Happy Birthday & more...

We celebrated O's birthday on Thursday, May 22! He turned 6 years old. We celebrated with Auntie M cousin M on Wednesday. ...then had the Lorenzen tribe come on Thursday for another celebration party!! O has been asking about his birthday party for 4 months. F's bday party was in January so O was itching for his turn!! We had such a great time celebrating our son. He requested rice and fish for lunch and pizza for his special dinner. His papa couldn't be happier about his son's love for pizza! Thursday was a crazy day here in Colorado. As I was cleaning the house, getting lunch ready and thinking about when I was going to make O's cake, my sister who lives in Windsor Colorado called on the phone.

"There's a tornado coming!" sis

"A WHAT?" kt

"A tornado...M and I are going to our neighbor's basement" sis

"okay"kt

I looked outside and all looked okay other than a few clouds and a possible storm. I turned on the TV. I thought about where we would go if in fact we needed to take cover. I called Jeff and he suggested we go in the center closet in our house. Mind you our "closet" is more like a cubby. Possibly one of the kids would fit in there, but definitely not all 3 of us. So, I called the Lorenzen's since they have a basement. Laurie hadn't heard a thing about a tornado either. We ended up hunkering down in our friends basement for about an hour just to be safe. Unfortunately, Windsor, the city where my sis lives, was hit hard. Fort Collins was untouched. We got word after 2 hours that my sister and niece were safe and the tornado path missed their house by a mile!! What a day! There are hundreds of people that lost everything. The park where we just celebrated our niece's birthday had most of it's oak trees uprooted! It's hard to fathom the kind of loss these people are experiencing. O and F asked for days if a "Tomato" was coming. So, this was O's birthday.

We still took the rest of the day to celebrate O!

THANK YOU!!!

THANK YOU

to everyone who came to the benefit concert for Bethesda Int'l and those of you who helped make it happen!!

What a great night of music...

Thank you Greg Sanders (from Good Shepherd)

&

Donovan Lorenzen & band

& Thank you to Jason McBride

for keeping all the kids happy

with your fabulous balloon animals!!

& a final THANK YOU to all of you who donated so generously to help Ruth keep her ministry to Uganda's orphans running!!

We raised $1600!!

Benefit Concert for UGANDA!!

JOIN US THIS FRIDAY!!

bring your family...

bring your friends...

for a night of great music and a chance to support Africa!!

A load of photos!!

Diggin' the earth!! It's garden time & we're so excited to see all the wonderful veggies grow! We've had garden problems the last 3 years. We finally figured out the problem last year after we tilled the soil last spring. Our backyard is filled with Elm trees, which makes for great shade. One of our elms was looking pretty weak when we first bought our house until we started our garden which happens to be beside it. Last year the elm flourished due to the fact that it sent its roots right into our rich garden soil! As we tilled, we found a dense network of fine red roots that filled the garden. The tree had taken over our garden and strangled all our vegetables last year!!

So, we have now moved on to container gardening...which I am not super excited about but it was either that or cut down our tree.

The Liberians are itching to sleep in the VW camper bus in our back yard!! We popped the top and the kids found themselves their own personal fort with a radio, 2 beds, sink and windows!!
The girls (Fatu and Nyenna Lorenzen) in their matching outfits, ballerina skits and all!! The littlest of the bunch! Fatu and Titus Lorenzen kicking it in the camper.
Osobie's ready to drive! The steering wheel is almost as big as him.
Mackenna's (O and F's cousin) B-day party at the park. They had a pinata, kites, cake and some squirt guns!! What a blast!!

Aksel & Osobie
Osobie's new hair style "Bob Marley"! It took me six hours to twist his hair & he was such a trooper. He's totally mesmerized by video's so we loaded up on some DVDs from the library and we were set. We'll see how they will work out. The good thing is we can always just run the shaver on his head if they get to be too much work.
Osobie, Birthday girl Mackenna, and Fatu
Don't ya just love this shot! Our friends son Aksel and Fatu...just laying in the grass.
Fatu in her Strawberry Shortcake dress-my sister Mekay made for her!
OH BOY...the big wheels are here!! Grandpa B & Grandma B (Jeff's parents) came for a visit from AZ. and brought with them a ton of gifts!! The kids learned how to peddle on the first day and were cruising the neighborhood on their big wheels! Oh to be 4 again!! Actually, they have big wheels for adults now...we looked for them almost a year ago on the net and sure enough..there they were! They were just a bit too pricey!!

Grandpa B. and the kids getting the big wheels assembled.
Went to the Denver Aquarium with the grandparents and saw many beautiful fish, some tigers, and Fatu's favorite "pink fish"!

Grandpa B and O
Grandma B. and F
O, F, and mama

Oh my octopus!!
How cool is this? The divers were cleaning the sand while we were there and the kids just flipped over the man in the water
Finally a family shot! I seriously think this is only number 4. That's pretty sad. We are WAY over due for a family portrait by a professional..(hhmmm...Cierra Lorenzen???)

Osobie!!
mama having a blast...being a kid!!
Mother's Day! Jeff & the kids let me sleep in, bought me a nice latte and then made me my favorite...strawberry crepes! What a wonderful first Mother's day! I sat on the front porch while the kids napped that day and just thanked God for all the ways He has filled my life to overflowing. I remember about 7 years ago God continued to bring the scriptures to mind regarding abundant LIFE. "I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full". He would tell me, Katie, in me you will have abundant life. Trust me, believe me, walk with me, follow me. Do I ever? He has given me an abundant life! I have the most amazing, loving, kind, caring, supportive, and fun husband. I also have sweet, lovable, smart, adventurous, affectionate, joy-filled, and awesome kids! And that's just the beginning of a long list of blessings in my life.

We had a great visit with their second cousins, Josh and Harmon.
We all headed to the skate park and Josh & Harmon showed us their awesome skateboarding skills!! Osobie and Fatu had such a great time, they didn't want to leave.
Our first Craig's List purchase of the summer...an old school bike trailer for the kids! We used it for the first time today for Bike to Worship and they loved the ride!

Okay, so this is the best. Halloween in MAY!! I was doing some spring cleaning and found a whole crate of dress up costumes. Osobie and Fatu insisted on trying on as many as we would let them. It was 70 degrees out!!

Benefit Concert for Uganda!

Colorado Peeps!

Mark your calendars...we're having a benefit concert for

Ruth Muga & Bethesda International

May 23rd 7pm Everyday Joes Ft. Collins

Most of you already know Ruth story, but if you missed it, please check out my post or Laurie L's post!

It will be an awesome night of music (Greg Sanders & Donovan Lorenzen will be playing), coffee, conversations, and an opportunity to help hundreds of orphans in Uganda!! We would love to see you there!!

Please pass this on to all your friends & family if they are in Ft. Collins! We hope to bless Ruth with an amazing financial gift & help keep her ministry afloat!! Even if you are unable to attend, donations can still be made via the pay pal on our blog or checks, just contact me!!

ACTing in AFRICA

I have been in one of those reflective moods lately. I don't know if it's the spring season inching it's way into full bloom bringing with it a sense of newness, life, possibilities and change, or if it's because Jeff and I are taking some time to pray and process our life, our future, and what God is speaking to us. It could simply be both. It seems like in the last few months we have been surrounded by many folks with passion for Africa. It's been like reuniting with old friends or something, but with complete strangers. Africa has ached in our hearts since the first trip we took in 2003 to Uganda. It's been in our dreams, our conversations, and our plans for many years now and it's just so simply amazing to connect with others who share in the same love. In our adoption and life journey, we have met along the way some fabulous families, who choose to live their lives following after God's heart. People who have caught or had a passion for Africa and are taking active steps in helping the poor of our world. Here are some of those folks!

Brandi, an adoptive mom has created KidsLAKE: a resource for kids to get involved in their world by challenging them to earn, raise, and save money for special projects around the world. Presently the projects are in African countries.

Jocelyn, another Liberia adoption mom has started Redeeming Waters International: their mission is to bring clean drinking water to the world's most vulnerable citizens by providing water filtration systems, hand pump wells, and sanitation education for orphanages in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Our new friends Todd and Holly Petitt have established Africa Bags: a non-profit corporation focused on creating economic opportunity in the African country of Malawi. By selling cloth grocery bags made in Malawi, they will provide a sustainable income opportunity for its residents. Additionally, use of these bags will diminish the need for environmentally hazardous plastic grocery bags.

Then there are our friends Kami and Jeremy Johnson, an adoptive family who are working with Addy's Hope to build an orphanage in Liberia. You can check out their site here: Orphanage Project Liberia.

And lastly, Jennifer & Greg Isaac, another adoptive family have started a non-profit called fromhivtohome. Through training, recruiting, and supporting adoptive families, they hope to pave a way home for the world's HIV-affected orphans, in particular children who are HIV+. If you do check out Jen's fromhivtohome blog post be prepared to be challenged, to feel uncomfortable, and to have your hearts and minds stirred, hopefully to action.

Phew!! wow... is this amazing or what? I feel blessed just to know these people and look forward to all the stories of hope, life, health, and transformation that will come from people choosing to act on their passions.

TAG...I'm it!!

So, in the blog world there is always the random game of tag and well, I'm it! Thanks Charity for the tag and for making me share more about my weird self with the Internet world!! he, he. Okay, so here goes...

I am: energetic (finally, after a 6-month hiatus) and emotional (sometimes too much)

I think: while I am driving and doing dishes

I know: that I am a child a God, forgiven, and loved abundantly!!!

I want: to boldly follow Jesus wherever and however He calls me, and for my kids to know and love Jesus!!

I hate: public speaking

I miss: my brother in law, Matt.

I fear: aimlessness

I feel: inspired by my friends and family who love extravagantly!

I hear: my daughter snoring and rolling around in her bed & I love it!

I smell: a combo of burritos and dirty dog!

I crave: Ugandan matoke and sauce! (It’s a type of banana)

I search: through drawers and closets constantly, to get rid of stuff!

I regret: not having (or adopting) kids sooner!

I love: Jesus, my hubby Jeff, Osobie and Fatu, my family, friends, and AFRICA!

I ache: for the orphans in Africa who fend for themselves on dark nights, crying themselves to sleep.

I care: about the environment

I always: drink coffee first thing in the morning!

I am not: a super organized person

I believe: that the darkest valleys can be the most intimate, profound, rich, and life changing times of our lives.

I sing: along with Osobie and Fatu when they sing their Liberian worship songs!

I cry: during worship, when I think about how blessed we are, when I say goodbye to my grandma in Michigan, when I watch documentaries on Africa.

I fight: with Jeff over pillows! (No joke, we have started writing our names with a sharpie on the pillow tags!)

I write: in my journal almost every day

I win: at Pictionary a lot of the time!

I lose: sunglasses!!

I never: want to be comfortable (meaning settling for less than what God has for us)

I Listen: to U2, Ben Harper, Miles Davis, Anthony Skinner, worship tunes

I can usually be found: at home with my kids, at the park, outside in the summer!

I am scared: of raccoons! (They are so mean! They dig through our compost bin and hiss at me!!)

I need: to plant my garden and flowers tomorrow!!

I am happy about: MY LIFE!!

I hope: that God will bless us with more children!!

I know now I am supposed to tag others... I may just re-tag some ladies who haven't posted yet! Laurie, Melodie, Amber, Jocelyn...