.  Simple.  Which translates to less.  Less space.  Less things.  Less.  In hopes we have more.  More time.  More life.  More money (or at least not have to work as much).  And see God more in our lives.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20

So we are carrying this simple strategy over into Christmas this year.  Do we ever really need more stuff?  I knew we really don't NEED anything but we have a long list of WANTS.  So this year we are having a fiscal fast for Christmas.  You might ask what exactly does that mean.  Well....it means we are not purchasing Christmas gifts this year as a family.  Now we will still participate with my extended family exchanges (no worries cousins, nephews, and nieces!).  The kids will get a small item for Christmas morning and I am sure my mom is going to make up for it (as she usually does) with a great gift.

So you are thinking "NO SANTA?"  Well let me go ahead and kill any fond thoughts you might have had about us.  Santa doesn't visit Dublin Lane.  In fact the kids, since being with us, only had Santa visit one year.  We decided early on in our parenting adventure not to participate in the holiday tradition.  Now we are not the Grinch family and we do not ruin it for others or teach the kids Santa is bad.  Santa visits to the school when the kids attended public school were always worrisome.  I could only imagine the Morris kids ruining Christmas for some sweet child but thankfully that was never the case.

Okay so you may be asking yourself why would you EVER do that to a child.  Well we had a few reasons.  But the main reason was we really wanted to celebration to be for Jesus' birth and not the shopping frenzy it has become.  (And yes we know Jesus was not born in December!)  Eliminating all the "other stuff" from Christmas allows it to be more focused.

Now this really isn't part of the reason but it is humorous.....I was devastated by Christmas.  I can still remember the deep angst when I learned Santa was a lie.  I remember thinking how could the entire world lie to small children.  Ha!  You would have to know I was a little adult walking around and never had much child wonderment.  I was analytical and focused on understanding the why in EVERYTHING!  Bless my parents hearts!

So back to the fiscal fast for this year.  We wanted to kids to be able to have the opportunity to give up something for others.  So instead of gifts for themselves we will use the money to purchase gifts/items for charity.  We plan to give the kids the money and go shopping.  I am still researching several different charity options.  I wanted to find something that the kids could witness first hand and see the impact.

We made this decision last Christmas and have spent all year talking about the fiscal fast with the kids.  Their excitement is waning as we approach the holidays.  As the Christmas ads have started and the stores have the newest, greatest toys on display I can see the excitement to give to others taking a backseat to their own wishes and desires.  We are not backing down so I am praying that these feelings will open up many opportunities to discuss what it truly means to give, serve, and be joyful in all circumstances.

We will not win Kids Choice Aware for Best Parents this year.  Many will think it is just another whackadoodle idea from that weird Morris family.  But my prayer is that this experience will bring the act of living for Christ to life for my kids!

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."  Matthew 16:25

This is just one more thing we are learning Growing Up on Dublin Lane.

As I mentioned before we are praying and believing God will provide for a family mission trip in 2015.  If you feel led to help support our mission, please visit http://www.givingbean.com/store/home.php?partner=3a5d0

PB&J, Cold Hands, and American Hoggers

Birthdays for our house are nontraditional to say the least.  What do you do when you have half a dozen kids?  I mean those great theme parties are great but by the time my own kids are accounted for and we factor in the cousins, we have no room to invite friends (well at least I couldn't afford it).  Then trying to find the day to celebrate.  Between my 7 and my sister's 5, we have several months with 3 kids having birthdays in the same month and who wants to share a party with someone else!!  Add to it that we have so many "days" to celebrate.  Do we celebrate the day the kids came to live with us, or their adoption day, or their birthday!?? To be honest I don't remember all the days for every kid.   But before you think what a terrible mother I am,  I do remember ALL their birthdays.  I just might not match them up to the right kid to the date every time but I do eventually get it matched to the right kid! So we opt for celebrating their birthday in a personal, special way.  It works for us and no one complains (except when they get invited to one of those over the top parties) and then we have a week's worth of discussions about it!  Ha! But 99.9% of the time everyone is content.

This week we get to celebrate my wonderful hubby, John!  He will be the big 4-2!  But just like most men he doesn't age much at all.  In fact if he loses his facial ruffage he could pass for being in his 20s!!!

John's birthday is Sunday 11/9 and 1 John 1:9 happens to be one of my favorite verses from the Bible and 11/9 happens to be one of my days of the year.  Coincidence.  I think not!

God brought John into my life when I was living a life completely and undeniably outside of God's commands.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to 

cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9

I love that 1 John 1:9 was the verse that grabbed my attention.  And that the cutie born on 11/9 grabbed my attention too!  And my life is forever transformed!

So to honor John's birthday I am going to tell you 11 things the kids came up with that they love about John and 9 things you may not know about him!

11 Things We Love About Daddy (according to the kiddos)

1.  He gives us money.

2.  He lets us help him.

3.  He works hard.

4.  He protects us.

5.  He loves us.

6.  He loves God.

7.  He is happy and smiling.

8.  He buys things for us (and then tells us not to tell Momma).

9.  He coaches us in football, basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer.

10.  He lets us stay up late and watch Duck Dynasty, American Hoggers, and Mountain Men.

11.  He let Momma stay home with us instead of her having to work all day. (I guess what I do now isn't work to them!)

9 Things You May Not Know

1.  He has a PB&J sandwich or cereal every night before bed no matter if he just had dinner.

2.  If it can save him a dollar, he will learn any skill/trade and do it himself.

3. To go along with #2, he has learned electrical, plumbing, and how to build furniture by researching online, reading books,  and watching YouTube videos.

4.  He is better at fixing the girls hair than me! (But I am learning!!)

5.  He never takes off his wedding ring.  I can count maybe twice this has happened in 15 years of marriage and one of those times was for surgery.

6.  He really doesn't like people.   He is compassionate but if he had it his way he would live in the mountains away from civilization.

7.  He has the coldest hands...always.  I mean like blocks of ice.  I frequently check his pulse to be sure there is not a medical issue.

8.  Because of #7, the older generation adore him.  When they grab his hands their hearts melt and they always say "Cold hands warm heart" & just smile.

9.  He is a walking encyclopedia for useless sports facts.  I cannot figure out how he keeps up with all those statistics but cannot seem to remember where the laundry hamper is in our room.

I am sure as the years go by I will learn many more things about John Growing Up on Dublin Lane.


Happy Birthday John!  We love you!  

Before I Knew You

Anyone that knows me knows what a special place adoption has in my life. We had a desire to parent and we were not becoming parents the traditional way.  We had tried everything.  We employed the "stop stressing about it and it will happen" method.  We had prayed incessantly and attempted to figure out what we had done wrong or what we were doing wrong.  We had been politely sat through the "apparently there is sin in your lives and God is not pleased with you" rants. We had undergone the regime of medications, temperatures, and logging everything.  We had numerous tests and procedures.  We had tried everything to start a family.  But a quiet voice was whispering, "You haven't tried everything."  but I just ignored that voice and I gave up.  Gave up the idea of being a mother.  Of a family.  That was just not God's plan for my life.  Besides I had several amazing nephews by this time and I was the favorite aunt!  And I could send them back home to their Mommy!

But that quiet voice kept whispering but I kept turning down the volume.  Then by chance we had two separate encounters with friends about adoption.  We loved the thought of adoption but quickly discovered that the cost of adoption really meant this was not an option for us...at least not right now.  So I continued on...being the world's best aunt!  Then God revealed to us the idea of foster care and adoption.  Less expensive but there was just one catch...Not all the children I would love could be mine forever.

STOP!  Wait a minute!  Hold the train!

You mean I would be expected to love a child unconditionally from the minute I meet them and pour all my time and energy into this child to have them leave and never return.  To pour out kindness and gentleness to only have them potentially disappear.   And God answered Yes! And we jumped in with both feet!  We literally decided in less than a week and started our training in November.  We finished in record time and were licensed in December.

Now most parents have 9 months to prepare and wrap their minds around the idea of a newborn.  We were called on December 21st and asked to take in not 1 but 2 infants.  We rushed to Target to get all those newborn essentials!  And by 8pm THAT day we had our first baby!  Whew it was the best pregnancy, labor, and delivery EVER!!  We only ended up with one newborn...just 4 days old.  An absolutely precious baby girl.  What happened over the next 4 months was a whirlwind and honestly a blur.  We went from 0 kids in the house to 6 all under the age of 6 years old in a matter of 4 months.  (Each pregnancy, labor, and delivery was just as easy as the first one!  Ha!)

It was crazy.  It was hectic.  It was hard ....much harder than I imagined but it felt right.  When we took the step of faith to become foster parents, we felt as if we were home.  You know the feeling you have when you return to your childhood home.  The comfort.  The security.  The love.  I felt all of that as I stepped into the uncertainty of foster care.  How you might ask?  Only because of Jesus.  Only could my comfort, security, and overwhelming love for those we had not yet met or just met come from Jesus.  I cannot take any credit this time.  I know it sounds completely absurd but a peace was with us as we stepped onto that roller coaster.

If you look at our lives adoption should hold a special place in all Christians hearts.  We have all been adopted by Christ.  Brought into His family.  We are now HIS children. Just let that sink in for a minute.

Broken. Empty. Hurting. Unable to accept His love completely.  But God loved us...loves us.

While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.  Romans 5:10

We were not the cute bundle of joy that I received on December 21st.  Yet he chose to adopt us.  He chose us.  He chose.  This was not about us.  You.  Me.  This is about God.  His incomprehensible love for us.

In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, 

according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.  Ephesians 1:4-6

God's perfect plan always included the adoption into his family.  Not everyone is adopted into this royal family.  Only those who believe in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice are adopted.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, 

born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we 

might receive adoption as sons.  Galatians 4:4-5

I adopted.  I am adopted.  Both possible through God's love.  Both are for his glory not ours.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you 

have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom 

we cry, "Abba! Father!"  Romans 8:15

With Orphan Sunday on November 2 I wanted to share with you the impact of adoption and foster care can have on our lives and those around us!

1.  All we do is for God's glory! So before you step out there and think this is for you really consider what you are doing.  This is not a phase you can outgrow.  This is real life.  Hard. Complicated. Real life.  Once you adopt a child there is no going back.  And honestly if you choose to foster you should have the same mind set.  You can't simply "send them back" when it doesn't work out.  But with the attitude that all we do his for God's glory your perspective and motivation changes.

2.  The goal is not to receive praise for your actions.  This goes along with everything is for God's glory.  But is you are thinking you will get accolades and pats no the back.  Think again.  You will get stared at.  Talked about.  Ridiculed.  People may even think you have lost your mind.  When times get tough you may hear "well what did you expect adopting THOSE kids."  But take heart, you do not perform for the world, you honor God with your life!

3.  You can provide a tangible way for others to see mercy and grace in action.  Over the years we have had struggles.  We did our best to protect our children's personal struggles but when appropriate and with discretion we shared.  We were able to express how we repaid those terrible actions of the kids with grace.  How we extended forgiveness for the 100th time this week.  So those around us heard a living story of mercy and grace.  And even better than that, our children saw this every day.  Do you know how awesome this is?  To be able to love unconditionally.  To be a real life example of love.  To in some way help model Jesus in the lives of our kids.

4.  Rely on God for sufficiency.  Adoption is hard.  It is full of heartaches and disappointments but when the decision is based on how will then glorify God.  If our decision to adopt is rooted in bringing glory to God, he will provide for your every need.  In the middle of madness he will be there every step of the way.  He will cover your inadequacies, provide words when you are at loss, and a never ending supply of love, grace, and mercy will be made available to you.

So maybe you are just not ready to take that step.  I want to urge each of you to prayerfully consider how you can support orphans and adoptive families you know.

1.  Be sensitive.  You will not know the entire story since families protect the children and their struggles.  But God knows every detail so pray that God makes himself known and felt to the family and children.

2.  Build bridges.  Adoptive and foster parents can easily build a wall to separate them from the outside world.  Some days it is easier to live behind the wall than face the world.  Reach out.  Call.  Connect.

3.  Love with open arms.  One of my biggest fears when fostering and during initial days after adoption was "Will they love this child as I do?"  I made a decision to love based on a command I heard from God but what about others who haven't heard this command?  So one of the greatest comforts was when my children...my Family....our life was welcomed with open arms.  Never made to feel odd or strange.  We were us and that was okay!  No need to hear of the details but willing to openly love our family.

4.  Financial support.  Many families who have a heart for adoption are seeking financial support to make this a reality.  Organization across the country provide for both orphans here in the US and world wide.  Give and give generously.

So after 7 years we had settled in with 6 kiddos and thought we were done...well at least for now. And then one more child was welcomed into our home.  To complete our family of 9!!  We adopted 7 blessing from the Lord.  All who grew in my heart years before I knew they would be mine.  All I loved before I knew 100% they would be adopted!  I would love to tell you we live a storybook life but we don't.  We have had our fair share of struggles but I have learned that life is not about me and my desires Growing Up on Dublin Lane.


Please watch the video provided by Christian Alliance for Orphans.  Comment below your experiences with foster or adoptive parents.  Share your prayer requests if you are starting this journey!  I would love to hear how others are impacting the world for God.



Orphan Sunday 2014 from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.