awwww....

I drove the car with Leah, Micah, and Caleb in it and Matt drove the van with Cameron, Alissa, and Andrew.  We went to the hotel to pick up kids for church.  Some of the kids saw the van pull in and ran after it not realizing Matt was turning it around so he could park under the awning.  I love their enthusiasm!

so much snow!

valentine's banquet

 Saturday was our Hope for Kids Valentines banquet.  We contended with a snow storm, but after prayer for wisdom Matt decided to go for it.  We had over 40 volunteers show up to show God's love to the kids and their families.  It was a great night!  Kids gave their lives to Christ and moms heard the Gospel- God knows the outcome of that.

Do I look tired?  Exhausted was more like it!  This event took a lot of planning!
I'm taking a couple of days "off" to recover refresh and renew.

This text came in a couple of days ago.  Tiff isn't the only one ready to go- MANY people have already asked about the next event and want to know how they can be a part of it.  God is doing an amazing work!

happy birthday andrew!

Andrew turned 10 today!  It was a birthday he's been waiting for for a long time- something about being double digits :)  We always take the kids out for a birthday meal but this year we let Drewie take his new friends Y and T with him.  There was a snow storm coming in so we checked the weather and decided we'd try to stay in front of the worst of it.  We picked up his friends and headed to Applebees- Andrew's first time there!

These boys were so happy!  There was much happy chatter.  We loved hearing the friends talk about how much they like reading their Bible, how they have been telling their friends all about Jesus, how much fun they have been having at church and AWANA....  Andrew was joining right in and they all enjoyed each other's company.

After lunch we went across the way to Yogurt City and enjoyed some frozen yogurt.  The boys were so thankful and really tried hard to finish all their yogurt- they were very stuffed.  I questioned whether they really had yogurt in their cups as all I could see was toppings!

We brought the boys home and by that time the snow was coming down hard.  We had to drive home slowly as the roads hadn't been plowed yet, but we made it safely!  Drew opened his gift from us, we watched an old Disney movie with supper, and then had cake and ice cream (Brianna joined us on speaker phone).

Andrew is such a fun loving, happy, and mischievous boy.  He is well known by friends and strangers alike for his smile!  He is sensitive and sweet but tough as can be....100% boy!

Happy birthday, Andrew!  We love you and are so proud of you!

Hope for Kids

No way in the world to put in one short post what has been going on with Hope for Kids. 

Let's just say.... Matt's phone rings off the hook.  We are flooded with e-mails.  Our van is always full.  Our hearts are broken.  Our hearts are full.  Church, youth center, AWANA.... we are bringing the kids.  We always feed them.  We have received tons of clothing donations for the kids.  We have over 40 volunteers for our Valentine's Banquet this weekend and over 50 homeless with "reservations" for that.  We have a bus that will be picking up the families from the hotel, and people cooking, serving, teaching, loving, giving, caring.  These kids have names.  We know their names, we are learning their stories.  Heart wrenching stories.  Thankful that GOD knows their names, He knows their stories.  He is a Father to the fatherless, One who will never leave or forsake, One who loves unconditionally, One who is full of mercy...

Please pray that God will give wisdom as we grow this ministry, raise funds, plan events, match families to churches, deal with opposition, and love these children!

gifts

My days have been full.  So full even that some of you who I call frequently or e-mail often haven't heard much from me.  It's not personal. I have been filling each second of each day- and going to bed feeling like I haven't done it all!  I am grateful that I was introduced to the book One Thousand Gifts recently. It has served as a reminder that throughout the busyness I need to take time to rest my mind and notice God's presence and His "gifts" in the middle of it all.  Here are some of those gifts that I am so grateful to God for!

Long talks with Brianna- thankfully she is understands the craziness of trying to have a phone conversation with me while life is happening at the Currier house.  Usually Leah grabs the phone and tries to steal away to have a "private" conversation with her big sister.  Sometimes one of the other kids take the phone as well and Bri just goes with the flow :)

A surprise visit from the Chases- which resulted in the coolest ever soccer shirts!

My baby- Yes.  My almost three year old baby.  He always holds his ear when he drinks his bottle and has done that ever since he was nursing.  I am not looking forward to the day he stops that!  Maybe that's why I still give him a bottle.  Also, he is my healthiest eater/drinker! He is enjoying a green smoothie here- packed with fruits and vegetables.

Health- I appreciate good health even more after someone has been sick.  Leah is back to good health now and I am grateful!

Dragons in drawers- Micah loves this drawer.  It has batteries, flashlights, tape measure, duct tape, screwdrivers....  When someone is in need of something like that he always goes running to get it.  I loved when he tried to fit the dragon in there.  I guess dragons are right up there with the useful things in life!

Little boys that dress themselves...

An encouraging friend- I have lots of encouraging friends, but one drove an hour and a half to visit me last week.  She brought the most delicious oatmeal cookies and I was thrilled that the next morning there was one left for me to enjoy with my Bible and coffee :)

Caleb's motivation- Caleb has been setting his alarm and getting up early to have his Quiet Time and get a head start on his school work.  One morning his doing that allowed for us to have some time before the other kids got up to do some Latin together.  He's so determined! Latin was actually enjoyable when I was doing it with my sweet son!

Cream of rice- my new favorite breakfast.  Who knew all I had to do was blend 2 cups of brown rice in my blender, add that to 9 cups of boiling water, cook for 4 minutes, pour into  bowls, add some maple syrup or applesauce and a little bit of milk and enjoy!

Snow- I love snow and so do the kids!

Hot chocolate- Alissa made us some homemade hot chocolate and even whipped some cream to put on top.  DELICIOUS!

Friends, fun, and sleep- We went to visit some friends even though it was during Micah's usual nap time.  He wore himself out completely and luckily I got lost on the way home allowing him plenty of time to sleep!

Cameron started an EMT course at a community college in CT.  He has classes from 6-10 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  It has been a huge workload for him but he is totally enjoying it! He wants to be a firefighter and thinks that becoming an EMT first will help him in that goal.

I live a busy life that is filled with many people and many things.  I am making an effort to slow down my mind and recognize God's presence in my everyday.  Husband, children, family, friends, icicles, sunbeams, heat, cozy rooms, delicious smells, warm bread, hot coffee.....

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

Giving

Andrew's sneakers had holes in them. We got him a new (to him) pair that he absolutely loved!  He wore them to AWANA. One of the boys that we brought to church saw them and told Drewie that he wished he had his sneakers since they were so cool and his were all beat up. Andrew ran home, put his old sneakers on, ran back to the church and gave the boy his sneakers. He demonstrated such compassion and generosity!

Today at church, an AWANA leader who had observed what happened on Friday had a brand new pair of sneakers for Andrew.  So many people were blessed by that one simple act- and what an example!