Currently... Road Trippin"

We've traveled 1500+ miles with 5 adults & 12 children through 4 states, arrived in Cleveland Ohio to surprise Pop & Nana at the Cleveland Clinic for Thanksgiving. It's been a blessing to be here for the past 6 days. Road trips are ALWAYs an adventure, and I am super proud of our little tribe for going with flow & finding creative ways to entertain each other in a 15 passenger van trucking down the road. Here's a little peek at all the drama fun we've been having.

Music Therapy with the whole Fam

Late Night Popeye's Run ~ Shhhh!

Suprise ~ Pop & Nana

The Melt ~ Our new favorite grilled cheese restaurant 

These 2 crazies @ Jojo's 1st Professional game in 20 degree weather

Cleveland Browns v. Pittsburgh Steelers

St. Louis ~ Quick cold stop

Cleveland's Little Italy ~ Yum!

Nana & Sydnie:)

Sydnie & Baylie ~ Harper Thanksgiving 5K

Thanksgiving 2013 ~ Golden Corral Cleveland, OH

 We are thankful that God has provided so that we were able to travel to spend time with family. Thankful that we were able to all be together. Thankful that the hospital is so gracious to our family of 24. Thankful for the waiter at Golden Corral for serving us on Thanksgiving. Thankful to nurses and doctors to share our pumpkin pie & pecan pie with, who love our Pop & take such good care of him. And thankful that God has shown us its not about all the tradition, and all the festivities and all the stuff that goes along with it. It's about being with the people you love, loving people, and bringing glory to God through it all... even when it's hard, even when you're tired, even when you want to duct tape your children's mouth closed. Here's to another 1500+ miles home. Back to Texas we go.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. ~Colossians 3:17

Find My Family Friday ~ Clinton & Carl

Meet Clinton & Carl

I can hardly stand the cuteness!!!!

Clinton & Carl are BEST BUDS in the orphanage and it would be amazing if they could be adopted together!!!

Carl

Carl is smart and funny. He gets along well with other children. He is a cute and smiley boy who needs a family! He is 5 years old and is diagnosed with CP

Clinton

Clinton is an intelligent and sweet boy. He has a huge, beautiful smile. He enjoys other children. He is 5 years old and has a diagnosis on CP.

Please SHARE these boys! And somebody bring them home!

CLICK HERE

to read more about these precious boys!

~ Puppies, Pumpkin Bread & Christmas Sweaters~

Some days there are NO words for what goes on in this house. It's never dull, always loud & definitely interesting. I've succumbed to the fact that my family is odd, it trickles down through the male population in our house. I blame it on the Harper genes. I am not responsible for anything you might see my hubs wearing in public nor for his craziness that ensues when in public places. God love him. Needless to say, my life would not be the same with out this 

hunk-o-burning love...

 And as if I haven't already lost my ever loving mind. This orphaned pup is in our house making himself comfy & acting like he's gonna stay. 

Oh Brother! I've been suckered!

And then there's the Oh so delightful, every so yummy Pumpkin Bread. Lacey's plan to make 30 loaves of pumpkin bread for neighbors & friends was a success. It took a mere 12 hours to mix, bake & deliver all 30 loaves. Lacey & Sydnie are amazing bakers with BIG hearts! And since we still have 13 cans of pumpkin left it looks like we'll be back in business soon!

 ~ Harper's Bakery~

Taking A Deep Breath, Staying Only as Busy as Necessary & Keeping It Real.

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 

~Matthew 5:16

A Little of This. A Little of That ~ Thankful

31 Days of Thankful...

Really it should be 365 days of thankfulness. Ha! Bout obviously a list of the 365 things I'm thankful for might bore you to tears. So instead a month of compiling years worth of thankfulness. I am beyond thankful for what God has done in my life and putting it into words is near impossible.

I'm Thankful for:

1. The amazing, humble, hardworking, servant, God-fearing husband that God gave me
2. The 9 incredible children I've been blessed with & the fact that God sees me fit to raise you
3. Wonderful family that support us unconditionally in all our crazy adventures
4. Friends that come along side me & encourage and hold me accountable
5. Cinnamon Dolche Lattes with 2 pumps of vanilla
6. Laughter
7. Kids who ask a bajillion questions
8. The change of seasons, in weather & my life
9. Our Tennessee friends who are like family & love us so much
10. My husbands sense of humor even when I wanna punch him
11. Sweet Tea & Chick-fil-a
12. In-laws who love me fiercely and unconditionally
13. Teenage daughters who babysit even when they don't want to
14. A roof over my head
15. A car that runs & holds my whole tribe
16. Peanut Butter & Jelly
17. Our Church home in Texas ~ Stonegate Fellowship
18. Our Church home in Tennessee ~ Grace Chapel
19. Little Boys who disassemble things, break things & create things
20. Girls who talk loud, a lot & with lots of drama
21. Friends who say yes to way cool God things
22. Adoption
23. Redemption
24. Target & Sonic Happy Hour
25. A husband who survives his wifes lack of cooking
26. My Bible & My Jesus Calling Devo
27. Children who love me despite my pre-menopausal crazy moods
28. The beauty of Fall Leaves
29. A Mom & Dad who love me
30. A Brother who loves me & is almost as crazy as me
31. A place where I can share my thought freely

I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart…I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.     ~Psalm 138:1-2

Find My Family Friday ~ Brandy

MEET BRANDY

From someone who met her, summer 2013:
Brandy is a 6 year old burn victim that I had the pleasure of falling in love with this summer. Although she has scars on her face from the burn she is one of the most beautiful and happiest children I have ever come into contact with! I asked her in my time there if she could have anything in the world what would she want, her response blew me away. “All I want is a mom,” is what she told me. Brandy has mild scoliosis, I didn’t know about it until I returned back home. She was able to walk, run, sit, stand and play all on her own! She loves art, swimming, McDonalds and cuddling. Lets find this sweet angel her forever family!

This precious girl needs a family! 

Do you have a place for her at your table?

CLICK HERE

to find out more about her

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. ~James 1:27

Currently...

In this West Texas town...

Oh Fall how I love thee!

I was blessed to be able to spend my favorite season driving through 11 states & flying over several more where Fall is spectacular! The colors were amazing and it did this west Texas girls heart good!


drinking ~ peppermint mocha + Cinnamon Vanilla creamer in my coffee

appreciating ~ how incredibly hard my hubs works

watching ~ Call The Midwife on Netflix

laughing ~ so hard every time someone says "I'm practicing for Africa"

eating ~ chili because it's cold and that's what we do

dreaming ~ of my feet being on the ground in South Sudan

waiting ~ for the cleaning fairy to show up at my casa

planning ~ time with family & friends

opening ~ my heart up & sharing what God is doing

sleeping ~ very little, but dreaming a lot

brainstorming ~ with Megan bout South Sudan

wearing ~ cuddle duds under my jeans to stay warm

making ~ another To Do List

remembering ~  my Grandad & my Bapa, veterans and amazing men that I miss

getting ~ another year older in 2 days

loving ~ my fireplace & my family (not in that order)

listening ~ to Oceans by Hillsong and loving the lyrics

reading ~ Village Nursing and soaking it in

enjoying ~ digging into the Word

thankful ~ for people who love and support us Always

100 partners in 50 days... Join US!

Hey Ya'll!! Still Here. 
Still Planning & Purging & 
Still Fundraising!!

 We continue to covet your prayers & support of our family. Currently we have 10 $25 monthly partners and we have had several One Time donations that have almost covered our airfare to get all 10 of us there!!! It's such a blessing to have people come alongside us & we are so grateful. 

*If you'd like to partner with us visit our donation page HERE

**UPDATE**

We have 6 of our 100 monthly sponsors!!

Thank You. Thank You. Thank You!

What an amazing start & so great to see people coming along side us both financially & prayerfully. Read more about where we are in the preparing to move process HERE & pray about how you can be a part of our work in South Sudan. 

You can partner with us by clicking on our DONATE button & visiting our tax-deductible donation page HERE.

We are less than 8 7 6 months out from our departure to South Sudan. On July 2nd 10 Harper's will board a plane holding a one-way ticket in our hands. Weird! But totally cool! The time has come for us to buckle down & get our fund raise on!

We're looking for 100 people to pledge $25 per month to help cover our first year expenses in South Sudan. It's tax deductible & we'd love for you to be a part of what God is doing in South Sudan. The Challenge... 100 pledges in 50 days! 

On your mark. Get set! Go!

Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

5 

Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

~Psalm 37:4-5

A Little South Sudan Update...

As we continue to prepare our family for our move to South Sudan, God continues to remind me daily that THIS. Is. NOT. About. Us.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. ~Psalm 115:1

Along with all the normal daily stuff that goes on in a family of 11, our days seem to be filling more and more with things related to our move. We are spending time connecting, fundraising, & educating ourselves. We realize that for God to use us in the most effective way we need to know as much as we can about the country we are moving to and we spend a little time everyday reading South Sudan news; educating ourselves on the government, religious, industry and culture of the place that has stolen our hearts. The place where God has chosen to take us next. We are excited about what God is doing, we are thrilled that God is bringing just the right people to be apart of what we are doing. We are grateful for those that are already covering us in prayer as we continue to prepare & blessed that so many of you are following and encouraging us.

A little of This. A little of that.
 South Sudan...

*The Most Exciting news is We. Have. Our. One-way tickets x10!!!! Not only were we able to place a deposit to hold them, we got a God-sized incredible deal!! We are looking for anyone interested in sponsoring a plane ticket or two;)

*Our DONATION page is officially up! CLICK HERE to see how you can partner with us.

*I attended the Cultural Competency & Global Midwifery Skills in Albuquerque taught by Vicki Penwell. It was great! It opened my eyes even more to the Mortality & Morbidity of Woman and Children all over the world & confirmed my passion for ministering to the Women and their babies & children.

*If you haven't seen Half The Sky. You should check it out.

*Our non-profit "Neema" ("Grace" in Juba Arabic) is coming together, complete with board members & a website in the works.

*My partner in crime Megan Elkins & I attended GMHC Global Medical Health Conference. Holy Cow ya'll, it was spectacular! Seriously, it was so cool to be in a place with so many other like minded medical people. It was amazing to connect with people from all over the world with the same passion for reaching the unreached and loving them through medicine. We learned so much and made so many great friends. And we had hours of plotting & planning time. It was great!

*We got this little girlie to use to teach Helping Babies Breath. She's gonna save lives ya'll!

Prayer Partners

We would like to build a team of 100+ prayer partners committed to covering our team in prayer as we minister to His people. Please consider joining us in this manner. 

Email us at: sshd07@gmail.com

Current Prayer Requests

*Teachers for 10 missionary children that will also have opportunity to serve in the local schools and community teaching English

*Fundraising and support to cover our first year expenses $33K

*Lease agreement for airport expansion to be finalized & signed in South Sudan

*Funds for Visas $3200

*Funds for Passports for the 5 that do not have them $440

*Rental prospects for our home here

*Container donations to get our stuff there

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus ~Phil 4:19

HaPpY 14th BiRtHdAy Baylie!!

We celebrated this beautiful girl turning 14 on November 4th! I can't believe how this little blondie has grown from our little tomboy into such an amazing young lady. Baylie we are SO proud of you. You are such a loving, compassionate, & merciful young lady. I love how you LOVE in such a BIG way! You're gonna be a world changer no doubt. We are so blessed to call you daughter, friend & sister in Christ. I pray that God will continue to give you a passion for things that will glorify God, that you will follow the desires of your heart, and that you will allow your Heavenly Daddy to lead you in every decision you make. We love you to the moon and back Bay-Bay!

Happy 14th

Birthday!

We Love You!!!!

Harper FAmily Adventure ~11 days, 11 states

Today is the first day I've opened a computer in the past few weeks. It's been a tad bit busy 'round here & my 'blogging schedule' has been interrupted. Ha! Although I'd love for writing to be at the top of my priority list, most days it gets pushed & shoved to the bottom. So, I'll be playing catch up & then hopefully getting back on my beloved 'blog schedule' {Until the next time it's Interrupted}

October was FULL! Full of Baseball, Soccer, Fundraiser Yard Sales, Instasales, Football games {Wreck 'em Tech}, missions meetings, weddings, laughter, tears & LOADS of traveling {3906 miles to be exact} We ended our month by heading out on a 5 day trip to Nashville for our dear friends sons wedding & some missions related meetings. And because it was only another 8 hours to Cleveland, OH where hubby's dad is in the hospital we decided we needed to go, and because it was only 2 more hours to NY state to see hubby's brother & family we thought we mine as well head up there, and because it was only another hour to Niagara Falls we figured what the heck! LOL We made our way back to Cleveland to spend more time with hubby's mom & dad and we were able to spend the evening with our soon to be South Sudan neighbors, the Elkins. It was an adventure, our kids are amazing travelers, and we had a lot of fun & made some great memories!

Our OCTOBER in Pictures

Oh Tennessee! We Love You!

Love this woman! She represents strength & courage and I'm proud to call her friend

Kenlie & Abby ~ Besties

Harper ~ Spencer Tribes

3 Ukrainian-American Princes & 1 All American Princess

Snot Boy ~ Wearing his mask in Pops room

Niagara Falls Selfie

The Brave bunch headed down under the falls

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

SNOW - Cleveland, OH Yes! My children in shorts!!!

Hangin' with Pop

Boat full 'o kids

We drove 1400 miles to have dinner with our fav peeps. Love you Elkins!

I spent less than 12 hrs home & then hopped a plane to Albuquerque for a Cultural Competency & Global Midwifery Skills course. It was amazing! I learned so much & God spoke to me in an incredible way, reminding me that my heart and passion is maternal/child and that God is going to use me in this area. It is so easy to get distracted by all the needs when you are preparing to move to a 3rd world country & I am grateful that God placed me back on track, that He has narrowed my medical perspective & that He knows my desire to love women and the children they birth and raise.

And of course we finished off the month of October stuffing our faces with C.A.N.D.Y!!!!!!

And because I just couldn't resist. I had to through this gem in...

Levi wanted to wear this to church

Happy Fall Ya'll. 23 days til Thanksgiving!!!!