After three cancelations, we (finally) were able to visit with the adoption social worker today. The kiddos played at the park while Miss Jackie and I chatted. All was comfortable and relaxed. The kids behaved themselves well, showed kindness voluntarily, and answered questions with honesty and candor.
Only one more visit to go and the homestudy will be done!! Next is Taylor-Tots Dad's turn to be interviewed - his favorite past-time (insert eye roll and a wee bit of sarcasm here).
Items of prayer:
1) Praise for a wonderful homestudy visit today.
2) Pray that Taylor-Tots Dad's interview (Tuesday, 5/28) goes smoothly. Pray that he will be able to weave the Gospel into the conversation. Pray that Miss Jackie's heart would be softened.
3) We will be starting a (BIG) fundraiser next Tuesday. Pray that we can raise funds fast!
4) I know this seems a bit petty compared to the other requests, but would you pray that I could get my garden in next week? In the busyness of finishing up school, putting together the adoption paperwork, and some illnesses we still haven't planted anything! With food prices increasing and our family size increasing we really need to grow a good garden this year.
May 24, 2013
May 21, 2013
God Loves a Cheerful Giver
My heart is overflowing with gratitude and praise to the Lord my God. He has abundantly blessed us far beyond what I could ever imagine!
Yesterday a wonderful (fellow adoptive) family blessed us with fellowship and dinner together. Before you nod your head and say, "OK, that's nice, now what's the point?" I want you to imagine what it's like to prepare your home to receive nine people over for dinner. The cooking, the cleaning, the managing of your own six children (yes, our friends have 6 children of their own). It's exhausting!
Not only did they bless us with wonderful fellowship, they and their children blessed us with their giving hearts.
When their children heard about our adoption adventures, when they saw pictures of Sara & Samuel, they immediately and selflessly decided to help us bring them home. The children saved their pennies, nickels, quarters, dollars...it's overwhelming just to think of their generosity! The children even asked others to donate.
Yesterday a wonderful (fellow adoptive) family blessed us with fellowship and dinner together. Before you nod your head and say, "OK, that's nice, now what's the point?" I want you to imagine what it's like to prepare your home to receive nine people over for dinner. The cooking, the cleaning, the managing of your own six children (yes, our friends have 6 children of their own). It's exhausting!
Not only did they bless us with wonderful fellowship, they and their children blessed us with their giving hearts.
Each one must do what he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7
When their children heard about our adoption adventures, when they saw pictures of Sara & Samuel, they immediately and selflessly decided to help us bring them home. The children saved their pennies, nickels, quarters, dollars...it's overwhelming just to think of their generosity! The children even asked others to donate.
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure - pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.
Luke 6:38
Our friends' daughter had some money saved up for a toy, but the selflessly decided to give it instead. She realized the toy she wanted to buy would probably break anyway and that Sara & Samuel didn't even have a home or a mommy & daddy. She wants to help us bring them home.
Her sweet spirit melts my heart!
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroys, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
In this, and in so many other ways, God has used this family as a blessing to ours.
Thank you, "N" family, for being the hands and feet of Christ. We pray God will bless you generously!
One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord,
And He will repay him for his good deed.
Proverbs 19:17
May 14, 2013
Moving Right Along
Today Taylor-Tots Dad and I had a wonderful date...to visit the notary. Funny how this adoption has given us so many excuses to go on dates!
We were able to sign and notarize 10 documents. Only three of which need to be redone. Let me explain. Each page of our dossier (the packet containing all the info the country of origin needs from us to proceed with the adoption) has to be signed by us and then by a notary. (Oh, then they have to be apostilled, but that's another layer of bureaucracy for another time.) Each dossier page contains very, VERY specific instructions that have to be followed perfectly. This time, on two of the papers, the notary wrote the date slightly wrong and then wrote over it. No-no! The third paper I messed up on. I didn't list e.v.e.r.y s.i.n.g.l.e special need we are willing and able to accept.
Not bad for a dossier date!
Thursday will be our next homestudy home visit. Pray it is a comfortable and profitable visit. We really liked our social worker and hope she liked us. (Anybody could endure last Monday's visit and still want to come back must have a strong constitution, not to mention a good sense of humor!)
Monday (5/20) will be our last home visit and then comes the homestudy review where we proof the rough draft for errors and make sure it complies with our kids' country's requirements.
And last, but not least, please pray for my friend Kat Marr. She and her husband will be heading back to the Lost Boys' Institute very soon to have court and then bring home their Benjamin. Hoping and praying that she will be able to see our Samuel and get an update on how he is doing.
No word on Sara yet. It's unlikely we will see or hear more about her until we actually arrive in country.
Please continue to pray for us. Some days we are overwhelmed and battling spiritually. Others God graciously gives us rest.
Thank you!
We were able to sign and notarize 10 documents. Only three of which need to be redone. Let me explain. Each page of our dossier (the packet containing all the info the country of origin needs from us to proceed with the adoption) has to be signed by us and then by a notary. (Oh, then they have to be apostilled, but that's another layer of bureaucracy for another time.) Each dossier page contains very, VERY specific instructions that have to be followed perfectly. This time, on two of the papers, the notary wrote the date slightly wrong and then wrote over it. No-no! The third paper I messed up on. I didn't list e.v.e.r.y s.i.n.g.l.e special need we are willing and able to accept.
Not bad for a dossier date!
Thursday will be our next homestudy home visit. Pray it is a comfortable and profitable visit. We really liked our social worker and hope she liked us. (Anybody could endure last Monday's visit and still want to come back must have a strong constitution, not to mention a good sense of humor!)
Monday (5/20) will be our last home visit and then comes the homestudy review where we proof the rough draft for errors and make sure it complies with our kids' country's requirements.
And last, but not least, please pray for my friend Kat Marr. She and her husband will be heading back to the Lost Boys' Institute very soon to have court and then bring home their Benjamin. Hoping and praying that she will be able to see our Samuel and get an update on how he is doing.
No word on Sara yet. It's unlikely we will see or hear more about her until we actually arrive in country.
Please continue to pray for us. Some days we are overwhelmed and battling spiritually. Others God graciously gives us rest.
Thank you!
May 13, 2013
Post Mother's Day Blahs
This Mother's Day was hard for me.
-My youngest was ill so I stayed home from church with her.
-My 'newest' children are over 6,000 miles away...one possibly in an internat (boarding school) and the other in a mental institution. I know neither probably knows about Mother's Day, but I'm also quite sure they miss their biological mother. And they don't even know I exist yet.
-Yesterday the thought of our adopted kiddos' bio moms was a little overwhelming. We miss one sooooo much! So glad we could give her peace knowing her child is being loved and taken care of. And the pain of the other birthmom, knowing that her children were forcibly taken from her, has never diminished.
And yet, I praise God for my mother. She is the most selfless, gracious, gentle, humble redeemed sinner I have ever met. To think of all I put her through as I grew up! (I'm sorry, Mom! I wish I had been different.) I know God used me to conform her more to the image of Christ, but I still regret so much.
Thank you, Mom, for loving me unconditionally. I love you!
-My youngest was ill so I stayed home from church with her.
-My 'newest' children are over 6,000 miles away...one possibly in an internat (boarding school) and the other in a mental institution. I know neither probably knows about Mother's Day, but I'm also quite sure they miss their biological mother. And they don't even know I exist yet.
-Yesterday the thought of our adopted kiddos' bio moms was a little overwhelming. We miss one sooooo much! So glad we could give her peace knowing her child is being loved and taken care of. And the pain of the other birthmom, knowing that her children were forcibly taken from her, has never diminished.
And yet, I praise God for my mother. She is the most selfless, gracious, gentle, humble redeemed sinner I have ever met. To think of all I put her through as I grew up! (I'm sorry, Mom! I wish I had been different.) I know God used me to conform her more to the image of Christ, but I still regret so much.
Thank you, Mom, for loving me unconditionally. I love you!
May 7, 2013
Homestudies Are Fun (Not!)
Homestudies are quite the event in our house, especially when the homestudy follows a crazy week of Spring Cleaning.
The kids say and do the craziest things. (I say and do the craziest things, for that matter.) I'm glad all our social workers have a sense of humor!
- At our first homestudy, KR Pinkly (then age 6) was asked, "Why do your mom and dad want to adopt?" to which she innocently answered, "We need more help." (Whaaaat!!!!! When questioned further KR Pinkly told the social worker she was talking about needing more help from the Aunties & Grandparents with the cleaning so that we could have the homestudy.)
- At a homestudy update Dude stated that he loved living in our new house because there was more room (acreage) to play with the cow patties. (You'd think we were raising a bunch of red necks!)
This most recent homestudy started out with a flurry of oopsies.
- I was introducing the kids within reach to Mrs. Jackie (the social worker) and when it came to Gock I said, "And here's #..." and Gock interposed, "Three!" (he is 3yo) and so, not thinking, I repeated, "Here's #3....um, no, that's not right he's number.........(long pause)......ACK!, well anyway this is Gock." (Yeah, really impressive to the social worker that I can't even remember what number kiddo that was. Sheesh!)
- I tried to find Leths, Dude, and Lellie to introduce them. Couldn't find them! Then I heard a muffled sound from the toy closet. Here's what I found:
Yeah, my kids were in the tiny toy closet with the door closed. Looks really good to a social worker (sarcasm!). In actuality they were cleaning/organizing and when they heard Mrs. Jackie show up they decided to hide in the closet and surprise her when she inspected the house. (I quickly assured Mrs. Jackie that the inside of the door had a handle with no lock on it; no chance of them locking themselves in.)
- Mrs. Jackie asked Leths what his favorite part of the day was and he answered, "History!" Mrs. Jackie vehemently replied that she hated History and Leths's eyes got really, really big and he looked between me and Mrs. Jackie a few times then asked, "What's wrong with you?" in a very respectful tone. (He was thinking that maybe she didn't have a level of cognitive understanding to grasp the wonderfulness of History, and was pitying her.)
- Bobby-Nan was a charmer, except for the time she pranced up to Mrs. Jackie, batter her eyes, put on her most lavish smile, laid a gentle hand on Mrs. Jackie's knee (as if to confer a blessing), and then...passed a little air. Bobby-Nan then giggled and ran off.
Yep, homestudies are fun!
The kids say and do the craziest things. (I say and do the craziest things, for that matter.) I'm glad all our social workers have a sense of humor!
- At our first homestudy, KR Pinkly (then age 6) was asked, "Why do your mom and dad want to adopt?" to which she innocently answered, "We need more help." (Whaaaat!!!!! When questioned further KR Pinkly told the social worker she was talking about needing more help from the Aunties & Grandparents with the cleaning so that we could have the homestudy.)
- At a homestudy update Dude stated that he loved living in our new house because there was more room (acreage) to play with the cow patties. (You'd think we were raising a bunch of red necks!)
This most recent homestudy started out with a flurry of oopsies.
- I was introducing the kids within reach to Mrs. Jackie (the social worker) and when it came to Gock I said, "And here's #..." and Gock interposed, "Three!" (he is 3yo) and so, not thinking, I repeated, "Here's #3....um, no, that's not right he's number.........(long pause)......ACK!, well anyway this is Gock." (Yeah, really impressive to the social worker that I can't even remember what number kiddo that was. Sheesh!)
- I tried to find Leths, Dude, and Lellie to introduce them. Couldn't find them! Then I heard a muffled sound from the toy closet. Here's what I found:
- Mrs. Jackie asked Leths what his favorite part of the day was and he answered, "History!" Mrs. Jackie vehemently replied that she hated History and Leths's eyes got really, really big and he looked between me and Mrs. Jackie a few times then asked, "What's wrong with you?" in a very respectful tone. (He was thinking that maybe she didn't have a level of cognitive understanding to grasp the wonderfulness of History, and was pitying her.)
- Bobby-Nan was a charmer, except for the time she pranced up to Mrs. Jackie, batter her eyes, put on her most lavish smile, laid a gentle hand on Mrs. Jackie's knee (as if to confer a blessing), and then...passed a little air. Bobby-Nan then giggled and ran off.
Yep, homestudies are fun!
May 6, 2013
Motherful Monday!!!
On the first Monday of the month I've been trying to feature different orphaned children for whom we, as a family, are praying. At first it seemed like a pitifully small thing to do. And rather presumptuous at that.
There are so many reasons why featuring waiting orphans doesn't make sense.
-I don't have a well known blog. With an average of 80 blog views a day I never thought my posts would reach anyone not already in the adoption community.
-I love to communicate face to face or through art. All this writing throws me for a loop. Most of the time my posts don't even come close to conveying what I really mean.
-Privacy and self-sufficiency are my middle names. Having a need and then publicly asking for help? No thank you. Not something I'm comfortable with...at all.
But God doesn't ask me to be popular, or powerful, or have a wide range of friends, or be comfortable, or be self-sufficient. He wants me to get over myself and to obey Him. So I did. I took the plunge and started to feature orphans on my blog, 'knowing' that it was a pitifully small offering. Remembering the widow and her mites motivated me.
Oh, my horrible self centeredness!
God has taken my 'mites' (given in a very selfish way - with no faith) and blessed them! He is so good!
Back in February I featured two siblings, Shawna and Seth. Shortly after that their family found them! I was so excited that I quickly sent a facebook message to the family who had committed to adopt them: Arturo and Jennifer Araya. Jennifer's response blew me away (copied here with permission):
There are so many reasons why featuring waiting orphans doesn't make sense.
-I don't have a well known blog. With an average of 80 blog views a day I never thought my posts would reach anyone not already in the adoption community.
-I love to communicate face to face or through art. All this writing throws me for a loop. Most of the time my posts don't even come close to conveying what I really mean.
-Privacy and self-sufficiency are my middle names. Having a need and then publicly asking for help? No thank you. Not something I'm comfortable with...at all.
But God doesn't ask me to be popular, or powerful, or have a wide range of friends, or be comfortable, or be self-sufficient. He wants me to get over myself and to obey Him. So I did. I took the plunge and started to feature orphans on my blog, 'knowing' that it was a pitifully small offering. Remembering the widow and her mites motivated me.
Oh, my horrible self centeredness!
God has taken my 'mites' (given in a very selfish way - with no faith) and blessed them! He is so good!
Back in February I featured two siblings, Shawna and Seth. Shortly after that their family found them! I was so excited that I quickly sent a facebook message to the family who had committed to adopt them: Arturo and Jennifer Araya. Jennifer's response blew me away (copied here with permission):
"I stumbled upon your blog at some point in mid-March. I read back a bit through your blog archives, as I always do when I start following a new blog, and your Motherless Monday post on February 25 was the first time we saw our child's face. I saw that post and immediately emailed it to my husband. That post and subsequent email was the start of our journey to adoption. Your advocacy, in a very real and direct way, is the reason we are adopting. God used your blog to bring Shawna a family."
GOD IS SO GOOD!!
So today I can't help but write a Motherful Monday post! Thank you for everyone who prayed for Shawna & Seth to find a family. Please go to the Araya's blog and follow along on their adoption journey. Let them know you are praying for them.
Here are two good posts to start with:
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