“He Took My Chip!”

“He Took My Chip!” …..A little about our children:

As many of you know, Darren and I met in person in March of 2009 when the Hill Family invited the Isherwood Family to Maine to enjoy the benefits of a northern winter. Prior to that time Darren and I had simply been phone and email friends…Christian widow and widower who “got” each others lives. Thankfully, the Isherwood family accepted and on March 7, 2009 the Isherwood clan arrived in snowy Maine. When these eight children met each other you would have thought they were long lost buddies! After introductions were given all around they jumped into doing what kids do best: playing. Board games were set up, princesses and cowboys were seen in various stages of costume, trampoline jumping contests were ongoing. From sledding to joke telling the kids just hit it off! The most interesting part was there did not seem to be any “super polite” or wary behavior of these new friends. Instead almost instantaneously the children became the best of friends and fierce competitors!

Our families spent 3 full days fellowshipping together. On our last evening together we ventured to a favorite local Mexican restaurant. Diners gawked at the parade of children as we were led to a table in the far recesses of the restaurant. Shortly after being seated we were served salsa and chips. Darren and I sat at one end of the table debating our meal choice while the children, in their Mexican Sombreros, were munching away. I remember being very distracted by Darren’s profile and persona while he was intently trying to get me to choose an entrée when suddenly I was jerked out of my reverie by a very shrill 7 year old voice screaming, “He took my chip!” My sweet Rachel was glaring down the boys across from her (JD and Eli) as she accusingly pointed her finger. Darren quickly jumped up from his seat to go speak to her about “restaurant manners” while I hid behind the menu stifling my giggles. At that moment Rachel cemented herself in my heart! It was on the ride home that night that I realized God was calling our families together.

I remember that on the ride home JD was chatting away about computers, iPods and the like when a still small voice inside of me called me to be the mother of eight children! Now, this presented a little problem as I was not fully convinced yet that Darren was feeling what I was feeling but that is another part of the story. As the evening played out, Darren and I both witnessed how the children had been impacted by one another. Not one child was ready to be separated….forget going back to “normal life”! The Hill boys shed tears for fear that they would not get to see the Isherwood children again. The Isherwood children were solemn and dejected that the time had come to an end. After all the others were in bed and I arrived to help Darren gather their things for the ride home, JD came to speak to me and subsequently melted my heart. He said, “Miss Hill, Thank you for opening your home to us and cooking for us. I just want to tell you that these past few days I felt like a real family.” The tears rolled down my cheeks as I said, “Me too, JD. Me too.”

Fast forward one year: How do these children feel about each other now? They are brothers and sisters. They love each other intently and knock the rough edges off each other. They play hard and work hard together. Of their own volition there is no isolation…no separation. Thanks to God’s provision, all eight bear the Isherwood name through adoption. They dream big dreams and ask thousands of questions. Darren and I have realized that we have no “shrinking violets” or “doormats” in our family. They are all opinionated and strong willed. They are all healthy and bright. These 8 children who have survived the deep sorrow of the death of a mother and a father are laughing, living, hoping, planning. Their world is whole again.

I leave you with one final thought: Today our 14 year old son was sharing about a disappointing memory he had from several years ago when Momma Karen was still with him. They had been planning to go the Georgia Aquarium for some time and when the event was to happen, the plans fell through. It was extremely disappointing. Interestingly enough, our clan got to visit the Aquarium this fall. It was a really fun and special time as a family. JD went on to say that he felt that the reason that he didn’t get to go the first time it was planned was that God had meant for that experience to be had altogether with our new family. He was moved to emotion and I realized he was right: God had done what He does so often (if we are paying attention). He answers our prayers; in this case a boy’s desire to visit the aquarium, in His time and in a bigger way than we can ever imagine.

5 boys, 3 girls. A year ago they were strangers. Today, their hearts are knit together by God’s mighty hand. We are so blessed.