Friday, November 4, 2011

Fast Tip Friday {and the winners}...

Congratulations to:





Brandan Haertel


&


Charity Mass


Congratulations you two! 

{Please email me your addresses and I will get your packages in the mail right away!}


If you didn't win, next week I will be letting you know how to get your hands on some yummy Harvest Spice Tea of your own!

So my fast tip is actually an answer to Kari Termont's comment: How do I respond to people who question how many children we have?

Well, this has developed over the years!  When we only had 4 kiddos, I was often offended by some of the comments that people would make:

*You know what causes that right?
*Are you done?
*How many are you going to have?
*How can you afford so many kids?
*Don't you have a t.v.?
*Are you going to get fixed?

I'm sure there are many more!  My responses have been different in different settings:


*Kissing?
*No, we're just getting started...
*We aren't sure?/It's up to God!/We're open!
*Good budgeting!/Ummmm...none of your business!/We don't consider ourselves the providers!
*(I shouldn't post how I've responded to this one!)
*As you can see...we're not broken!

Nowadays, I have come to realize that people are usually genuinely curious.  So, I usually answer any questions with a smile and a genuine answer.  If someone is being snarky, I'll simply laugh them off and move on!  I just don't have time to take anyone too seriously!  {This has taken a lot of growth and refinement on my part - I don't pretend to have started here!}

Never be offended by others opinions about the number of children God has blessed you with!  So many people simply don't understand that they are truly a blessing when we embrace them as such! And so many more long to have just one of those blessings to call their own...

Thanks for stopping by! Be Refreshed!


My Lovely Assistant!






5 comments:

  1. Congrats to the winners! May the Cook Family have a great weekend!

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  2. Congrats to the winners! hehehe I loveeeeee your response to......are you going to get fixed?? As you can plainly see, we're not broken!! lol Too funny. I was only blessed with one child, though I always wanted more, but I am forever grateful for my son. But it's funny. It wasn't all that long ago really that 8 or 10 kids was the norm. When did letting God decide become something to be questioned or looked at as peculiar?

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  3. It's amazing how early the questions start too! When you've just had your first, in your hospital room even, and someone asks, "are you going to have any more?" And even now, with two so close together, the most common remark is, "better to get it all over with." I used to get offended, but I go along with it now because I don't have time to retort to every stranger that makes the same remark...and who knows, maybe they are remembering the sleepless nights and think it's best to make one long run of it?! (Especially if you do have 10 or so!)

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  4. Thanks for your words of wisdom Lora! It is so interesting to me how people are quick to share there opinions with others on some topics! I love your perspective of them being genuinely curious. The Lord has laid adoption on my heart, so I'm excited to see how many more He has in store for us! Have a great day!

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  5. THAT HARVEST SPICE TEA IS SOOOO GOOD!!
    Brandan shared a cup with me. YAY! He says, "this is good bedtime tea" (his tea taste buds are just now blossoming, you couldn't have picked a more appreciative winner!)

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