Never in my life have I ever believed that I would have a house full of kids. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I said I would never have ANY!! I was the oldest and spent more time than I wanted watching my 3 siblings. Now we have seven. It's been trying at times, but then someone smiles or does something funny and I'm reminded that they are such blessings to me. They have been given to me, even if for a short time, to allow me to bless them, which in return blesses me.
So much emotion and change has gone through our home in the last year. We built a house, decided to adopt, take on 3 more kids! I have a feeling this is not the end of the changes. I definitely have a stronger faith in my GOD! I am depending on HIM to get me through each day and guide me through all the decisions that I need to make!!
The Maas Family
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
JESUS BRING THE RAIN
This song keeps running through my mind!! I picked up 3 little precious ones last week. That brings the total children in our house to 7!! We have two of our own (ages 11 and 9), two we are in the process of adopting (5 and 3) and now 3 more foster kids (2, 1, & 1). The situation with our new additions is very personal. They are my nieces and nephew. I’m asking for prayers for them, their two older brothers who are staying w/ my dad and pray their mom (my sister). She really needs to be able to clear her mind and focus on helping herself so she can finish raising her children to be the adults they are meant to be.
I also found out that my aunt passed away last night. Please pray her husband and children to find peace with this!
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
I also found out that my aunt passed away last night. Please pray her husband and children to find peace with this!
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
I can't believe I have been away from this blog for soooo long. I can't even begin to update everyone on the many changes our family has been through. I'm just going to post a copy of our Christmas letter and hopefully that covers everything!
I hope that everyone has had a blessed 2010. This year has brought so much to our family. I’m not even sure where to begin. I always go back to read the last couple Christmas letters to see how far we’ve come. It’s funny to me how some things turned out just as we imagined they would. However, I really love to see how some things are so different than we had planned, but exactly how God had it planned.
It’s amazing to me how God planted an idea in my head and my first interpretation of what He was asking has turned into so much more. Little by little we have received clear direction on what decisions we needed to make. Most of you know that a little over a year ago we had two little boys placed with us through foster care. In last year’s letter we told everyone that it was planned to reunite them with one of their biological parents. We honestly believed that would happen. Well, they are staying with us. We get to adopt them! It should be final some time in 2011.
I struggled so much with this decision. Not because we don’t love these boys, but because I wasn’t sure what we could handle. Keeping a foster child for a year or so is difficult, but parenting them for the rest of our lives scared me. I just wasn’t sure we were up for that kind of commitment. After all, it was not part of OUR plan. I had a hard time trying to figure out what God was placing before us. I was talking to my brother in law on the phone one day about the situation (Darren, you didn’t know you played a part in this, did you?). I said that I wanted God to send a stranger to me to tell me what to do so I would know the answer was coming from him and not me. After our conversation, I was encouraged to stop trying to figure out what God wanted and ask Him to clearily show me in a big way!
With in a few days, I received a phone call from someone at church I hadn’t heard from in almost a year. She invited me to a bible study and said that she felt I would be blessed from it. The first day of the study the speaker made a comment that changed our life. She talked about making decisions based on what God can do, not what you can do. My whole fear with deciding to adopt was all about me and what my family could handle. I think this was God telling me that all would be OK and we needed to do this. So, this time next year, we will legally have four kids instead of just two. What a blessing we have received!
More blessings this year: We built a house and moved in November. We love it. We have a ton more space! We have been waiting to build this house for 12 years. We bought this lot right before we got pregnant with Mason and have just been waiting for the right time. Mason and Madisyn started their new school right after Thanksgiving and seem to like it.
Mason played baseball again, but that was his last year. He decided against playing in 2011. He started playing the clarinet and his band teacher said he’s a natural. We are in the beginning of basketball season. Mason was able to play for Newark even though we moved out of the district. Darrell is not coaching this year because he has so much going on around home. Mason is now a green belt in karate, but is taking a break until after the first of the year.
Madisyn is still playing soccer and is great at it. She has so much energy! This is definitely her thing! She is such a help with the boys. Madisyn loves to help take care of little ones. She’s helped me a few times in the nursery at church too.
Austin and Alex fit right in our family. They are great with our busy schedule. They love to be on the go, which is good, because that’s usually how it is around here. Both are doing well at preschool and are taking swimming and gymnastics at the YMCA.
Darrell and I are both still working at the same places. Darrell spent all of the summer and most of the fall at our new house while it was being built. I spent most of the summer running kids around and taking care of things at home! We are really looking forward to a little down time. We are on the list to take another foster child, so who knows how much down time we will get! It all depends on what God has in store for us! We are excited to see where he takes us in 2011.
Everyone, please, have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year!
Love and Blessings,
The Maas Family,
Darrell, Angel, Mason,
Madisyn, Austin and Alex
I hope that everyone has had a blessed 2010. This year has brought so much to our family. I’m not even sure where to begin. I always go back to read the last couple Christmas letters to see how far we’ve come. It’s funny to me how some things turned out just as we imagined they would. However, I really love to see how some things are so different than we had planned, but exactly how God had it planned.
It’s amazing to me how God planted an idea in my head and my first interpretation of what He was asking has turned into so much more. Little by little we have received clear direction on what decisions we needed to make. Most of you know that a little over a year ago we had two little boys placed with us through foster care. In last year’s letter we told everyone that it was planned to reunite them with one of their biological parents. We honestly believed that would happen. Well, they are staying with us. We get to adopt them! It should be final some time in 2011.
I struggled so much with this decision. Not because we don’t love these boys, but because I wasn’t sure what we could handle. Keeping a foster child for a year or so is difficult, but parenting them for the rest of our lives scared me. I just wasn’t sure we were up for that kind of commitment. After all, it was not part of OUR plan. I had a hard time trying to figure out what God was placing before us. I was talking to my brother in law on the phone one day about the situation (Darren, you didn’t know you played a part in this, did you?). I said that I wanted God to send a stranger to me to tell me what to do so I would know the answer was coming from him and not me. After our conversation, I was encouraged to stop trying to figure out what God wanted and ask Him to clearily show me in a big way!
With in a few days, I received a phone call from someone at church I hadn’t heard from in almost a year. She invited me to a bible study and said that she felt I would be blessed from it. The first day of the study the speaker made a comment that changed our life. She talked about making decisions based on what God can do, not what you can do. My whole fear with deciding to adopt was all about me and what my family could handle. I think this was God telling me that all would be OK and we needed to do this. So, this time next year, we will legally have four kids instead of just two. What a blessing we have received!
More blessings this year: We built a house and moved in November. We love it. We have a ton more space! We have been waiting to build this house for 12 years. We bought this lot right before we got pregnant with Mason and have just been waiting for the right time. Mason and Madisyn started their new school right after Thanksgiving and seem to like it.
Mason played baseball again, but that was his last year. He decided against playing in 2011. He started playing the clarinet and his band teacher said he’s a natural. We are in the beginning of basketball season. Mason was able to play for Newark even though we moved out of the district. Darrell is not coaching this year because he has so much going on around home. Mason is now a green belt in karate, but is taking a break until after the first of the year.
Madisyn is still playing soccer and is great at it. She has so much energy! This is definitely her thing! She is such a help with the boys. Madisyn loves to help take care of little ones. She’s helped me a few times in the nursery at church too.
Austin and Alex fit right in our family. They are great with our busy schedule. They love to be on the go, which is good, because that’s usually how it is around here. Both are doing well at preschool and are taking swimming and gymnastics at the YMCA.
Darrell and I are both still working at the same places. Darrell spent all of the summer and most of the fall at our new house while it was being built. I spent most of the summer running kids around and taking care of things at home! We are really looking forward to a little down time. We are on the list to take another foster child, so who knows how much down time we will get! It all depends on what God has in store for us! We are excited to see where he takes us in 2011.
Everyone, please, have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year!
Love and Blessings,
The Maas Family,
Darrell, Angel, Mason,
Madisyn, Austin and Alex
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