Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday David and Jonathan!

we had a very LOW key birthday for the boys...

BUT they did love the cake!

 

Love these faces!

 

Jonathan Daniel!

 

David Ezekiel!

 

 

David was all for the party!

Bring it on!

 

Jonathan....not so much!

 

 

 

But then.....

Taste and See....

it is good!

 

 

 

Levi trying to get some high 5's!

 

 

 

Life here is seemingly non-stop....

it seems like the days just melt into each other

for the most part the boys are doing really really well

they are eating, sleeping and playing great!

the language is probably the one issue that we are

working on the most....  just trying to understand

what they want when they grunt and wine...

we have taught them some signs for things like

please, more and all done.

 

it is funny to watch them change on a dime from

wining for something to saying please...

I tell them "what do you say" and they do the sign for please and

say "peas"! 

So sweet!

 

the days go by so quickly....

I usually get up by 5:00-5:30am to have time with the Lord

and then the big boys get up by 6:15...

then it is packing lunches, then making breakfast and getting little ones

dressed and up for the day, then get things cleaned up and head to the living room

for a little play time with the boys.... have a morning snack and then

start to prepare for lunch..... feed them all and then get them down for an

afternoon nap, after they go down I get to eat lunch  myself...and then clean up

and maybe do a few loads of laundry and then get ready for the big boys to

come home!....get the little ones up and do it all again for the last meal of the day!

David and Jonathan go to bed at 7, Levi at 8 and Sam and Jacob at 9...

then....if I am lucky...and don't fall asleep on the couch... I go to bed at 9:30 or at the latest

10pm...... and get up the next day and do it all over again!

I remember this season very clearly from when Sam and Jacob were little.... the only

difference is that I only had 1 other child...well...teenager.. Matthew was 15 when the boys were 2.

It is definitely an adjustment....and it definitely has changed things up in this house....

BUT it is all for good!  We know that God plans all things and this is not outside of His plans.

We are so thankful for all of our children! 

We give thanks for all that God has done for us in and through the growing of our family.

While we would never have imagined our lives to look this way 20 years ago when we first met,

we are more than blessed to be following Him in all of it!

 

Psalm 119:30-32

I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I have set my heart on your laws.
 I hold fast to your statutes, Lord;
    do not let me be put to shame.
 I run in the path of your commands,    for you have broadened my understanding.

 

We wish you all the joy, peace and hope that comes in the birth of our Savior!

Merry Christmas!

 

love,

the Hebbe Family!

 

 

 

 

 

This is why....

I know it has been so LONG since I posted...I promise to give an update on our family soon...we are settling in and learning how to live now as a family of 7 in our house!  For now I want to share a post written by a dear friend of mine.  Their family is in the beginning stages of adopting 2 beautiful little girls rescuing them from life as orphans...  Amy really gives insight to WHY .... In His Embrace, laurie   Already in Our Hearts, Someday in Our Arms

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Did you know... Posted: 01 Dec 2013 03:08 PM PST While preparing for the benefit concert, I was pulling together some statistics and wanted to share here.  Sometimes numbers can be so hard to comprehend---they are out of our realm of understanding the magnitude.  But each number below is a child---someone with a name and a story of their own, many times with much pain that is no fault of their own but often based on where and when they were born. Only by God's grace was I born in a country where my parents could provide for us and give us medical care and an education.  Only by His grace are we able to do the same for our children, never having to decide which child gets which meal (something the moms in Mekele, Ethiopia do daily), never having to wonder how to get medication for my children (other than which cupboard it is in), and never having to decide whether or not to turn my child into an orphanage because I know if I wouldn't they wouldn't survive.  When Jenny and I were in Ethiopia, we found out this is the reality for many of the moms/families there.  Thank You God for that opportunity and for opening my eyes to the need in the world.  Help me to always see ways You have for us to help others and also appreciate Your many blessings, the majority of which we take for granted. As you read these statistics, try to think of the number as real children---here are pictures of some of the beautiful kids we met in Ethiopia--all who may fit into one of these "numbers" below--- Every day, 5,670 children become orphans.  That is 236 per hour. Almost 4 a minute. Depending on what you read, the estimates of orphans in the world are 147-162 million children.  147,000,000  to  162,000,000 children.  Half the population of our country.  Each child with a story---each child desiring a family. If the numbers of orphans were a country, orphans would be the 8th largest in the world! 95% of the world's orphans are over 5.  How many of these kids are overlooked because they aren't young! In eastern Europe, less than 50% of the orphan population will live to see their 20th birthday.  In eastern Europe, of the orphans that survive their 20th birthday, 50% will end up in organized crime, drugs, or prostitution. To look at these statistics in a different way, think of what you did in the last hour. In the past hour--- 1,667 children under the age of five died of malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases 1,625 children were forced to live on the streets by the death or abuse of an adult 600 children died of starvation 257 children were orphaned because of HIV/AIDS 115 children became victims of sex trafficking Each of these children, fearfully and wonderfully made.  Each made in the image of God.  Each treasured by Him.