The one thing you really need to understand about me is ~ it
is my goal to allow Jesus to pour His life out through me into all those that I
come in contact with, everyday. However,
I fail at this, all the time and in many ways.
Here is an example ~
When one of my six kids spills the 7th glass of
milk on the 7th consecutive day and I manage to bite my tongue. Yet, I give them the look, Moms you might
know the look – the you are completely frustrating to me today and slightly
disappointing. And then they give me the
look back – the whipped puppy and I am so sorry I messed up, again. And in that moment I know I failed, again,
but fortunately God is gracious and long-suffering towards me. And next time He will help me not to cry over
spilled milk, or more accurately, not make a child cry over spilled milk.
What else you might find interesting ~ I am a stay-at-home,
home schooling, adoptive mother of six and a proud Navy wife. I love to run, read, sleep, drink hot tea and
all forms of water (pools, rivers, lakes, oceans – I am not picky when it comes
to water). Once upon a time in my life I
would not have listed thoroughly boring things like tea and reading as my all
time favorite hobbies. No, I would have named
far more exciting things such as snowboarding, river rafting, racing triathlons,
but these 6 darlings wear me out these days and I am thoroughly content with my
Bible on the back porch with a cup of tea.
Our story ~ this California girl somehow managed to meet an
amazing Texas boy and I snatched him up real quick like and we have been slowly
making additions to our family ever since.
Let’s see, we have another California girl (our oldest), two
Washingtonians (our dear boys), one South Carolinian (our youngest, our
spitfire Gracie), and the two latest editions are our precious Ethiopian
daughters. Oh, and how could I forget my
favorite child, our yellow lab, Tucker, who faithfully follows me from room to
room, from lesson to lesson, and meal to meal always there to comfort,
encourage, support and of course beg, he would not be a dog if he did not
beg.
My husband is Will or BJ depending upon where you know him
from. BJ is a family name bestowed upon
him by his lovely Mama and that is who he is to me in normal family life. If you know him from work, church, or just
about any other public setting, then he is Will to you. BJ has served in the Navy for the last 14
years ~ first as a nuclear machinist mate onboard a submarine and now as a
Naval health care administrator. God has
used the Navy to bless our family in more ways than I can count. BJ is a phenomenal father and husband and his
love and dedication to His heavenly Father is an example to all of us in the
Ruppel household. And he is my best
friend, patiently enduring all my crazy ideas.
He is also my lovely editor.
Taylor ~ our oldest daughter is 14 years old and she quietly
and gracefully maneuvers her way through life and gently blesses all those she
comes in contact with. She has patiently
and bravely blazed the trail for her 5 younger siblings, with two very naive
and sometimes just truly dumb parents and we love her dearly for her patience
with us.
Trae ~ our oldest son who is 11 years old and a natural born
leader, who exudes inner strength and tenaciously sets about to solve all of
life’s problems. Trae is intensely analytical and often the work horse in the family. In a crisis, Trae is the guy you want standing
next to you. Oh, and he has a very soft
side, this was the 2 year old little towhead boy with clear blue eyes who would
climb up in my lap and say, “hold me, Mama, hold me.” And I would hold him and pray to God he would
give me 10 more just him.
Cole ~ every family needs a Cole, that is all I can
say. Cole has brought more laughter to
this house then all of the rest of us combined and his strong will and wild and
woolly spirit have also brought a few tears from this Mama’s eyes. Cole is a lover of life; Cole is wide-open,
all the time. I believe it is physically
impossible for him to sit still. At 9 years
of age he routinely rises early each morning to run several miles before school
and he has been known to run a sub 7 minute mile.
Oh, and the boy can swim too! If
there is a building to be jumped off, an ocean to traverse, or any task with
any element of danger then Cole is your guy (just don’t tell his Mama about it). If Cole cannot make you smile and laugh, then
you are a serious stick in the mud.
Grace ~ is just as her name implies ~ something her parents
desperately needed, yet did not deserve and she has
fulfilled her role as the Ruppel spitfire while being entirely lovable since the
day she arrived. Gracie is rough and tumble,
bruised and scarred, she is the first (or maybe the second right behind Cole)
to try anything and no one can push her around.
She is
a funny little mixture of terribly tough and yet greatly tenderhearted.
Eyerusalem (Rue) ~ is our second oldest daughter at 12 years
old and one of the newbies around here.
Rue is an amazingly sweet child who truly just wants to be loved and
accepted . . . and maybe eat a big bowl of ice cream, but then again, who doesn’t want a bowl of
ice cream?! She is gentle and kind and
brings peace and contentment into any situation she enters. She has a profound love of family, maybe
having lost one and gained another has given her a perspective most of us could
not relate to. Shortly after arriving home here in the states Rue was diagnosed
with spherocytosis, a genetic blood disorder. Oh, and she is profoundly deaf and we are all
in the process of learning ASL (American Sign Language) with her.
Tsinat ~ our third girl in line and the fourth in the family
(11 years old), could easily be compared to Cole, a female, Ethiopian
Cole. She too is wild and wide-open and
thoroughly loves life and wants to enjoy everything. Smiles and laughter abound much wherever she is, friendly and inviting she easily and readily makes many friends. She has stood has her sister's protector against a harsh world for many years and it is our aim to provide a safe space to allow her to be the child she deserves to be. I feel privileged to be able to know more of this beautiful child as she is revealed to us. Tsinat is the child God has given to me to
teach me how to love with a Jesus love, not a Jennie love; nobody needs a
Jennie love, but Jesus’ love, that is an entirely different story. Tsinat teaches me and stretches me every day.
She is a gift from God and He is continuously knitting this Mama and her daughter together, permanently and
eternally.
