Dear Micah,

Am I a Kate Gosselin or a Michelle Duggar? Prov 14:1

Larry and I are TV junkies. Our kids are in bed promptly at 8pm...maybe 8:30pm. However, it's not necessarily because we are good parents. More than likely we are tucking them in so that we can watch Burn Notice, Psych, The Deadliest Catch, Chopped or any other thing that has caught our fancy. (Confession: I went through an obsessive phase of watching Finding Bigfoot.)

With our adoption process just under way, it has occurred to me that we are currently on the edge of being "that family with all the kids." Adding another Daigle, especially in a long, expensive, no-way-it's-an-oops kind of way, will certainly make us stand out even further. My mind went straight to two women who have been made household names by their reality shows, Kate Gosselin and Michelle Duggar.

Two polar opposites with a striking similarity, Kids!

Would I rather be one or the other? Heck, No! For one thing, I don't want 19, 20, however many children. Although, if I did, I would adore each one. And for another thing, I don't want to be obsessed with order and schedules. Although, I do tend to have Kate moments on occasion and if someone were editing my life into a 1 hour show, I'm sure those would be the juiciest bits and therefore would make the cut.

Truly, I don't want to be Kate or Michelle. I want to be Colleen. I have to face each day with Proverbs 14:1 on my mind and in my heart and on my lips before God.

The wise woman builds her house,

But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

Proverbs 14:1 NKJV

I can choose to edify and fortify my family.
I can choose to uplift and uphold my family.
Or, I could choose to put their needs off while I pursue my own plans. Just one set of poor decisions could cause our lives together to crumble into a mess. Please, Lord, don't ever let it be so!

No, I don't want to be Kate or Michelle.

I am Colleen. And I want to be a wise woman.

What shall we eat? - Luke 11:11-13

Today, I sat at the table with Caleb and we had lunch. It was a plain ol' PB&J, chips and apples kind of lunch. We had fun.

After lunch, I cleaned the table and Caleb watched Clifford on television. This is a regular occurrence. After cleaning up our dishes, I put ribs in the CrockPot. This is super easy and delicious. I found this recipe on the back of a spicy mustard bottle. Again, so easy...just make sure to use a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner. By the way, there is a $1 coupon on that website. Trust me, if you haven't used these yet, they will change your life.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

• 1 - 18oz bottle of barbecue sauce - It doesn't matter which, just pick your favorite.
• 1/2 cup of spicy brown mustard
• 1 rack of pork baby back ribs - I divide ours into sections of 2-3 ribs each

Mix BBQ sauce and mustard. Dip rib sections into sauce mixture. Place in slow-cooker. Cover with remaining sauce. Cook on High 4 hours. (I put mine in at 11:45 on High and will switch it to Low at 3:45. They will stay there until Larry is home around 5. They are done after 4 hours on high, but they are mega-tender this way.)

Okay, doesn't that sound easy? It was. While I was doing all of that, I thought, "What will our new guy eat? What will he be used to eating? What if he won't eat anything that we eat?" And, of course, my crazy mind went haywire with worry. So, what did I do? I thought about something that I saw on the Orphan Sunday website. Check it out at http://orphansunday.org/.

While I was looking for some resources for our Orphan Sunday booth, I ran across something that I am excited about.

The Orphan's Table

The Orphan's Table is an excellent way to share with your friends and family the burden that is on your heart for orphans. The program provides a DVD to show to your guests and an easy-to-cook meal similar to the ones provided to orphans around the world. If you would like to participate in The Orphan's Table, check out the website and request a package be sent to your address. The packet feeds approximately 4 people, so make sure that you order enough. They suggest a donation of $5 to cover the cost of processing and shipping the packet. I ordered our packet on Friday. Can't wait!

Thinking about what my boys here are eating in comparison to what my boy is eating in Ethiopia has captivated my thoughts today. Luke 11:11-13 never made my heart ache like this. Aching with the idea that my child could be somewhere eating something less than what I would love to feed him. And, how often have I, myself, settled for a pitiful bowl of spiritual mash or earthly garbage, when God wants to give me so much more?

Here is the Orphan Sunday 2011 video. Just because!


Tell me what you think! I have watched this video a dozen times.