First, a little thank-you shout-out to our friends Holly and Duey who shared FREE Noodles coupons with us tonight. We’d never been before–yum! We adults shared a booth, and our five kiddos had a booth behind us. So, if we shut out the noise, it was almost like a double date!

Then Holly had the urge to bless somebody (she gets this urge multiple times a day) and went on a little school supplies shopping spree for Livi and Ava. Totally unexpected, yet total answer to prayer. If this ruffles anyone’s feathers, I suggest you take it up with Miss Holly. She takes great offense when people rob her of the blessing of giving.

Love you, friends!

And now, the Denver Zoo. First of all, let me say that finding a place to stay in Denver was somewhat of a fiasco. It wasn’t for lack of offers–I think we had six. Long story short, we stayed with a delightful couple named Tom and Jill Goding. Our connection? Miss Joanne, who was Jill’s daughter’s Brownie Troop Leader before Joanne and fam moved to Phoenix in July. Livi and Ava hit it off immediately with Ashlyn (8). They loved each other so much that all three of them crammed into a twin bed for the night! And little Lily (not yet 2) was just adorable.

Jill and the girls met us at the zoo (and again the next day–this time with Tom!), so Gabe had his hands full with seven women. We had a great time. Thank you so much, Tom and Jill, for your hospitality and friendship!!

Now, this is a rockin’ Zoo Sign. Stunning view, awesome weather–perfection.

Okay, got my giraffe fix out of the way. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen a giraffe?? 20 days!! This isn’t going to work, folks.

The regal Maned Wolf. One of the first animals Nina ever talked about, thanks to Dora’s animal-rescuing cousin, Diego. If an animal hails from South America, Nina’s all over it.

I would make a comment about his dark roots, but he doesn’t seem to be in a joking mood. His mood improved instantaneously, though, that afternoon when he and the missus enjoyed a little conjugal fun just two feet from our family of five on the other side of the glass. Have I mentioned the educational benefits of zoos?

Me, Jill, and our five little blond girlies–Nina, Livi, Lily, Ava, Ashlyn.

The most dangerous animal in all of Africa. Seriously. Don’t mess.

A friendly native, a.k.a., Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep.

Now, that’s a majestic creature. Lucky Gabe has tigers just 20 minutes away.

I can’t tell you what a blessing it was for our girls to meet so many new friends.

We had a great day at the Denver Zoo! Up next–more new friends and GIRAFFE MANIA!

Happy Thursday, friends!!

Ever feel like you’re being stretched too thin?

Me neither. I just like this picture.

Have a great Tuesday!

(Photo Credit: Mr. Gabe Taviano, Denver Zoo)

They’re all over the place, I tell you. I’m flabbergasted at the way God orchestrates some of the tiniest, craziest details in our lives. How in the world??

Oh, I love Him!

Lots to share, but for now, heading up to bed to read a book for a bit then hit the hay.

If you wanted to watch the Early Show Saturday and didn’t get to, our friend David Hutchison made a You Tube clip for us. Thanks, David!

And friends, your prayers?? Were amazing. We felt them from the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes. THANK YOU.

Praise You, Jesus!

We spent most of our day hanging with baby (and grown-up) animals at our hometown Columbus Zoo. Be. Still. My. Heart.

Baby bonobo.

Baby snow leopard.

Baby elephant (Beco).

More pics from our Behind-the-Scenes Tour coming soon! For now, I’m praising, thanking, blessing our awesome God for loving me through today in the form of His Word, His Spirit, and His people.

Bless His holy name!!

Feeling a bit overcome. With emotion. With fatigue. With a sense of whoa-slow-down-I-wasn’t-ready-for-all-this!

First off–thank you, Jesus. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but I’m trusting you. For all of it. Every detail. Right down to choosing what clothes (I know, I know–jewel tones!) we’ll wear on TV (CBS Early Show Saturday 7:40 am!!). Wow. Zers.

I’m having trouble scraping together the words for this post. I was flipping through our zoo pics tonight and came across this one. I can’t quite explain it, but I feel like this guy can relate to me.

Anyway.

I’m going to let some of my awesome friends share with you tonight (today), because I’m honestly at about 14% of my normal word capacity. (see, that sentence didn’t even make sense!)

Here’s our Pastor Mike and what he had to say about this thing God’s doing. I cannot tell you what our church has meant to us this past year. LOVE those people to bits and little pieces!

Here’s my hubby Gabe and some of his really cool insights. And a quote from his blog–”Praying that nobody will become more famous than God through all of this.” AMEN!

And here are a few more Zoo Party Pics from my friend Jen. Thanks, Jen!

Prayer Request:

We need wisdom. Discernment. When to say yes, when to say no. How to navigate this stuff. How to pay our bills when we don’t have a spare moment to sit down and earn any money. How to handle staying in a $350/night hotel in NYC (compliments of CBS) when you can’t afford to fix the handle on your toilet at home. (Just bein’ real.) Can we afford to gallivant around the world telling our story for free? And if not, can we justify accepting money to share what God has done?

These questions are much too deep for 12:30 a.m.

I know one thing. We needed a specific amount of money tonight, and “out of the blue,” my friend Nadia sent me a facebook message saying she wanted to advertise on our site. Totally God. Takes care of us RIGHT. ON. TIME.

Overflowing with gratefulness tonight. Off to catch up on some sleep (hopefully). Behind-the-scenes Tour at the Columbus Zoo tomorrow!! Then heading to NYC early Friday morning! (Weren’t we just there??)

Love you, friends! We don’t think for a second that we could do ANY of this without you!