Bianca Turned THREE...and YES, She is a Big Deal!

I know it has been a month already and wow, how bad I have been at blogging. But, hey, life happens and if I don't feel it, I don't do it. Don't forget...if anyone is still reading-Eric is the one the the great discipline in our family!
Bianca turned three and it is totally hitting me now. So wild how much she has changed just in the past month or so.
Here is a little taste of our sassy little lady:
*She is funny..And I mean, really funny. She has me laughing all of the time. Just last week she told me that she would always like mommy because I don;t have a moustache....Well not for now at least I told her.
*She is freaked out by anyone with facial hair...Deal with it...Just one of her gigs these days.
*She has a hear the size of Texas. It blows my mind how much this kid loves. We have been doing some stuff to begin to teach the girls what life is like in other parts of the world, and when Bianca was in the tub this week, she asked if some kids didn't have bathtubs...When I told her no-Not all kids have bathtubs, she then asked me about if all kids have toys...Again I said no.
After thinking a second, she said, Mommy, I will share my toys with kids who don't have any. (Proud momma moment)Then she topped it of when she said, I don;t want any kids to feel sad.
Me too...
*She has a fiery little spirit, which I love MOST of the time! Wow, this kid is creative at getting her way and also very opinionated when she does not succeed at it!
* She is an awesome big sister. She loves Solie so much...It blows my mind how much she loves her and tries to mother her...She loves to help feed Solie and she plays so great with her. They are a total little team.
* She loves her dad...Big time. Followed by her Mimi, Papa, and Gigi-all equal of course. She loves Dora, Max & Ruby, nail polish, her new Handy Manny repair shop, her babies, church, suckers, gum, bubbles in the bath, and pretty much anything where we can pretend.
I could really not be more thankful for this child. God has blown our doors off in the blessing department and I am constantly brought to tears when I think about how different all of our lives could have been.
Bianca had an awesome birthday with our family and both sets of grandparents. It was such a great day. Below are some pics of the day together.

Happy B-Day Bianca!!!

Just before SUGAR OVERLOAD!

A Hippie, Chick, & Ladybug...Comin' At Ya!

Check out the Halloween cuties! What a cool experience having two girls who love to dress up! Solie wore her chick outfit with mostly no complaints and never even tried to take her hat off. What a crack up. Bianca was a hippie for school and then she mixed it up for the trunk or treat as a ladybug. Good times had by all. This is my first official year without full costume, and it will be the last. I love Halloween and we used to have the annual Becking Halloween Bash..but for two years now have missed it. I am stating it here...Next year, the bash is back on. And we are going all out again...Start planning for your babysitters and costumes friends.
Don't be jealous ladies, but the Becking girls spent the evening with Brett Micheals...Don't hate us for it! Total hottie!
Peace out!

Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Orphan Sunday is coming up....If you have not heard about it, check it out. There is still time to have your church get on board. What an awesome and simple concept. Wow, we really are busy in life aren't we? Just missing the boat it seems on God's kids that have been left behind. Time to step up...All of us and give these children a voice. It is no longer an option to ignore this crisis. And for those of us doing something, it is time to do more....I am clearly speaking to myself here! I need to think more along these lines every day. When I think I am starting to "do a good job" at this whole effort...is when I am the most jacked up! It is the tip of the iceberg. The time is now...Time is wasting, but more importantly, children's lives are being lost...senselessly. And there is love that needs to be poured all over so so many children all over the world.
Please be in prayer about what God is calling you to do to see change for these 147 million...

2 TOPICS: AWESOME FRIENDS....GETTING MORE DISTURBED

We have just had the most awesome people come into our lives over the past years. God has so hugely blessed us with people who"get" us and really, I think there is no greater feeling to know you have people like this in your life. Our friends Stacey, Gracie, and Ty came to visit a few weeks ago and what a ball we had. Gracie and Solie were in the same orphanage in Ethiopia together and Stac and I used the same adoption agency, so we became good buddies during our process. God gave us such an above and beyond gift when he divinely organized our pick up trips for the same time. When I finally met Stacey in person, it was crazy awesome. Eric and I just loved Stacy and her husband Mat and we spent some life changing moments together in Ethiopia.
I feel like they are our family and Solie and Gracie will grow up loving each other.
Thank you Stacey for spending time with our family. We were blessed to spend time with you!!!
When they were here best bud Cheri came over and took some pics to celebrate our time together, so below are some of the pics.

God is like over the top good. I still dont really get it.
We have been so challenged lately to live larger....for God. It is scary...and wonderful, and more exciting than I could imagine.
How do we know how much to give? Can we ever outgive God? What do I do with all of the good stuff God has blessed my life with? How do I best share what God has given me? What does it REALLY mean to serve "the least of these"? How disturbed should I be in life? Will God protect us when we step out and do something no one else around us understands?...Okay, I have already tried this one more than once and I know the answer!
I am just messed up with so much right now and just done with all of the lack of action on my part. Sure, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I step out on occasion, but I am seeing clearly, that is has been NOTHING like what God is calling me to in life...All of us I guess as Christians. Today at our church an awesome series just finished up called "Disturbed"....and I am! I keep thinking about the words, FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD....
Really...
I live so extreme sometimes. When I know I am supposed to do something I typically do it, no matter the feedback I receive...But lately I have been having these BIG thoughts come up of things I should do, and so quickly I change my own personal channel, because it feels scary and way outta momma's comfort zone.
I am being exposed to some people who are loving LARGE for God and I am floored. Speechless really.
So no clue where this is headed, but I had to get it out.
The challenge is on...for life!

Just look at these girls! They deserve a life full of love and I want to grow up knowing what it looks like to LOVE EVERY PERSON.

Check out this wild crew! Becking girls, Stacey and her kids Gracie and Ty and of course Malaena Sloan made it into the pic (cheri's daughter)

Little adorable Gracie! We love you!

Could she be any happier?

3 Little girls that love each other..and one that looks alot like Michael Jackson here...but dont worry, it is not him...Just Bianca..."Who's Bad?"

Becking Babies Love to Jam!

What cracks me up is how much these chicks love music! They both already have their own style, and who am I to INFLUENCE their music love???? ha ha
Bianca and Solie are growing like crazy and their little personailites are unstoppable! Here are a few bits of the love!
In honor of the first week of Dancing with the Stars, here are the Becking girls rockin it out! Check it out!

First NEW Family Photo & Deep Thoughts

Here is our first official pic of the whole NEW and improved Becking crew. Again, thanks Cheri! This was at her son Brock's graduation party. I need to put this out on the table fellow bloggers....I have had a tough time blogging lately. Not because I have not been inspired or moved lately. Most of the time I am sure I sound like an over the top broken record here, but hey, it's my big love blog, so I guess I will continue to write what I am feeling.
It seems like God continues to show me unprecedented levels of faith in people in and around my life. Last week a family in our community tragically lost their 20 month old son in a drowning accident. I cannot begin to comprehend that loss...not even in the smallest way. The faith that God gave the mom was and still is astounding to me. I am completely blown away and very humbled. While thousands of people prayed for their child, what God did through this mom has changed people's lives. It is not my purpose to talk about details of this family's loss, but I do want to say that I praise God for their faith through this time of such loss. I have grown so much through the words of this mom in the past week. I have been challenged in my own faith and I am in awe of what God has done for the good through this terrible accident.
In addition to this, I am continually reminded something about my girls....That they are not mine, but God's gift to me for a time. I am so thankful to be able to be in their lives and I don't want to miss any moment of either of their lives- because my mind and heart are elsewhere...Stressed, frustrated, overwhelmed at times with momhood, being selfish, apathetic, bored with life....These are things that creep into my mind at times and want to be more and more mindful of it.
What a waste of time when we dwell on things we cannot control. Money, work, family problems, illness...the list goes on.
What REALLY is God calling each of us to do? For me, I mean for real, WHAT is it? How uncomfortable do I need to be to be in the right spot? Why does it have to be so scary?
I never thought of myself as the motherly type, and now I have 2 of the most awesome little humans in my life, and I wonder what more is in store there. Could I handle 4 or 5 kids in my life? Sometimes I think YES! and others I think, heck no! Wild to think about what God is calling us each to step up and do....I know one thing, I am supposed to DO something, ALL OF THE TIME! Instead of getting in my own little comfort zone where everything is nice and cozy and...BORING!!!
So, here I go into a new endeavor....A College girl's Small group! Yep, I said it! Stay tuned!
I also realize I have not been my usual comedic self lately, and it is not for a loss of laughter in our house, but some stuff just hangs heavy in my mind and this is a good place to get it all out!
Peace Out!

Crazy Love & Get Disturbed

Okay, so I am reading this AWESOME book (Thanks Cheri) called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It is a rockin' my world....I actually might complete this one! For those of you who know me well, you are very familiar with all of my "projects" I start and never complete...even worse with books!
I have to share this part of the book, as I am shocked out of my good old comfort zone...It is nice in the comfort zone. No major worries except about wanting "stuff". The comfort zone, for me, while pathetic, protects me at times from the REAL WORLD...And while I have seen a good amount of the real world in my travels I too easily forget when I get back home to all of my dearly beloved "stuff".

Here is a bit of what he writes:

If one hundred people represented the world's population, fifty-three of those would live on less than $2 a day. Do you realize that if you make $4000 a month, you automatically make ONE HUNDRED TIMES MORE than the average person on this planet? Simply by purchasing this book you spent more than what a majority of people in the world will make in a week's time.
Which is more messed up-that we have so much compared to everyone else, or that we don't think we are rich? That on any given day we might flippantly call ourselves "broke" or "poor"? We are neither of these things. We are rich. Filthy rich.

Does it make sense? Can you even wrap your head around living on $2 a day? I know I have blogged about this before, but I will be honest...I have NO concept of this...NONE...And unless you have lived in a 3rd world country you likely cannot grasp it either.

So, this is just the tip of the iceberg in my thoughts these days.
Last night Eric and I were asked to speak to a group of people about adoption, (Which you know I LOVE!!!) And again another statistic that I talked about came up that I think about daily...and I MEAN DAILY.

This has been misquoted many many times, so let me make sure I get it right.
To preface, let me just post that there are around 145 million orphans in the world today...All with wonderful faces and hopefully most with names. Kids who have a heart, need to be loved, protected, and cared for.

IF ONLY 7% OF THE 2 BILLION CHRISTIANS IN THE WOURLD WOULD CARE FOR A SINGLE ORPHAN IN DISTRESS THERE WOULD EFFECTIVE BE NO MORE ORPHANS.

There has been controversy over this piece of info, and while many of these 145 million children cannot for various reasons be adopted, they STILL need to be cared for. Adoption is not the heal all, fix all...The key words in this statistic for me at least are, "care for"....And that can mean a thousand things. Bottom line, as humans who have so much, we have no excuse not to stand for those who cannot stand for themselves. I do not budge on this issue. What can we do? How can we do more to be more effective to make change?
These kids are counting on us....and the statistic of 7% of Christians....How crazy is that?
Every child out there is someone's son or daughter...What if it was your son or daughter? That would never happen in the US! No one would stand for it...
And still these are lives being lost every day because they have no voice to speak for them.
Get disturbed. If you don't like what I have written, likely a good thing. We all need to be messed up a bit.
This is what we are about, it is what Room for One More is about and it is what every child deserves. Please join us and get involved, somewhere...anywhere that is making a difference. We don't have all of the answers, but we are moving in a good direction.
Much Love
Chantelle

Our Beautiful Guatemalan Girls!!!!!

Is this the sweetest thing or what???? Another awesome image by my awesome friend Cheri of her daughter and mine just lovin' life and each other....Alot like their mommas. Check out Cheri's new blog for more of her awesome work.
As always lovin' life over here and these little ladies. I am not sure they could be more fab-u-lous!
Chantelle

More kiddo bliss!

Our best bud "Aunt" Cheri took some awesome images of the little Becking ladies. The new main photo is courtesy of her. She has blessed us in such a huge way by capturing some pics of the Becking girls in a way only a good close friend could. We love her and thank her for this! Check her and Sheri out if you are a local, at www.bellabamninophotography.com
They do awesome stuff and we love it!

On a life note: I know I have still not told our story, or at least the true account of Ethiopia. I am still processing it all. So so many emotions from the trip and as I get to know our Solie Koket more each day, I am blown away by the love this child puts out!
I have not had a lot of time to slow down and write an account of our trip...and maybe I have been avoiding it if I am totally honest. It was a place where we experienced one of the best days of our lives, and at the same time, it was a new crazy realization of what life could be like for me, had I been born in another place....and WHAT LIFE IS LIKE for millions of people who live without clean drinking water, where women struggle to be seen as equals, and the needs are difficult for us as Americans to begin to wrap our minds around.
In the same breath, it is a glorious place, where life is simple, people are beyond kind, and life is not taken for granted.
I am kind of just stuck right now, wondering how in the world I could ever give enough of my life back to make a real difference in the world...Specifically Africa.
Guessing this makes no sense, but it is where I am right now...
More to come another time!
Thanks for keeping up with us!
Chantelle

SWEET THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Could she have more perfect lips? Who does not want to smooch them all day long? Yes, I am a freak...deal with it! ha ha
Thanks Aunt Cheri for the awesome Solie pic at the pool! This baby girl has made leaps and bounds in growth and spunk since she got home! I know I say it ALL THE TIME--This kid is such a miracle in our lives!

TIME TO CELEBRATE LIFE!!!!!

Whoop Whoop!!! The Outman family are back from Ethiopia with the twins! Solie's crib mates and future buds!!!! What a celebration
So thankful that God would bring these boys to the Outman family. We all liv eint he same town and have become good friends through church and our adoption journeys. Solie was in the same orphanage as the Outman twins and theie cribs were right across the room from each other...just a few steps. We praise God for this awesome blessing for the Outman family!
God is so good...In the big and little things. The details of life God works out in such unique ways!!
We also want to congratulate our friends Carrie and Clint on the arrival of little Teddy! Another God sized gift.
To looking at every detail of our lives as a major gift from such a huge and loving God!-

The welcoming crew at the STL airport! What a day to party!!!!

Michelle & Jaime and the fellas, Phisher & Phelix~ LOVE THESE BOYS!

The whole Outman family!!! Fresh off a MAJOR travel experience and up 2 boys added to the great Outman crew! Stop by their blog and congratulate them!

Just chillin'! We walk Bianca to school every day and this is what it typically looks like when I get back home with the Sol-meister! Racked out!

The two little Stinkers!

I am just wishing they would try and relax...They are so stressed here. hee hee

Solie is quickly learning how to make herself known....By good old fashion HAIR PULLIN'!

Bianca strikes again!

Check out the sweetness!!! This child has grown LIKE CRAZY!!!!!!

New Pics! I know that is what you are here for!

Okay so more pics of the sweet ladies! We are adjusting quite well now, but have been having some internet issues. I have written this post 2 times and lost it, so for now this is it! All of the great words of new mom wisdom....out the door. I know I am really leaving you at the edge of your seat...ha ha
I will write about stuff that counts very soon. I have lots of good stuff to share about life around here.
Big Love
Chantelle

Lovin' being big sis....Looking totally in charge

Ohhhh! I feels so good to be the big sis! Sugar High!

Tutoring Solie in this one...She has lots to learn according to Bianca

Future olympic gymnast/professional breakdancer....Check out her moves

Total hambone

Happy as a clam

The royal highness gets a bath

Homecoming pics!

What an awesome day! The day we arrived back in STL after almost 24 hours of travel from Ethiopia.Our family and best of friends were there to celebrate little Solie Koket's arrival to the US. We so love and appreciate these people in our lives and they made us feel so so loved! Check out some of the footage!



This is part of the welcome crew. What a great way to walk out of airport security!

Bianca meeting her little sis for the first time....What a priceless moment.








The Outman crew give Solie some love! They are waiting for their twin boys from Ethiopia, who had a crib right across from Solie's! Check out their blog.

Long long time best bud Trac welcomes little Solie!

These great signs made by the Outman crew

We have been home 3 weeks today! Feels like forever. SOlie has made such an amazing journey from a far off and wonderful place and she is just the sweetest baby. We are so humbled and thankful that God would give us this child to love.
I have lots of great new pics to share but did not want to miss out posting this good stuff!