Let's Rewind things for just a bit!

I have not abandoned my blog, although I know it may seem like that.  We have been very busy with life that just seems to be keeping me going in many directions lately.  We are in the process of some home renovations.  We are moving our girls to a different room, the room that had previously been owned by  bats storage(another blog post for another day) and was in need of walls, insulation, and windows.  So there has been lots going on to get us ready to bring our sweet girl home.  We are moving Sadie into the girls old room which did not inhabit bats:) Temporarily the girls are in the playroom with their pigs(guinea...ugh)biggest mistake of my life  and all "four" of them are happier then pigs in mud(seriously) for the present moment.

So the nesting has definitely started here in the last month!! We are getting closer and closer yet each day feels like its just not gonna happen soon enough.  Funny, I can remember vividly, how I felt being pregnant with Maggie.  She decided to arrive  6 days late.  And just like every mom out there each time I was preggers I would think, "oh I might go early this time".  Well with this paper pregnancy for our little china doll...it's the same thing!  This fifth little Hirschberg is just following suit with her siblings!

Okay, where was I..oh yeah I wanted to rewind things since I was vacant on here during some really fun happenings with our family!  You know it's either feast or famine...so I apologize ahead of time if I go on to much...but there are lots of pictures ahead!!

In a previous post I mentioned our brother, Eliud coming to stay with us for a bit so I wanted to highlight our time with him and how much we just looooooved having him and how much we just love him!  His life and testimony have God's handprints all over it...it's a beautiful story where God took the hopelessness and despair from life circumstances that were out of his control and placed divine appointments at exactly the right time to breath hope into his life that come only through the love of a Savior.

Our first outing was to take him bowling, he had never been so we thought we would introduce him to this sport.

On his first turn up.....He got a STRIKE!!!! unbeeeeelievable!

This year we decided we were going to have 2 Christmas trees.  The first being the traditional one that we have each year and then the second being a African tree.  We are very passionate about Africa and a organization, Chariots For Hope.  We are partnering with them in sponsoring children in an orphanage. One that none of us have had the opportunity to go to.....yet...someday hopefully.  This orphanage is about 7 hours away from where Bob and the boys have been in the past and making it difficult to travel to. 

 Anyway, in an attempt to slim down and refocus our Christmas I thought we could make a tree with ornaments of the children in our orphanage and the men and women who live at the orphanage and pour into these kiddos.  This project turned into just a wonderful, great time spent together as a family and with Eliud there as well.  I was not prepared for the emotions I would feel.  As we took the pictures of the children and made the ornaments I couldn't help but think of how different our lives are.  Here we sit in our cushy home making ornaments from materials we purchased for a "few bucks" by just simply hopping into our nice van and driving 5 minutes down the road.  I sat around our table looking at how very different my life and the lives of our childrens are compared to these beautiful, happy children.  Why? Why do my kids have parents who can afford to provide for their basic needs plus?  Why are Bob and I able to raise our children here in our home?  Why have we not fallen on hard times where we have to do the hardest thing by giving them over to be cared for by those who can give them their basic needs(water, food). I don't know but I do know that God has laid on my heart and Bob's heart to do something.   All that we have his from Him, by Him and because of Him.  

As we made the tree and prayed for these children I was so full of love....love for children who I have not even met.  How great the Father's love is for us that He fills us up so that we can be poured out into others!  Oh how I pray that I make the most of those opportunities!

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.  Psalm 63:3-4

Eliud using the glue gun..

We made a banner of the name of our orphanage

I found the HOPE ornaments at Wal-Mart and scattered them throughout the tree

HOPE....so thankful for the One who is our hope!

can you see why I was filled with tears?

look at these faces....precious!

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  John 14:18

Part 2 of Christmas

We all piled into the van first thing Christmas morning.  We had made a big igloo full of Hot Chocolate and 70 gift bags.  We were all set and ready to go!

All 7 kiddos!

loading the bags

I stole a picture of this...just loved this sweet idea from one of the kids!  They each made homemade cards to go in all 70 bags as well, just another way to get them involved.

As we traveled down, the city was a ghost town, I've never seen it like that before.  Most people were gathered around with families somewhere on Christmas morning.   We had a hard time finding people at first.  Then we headed over to the park and spotted a few.  On the other side there looked to be a group who was giving soup out to those who had know home or family to be with on this celebratory morning.

We got out of the van with our bags and hot chocolate excited to hand out gifts.   Before we could set up our little spot people from everywhere came running, jumping over walls towards us.  It's so hard to explain the next 5 minutes.  Bob and a few kids ran back to the car to get more bags and when the group caught wind that there were more bags in the van they all ran for the van.  I looked over at one point and told Shawn that Bob might need help because the van was literally rocking...they were trying to get in the van and get the bags.  I caught out of the corner of my eye Maggie smiling as she was walking over to give the bags away until they were yanked right out of her hands.

There was no order, whatsoever at this point....we were all a little taken back by the sheer volume of those who were clinging and desperate for a bag.  Half of us were still giving hot chocolate out to those who had already gotten their bag.  The crowd had started to move in, almost on top of us...at one point one of my girls started to cry, she was scared because she was being pushed against the wall by the crowd even though I was right beside her.  As Bob came back from the van, he announced that all the bags were gone.  There were many disgruntled people, cursing, holloring, mumbling.  Shawn had one lady tell him how we should have done it.  I heard several ask why hadn't we put a gift card in the bags.  We saw many with more then one gift bag in their clear trash bags where they kept literally everything they owned.

In a matter of minutes, the bags were all gone.  As soon as things cleared out we began to talk about the sheer madness that happened 5 minutes ago.  The kids all looked a little shell shocked as did we.

In that moment, I went over my expectations that I had just 10 minutes earlier.  In my mind I thought that we would come across maybe one or two people at a time and hand them a bag, maybe get the opportunity to share Christ and maybe just maybe hear their story.   I stood in disarray at how completely opposite things turned out.  Yet so content in knowing this is how God wanted our morning to be.  What do we learn from this? What do we take away from this?

We all gathered around and held hands to thank God for this opportunity to be his hands and his feet to His people. These very precious children of God that matter just as much to His heart as we do.  The difference being we dress like we have it altogether.  The truth is we are just as desperate and needy!  We might make ourselves look good on the outside but on the inside we are desperate.  I couldn't help but think, aren't we just like those who snatched bags out of the hand of the giver?  Doesn't God give us all that we need in Him but yet we want more..we stomp our feet thinking we deserve better.  How many times do we holler out,  "why didn't you do this or that" instead of being happy with what He has given us for this time in our lives.  How many times do we find ourselves griping or shaking our fists at God just like those who didn't receive a bag, when we don't get what we want?  How many times have we taken and then expect more, never satisfied in what the one gift held?

I couldn't help but feel so thankful for a Savior who had taken my place upon that cross and because of His incredible gift I can have life.  I can say that I might have felt a tinge disappointed initially when the mayhem started but by the end of the five minutes...felt as though a light had shone brightly that morning.  Not because of anything we did but because of Jesus using very broken, desperate people to be vessels so that His glory, His majesty, His love for those people could be given.

As we all piled into the van and headed out of the city we came across a man on the sidewalk who had no home and was looking under newspaper bins and in the trash can for something.  We stopped, we looked around to see if we had anything...anything at all to give him.  Shawn piped up that he had gloves and Bob started out of the car to give them to him, Shawn followed and the next 1 1/2 minutes was beautiful...tears streamed down my face as I saw my husband start to take his sweatshirt off and proceed to give it to this precious man.  Shawn took his jacket off and handed it to him but he wouldn't take it.  As this is going on all 7 children watched wide eyed as their dads were showing them what it looks like to be used by Jesus.  The man said, "I don't need no jacket, all's I need is size 13 sneakers".  My brother took off his sneakers because he happens to have size 13 sneakers on his feet.   What a beautiful sight and what a beautiful way the Lord chose to allow us to leave that morning!  We serve a mighty God who cares for the littlest, the neediest, the unlovly and unlovable and yet chose to use us, sinners to bring Glory for His name!

I am so grateful for the rich heritage I have.  From a young age my Father would gather our family up and take us to the nursing home to visit and sing while he would give a little sermonette.  He would take us on many trips where he had the opportunity to serve.  He had a business that often consisted of workers who had been in jail or had drug addictions.  My dad saw the good in them when others didn't and wanted to give them a shot.  He knew what it was like to be the underdog.  My grandmother also gave so richly from her heart.  Anybody and everybody was welcomed around her table.  Her light and love for Jesus shined through her servant's heart.  She loved....really loved everyone, even those who were outcasts.

I pray that I take every moment that God chooses to put before me as an opportunity to let His glory be displayed and His kingdom impacted.

At the end of your life one of three things will happen to your heart: it will grow hard, it will be broken, or it will be tender.  Nobody escapes.  Your heart will become coarse and desensitized, or be crushed under the weight of disappointment, or be made tender by that which makes the heart of God tender as well.  God's heart is a caring heart.  (Ravi Zacharias)


Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds an praise your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:16


"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Matthew 25:35-36


I leave you with this incredible story.  If you haven't seen this it is worth your time it will touch your heart.

Part 1 of Celebrating CHRISTmas

Well it has been waaaaaay to long since I last posted and so much has happened!

I wanted to start by highlighting our CHRISTmas first.

This Christmas looked a little different for our family, in a refocusing kind of way.  As the holidays were approaching I had a growing irritating spirit that was coming out.  I found myself getting so annoyed with all the hoopla, from traffic to long lines to mean people cursing you out while trying to find a parking spot.  Even while I was shopping hearing people bickering with each other.  Seriously, what are "we" doing?  What are we celebrating?  Celebrating ourselves, perhaps?!

Our kids handed us their lists this year and my heart sunk and it hit me,  how is this celebrating our Saviour's birth? I wrestled with this for days.  We talk about generations past, present and future and  how kids and adults have a sense of entitlement.....no stinkin kidding!  The overindulging just gets more and more each year.  Sadly, it has taken precedence over the true meaning.  When was the last time you went to celebrate someone else's birthday and received presents?

I understand that the wise men brought gifts but that was for the One who was born.  The One who was sent to save us from ourselves.  The One who was sent to walk in the shoes of man, to come alongside the unlovly, to dine with sinners, to perform miracles,  to show us what true living is, how to live righteously,  to one day pay the ultimate price for man's sins by hanging his perfect, sinless body on a tree and shedding his blood for our wretchedness.

Is this how I celebrate Him?  Is this how I teach my children to celebrate Him?

I had no peace.

Bob was completely on the same page with me.  I talked with my sis,  Lisa only to find out she too was struggling and feeling the same things.  Quite refreshing.  It provoked me to stop what's "always been" for the sake of "that's how we have always done it....it's a tradition" mentality and start a new one.

Okay, so what does this look like....the brainstorming started to happen as I prayed to the Lord to please make my motives pure, allow my children and our family to celebrate you in a real and tangible way that would glorify you and not ourselves.  I prayed for my kids hearts.  Knowing full well that my heart and convictions aren't necessarily theirs...especially when you have teenagers who think and feel completely different.  But,  I have a responsibility before God to raise them as He says in His word and as He leads us as parents.  He was leading us this direction. (a little peek of what was going through my heart and mind)

For months Bob had wanted to make boxes with the kids that we could have in our car to give out when we saw a person in need.  We always see a certain couple of people when we travel back and forth from the shore.  With Bob working in the city often he sees it a great deal more.  So we took his idea and thought, lets do this for Christmas.  Shawn and Lisa were spending Christmas with us so this would be even more fun.  Bob took leadership in this.  In an attempt for our kids to see what our hearts were feeling we wanted them to get involved from the very beginning with the hope of igniting the passion within their own heart to truly love others more then themselves.

 Bob had the kids each make a list of what they thought people would need.  Bob and I loaded all 7 kids up and headed to Sam's Club and we started buying our little items to put in the boxes(which ended up becoming gift bags).  The kids had a blast picking out things they thought people would need.  We then hit some dollar stores for hats and gloves.   The assembly line started of making the bags and when all was said and done we had 70 bags to hand out Christmas morning.

I will share our experience on Christmas morning in my next post.

70 bags made with lots of love and prayers over them!