We Are Thrilled To Announce................

.......that we received our referral yesterday for 2 1/2 year-old TWIN BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited, still a bit overwhelmed, amazed and humbled at God's divine plan for us. Chris just told me several weeks ago that we were going to get 2-year-old twin boys, and he was right!! We've both thought all along that we would get siblings. To read why we felt that way, click here. God is good! He does keep His promises! And His ways are so so perfect.

We are not allowed to post pictures of our precious little guys online because they are not yet legally ours. But, if you happen to see me around, ask to see a photo. I'm sure I'll be carrying some around with me everywhere I go! We're praying for a quick court date so that we can meet our boys face to face!!

I'll share more details later (after we get through some of this paperwork!), but wanted you all to know that WE. GOT. OUR. CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are blessed.

Wait For It, Wait For It..............

As of today..........................................................................................

..............................we are........................................................

AT THE TOP OF THE BOYS' LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's right - the family directly in front of us on the boys' and siblings' lists received their referral this week. Congratulations, L family!!!!!!!!!!! We are so happy and excited for you, and wish you God's richest blessings as you proceed on this wonderful journey to meet your little boy!!!

And ever since they emailed me about their referral, I have been a bit nervous and jumpy. It feels a bit like I'm going into labor (without the physical pain, of course!) Soon, we'll get to see the precious face(s) of the child(ren) that God has promised us!!! Hopefully, I'll be sharing the news with you shortly.........................

Hope you all have a great weekend, and a wonderful Father's Day!!!!!!

Today We Are Celebrating....

......Malia!!!!! She is 5 years old today!!!!!

After VBS this morning, two of Malia's best friends came over to spend the day with her. They had fun making crafts, playing dress-up, and swimming.

Happy birthday, Mimi!!!! It's so hard to believe that my baby girl is 5 already! We hope you have a wonderful year, and may God bless you each day. We are so thankful that He blessed our lives with such a little angel - we love you so so so so so so so so so so much!!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxoxo!!!!!!!!!

 

Waiting......

In this fast-paced world, we are used to instant gratification. We have fast food, fast cars, and fast computers. We have super-highways and cell phones. We have fast internet service, which supplies us with boatloads of information right at our fingertips. We are used to getting what we want, when we want it. We don't want to wait. We think everything should move at our rate of speed.

The adoption world certainly doesn't follow our time lines. And I am learning to appreciate that. When we started the adoption process, I thought that we would most certainly be home with our child sometime during the summer of 2010. And here we are a year later, still waiting on our referral. But obviously, God does not work according to our preferences; He works out that which is best for us. If God would have listened and provided according to our wishes, we would already be home with our child. But it would be the wrong child. You see, God knew from the beginning which child would be ours. He had a plan for that specific child to become a part of our family before the baby was conceived. And I am willing to wait to see God's perfect plan unfold in our lives. It will come to pass just when it is supposed to. I believe that in the middle of this lightning-speed life, God is telling us to stop and focus. "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10. Let the crazy world go on around you; I have specific plans for you. They may take time, but they will be perfect.


And so, I am willing to wait. As long as it takes. It may not always be easy, but as James 1:3 states, "....the trying of your faith worketh patience". Also, "....tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." Romans 5:3-4. I am definitely learning more about patience. I am grateful for the experience and hope that we have. And I am learning to be so thankful for the wait.

Random Thoughts On A Saturday......

1.  One of my delightful children (I won't mention any names, although I'm sure that those of you who know my kids really well will know immediately which one!) decided to go to the bathroom outside. Not only did he get it all over his shirt (there, now you know it was one of the boys. You have a 50/50 chance at guessing the right one), he also got it all over the patio. Before I could tell him to spray it off, the dog came by and licked it up. :-( Yeah, sometimes things get pretty interesting around here. I calmly informed him that we DO NOT go to the bathroom outside!

2. I wonder if the Southwestern book salesman enjoyed hearing part of our adoption story?

He did seem interested, and asked several questions. This will probably sound terrible, but it's nice having an excuse when a telemarketer calls or a salesman stops by. "I'm afraid we won't be able to help you this time. You see, we're in the process of adopting a child or two from Ethiopia, and all of our extra funds are going toward that this year." Nothing against Southwestern books; in fact, they're great. We just really don't want to spend the extra money right now. We do still try to help out worthwhile charities when we can. It's amazing that the more you give to the Lord's service, the more you get back. When God leads you to do something, He will provide. Always. Way beyond our expectations.

3.  Malia refuses to share her Capreen toothpaste with anyone.

I'm not sure exactly what Capreen is; however, she insists that is what the flavor is called (I always thought it was mint-flavored. Shows how much I know). She claims that, "The other kids should use the bubblegum toothpaste. I don't like that kind."

4.  When Malia wants to play "chest" with you, please understand that she means chess.

 And when she wants a "crispy" to eat, it means biscuit. (?)

5.  When Malia takes her nap in the afternoon, the other kids have to read a book for at least an hour. Yesterday, Ashton decided to read to the dog, who for some reason didn't seem very interested in the story line.

6.  We got our new waitlist numbers for June. They are:

#10 for girls (same as last month)

#3 for boys (we've moved 3 spots since last month)

#4 for siblings (same as last month)

I'm hoping there's lots of movement in the next few weeks!  With the changes taking place in the Ethiopia program, everything has slowed down tremendously. However, I'm confident that God's timing for us is perfect!

7. A great book I've read recently is There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene.

It is about orphans in Ethiopia, and really taught me a lot about the country's history, culture, and AIDS crisis. If you are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia, I would highly recommend insist that you read it. :-) It really is a great book for all parents, whether adoptive or not.

8.  When you have boys, anything can become the makings for a gun. Take these hockey sticks, broom, screwdrivers and rubber bands, for instance:

9.  Malia informed me the other day that she wants to be a mom, a doctor, or a payer when she grows up. (I think she meant a cashier; I'm sure she'll be a "payer" whether she wants to be or not!) :-)

10.  I haven't said much about Shana yet in this post. I must say, I am glad she's out of school for the summer. She has been such a big help around the house lately! I think it helps that we have established chore charts and allowances for the summer. Each child gets a set amount of money at the end of each week; 1/3 of it goes into a charity account, 1/3 of it gets put into savings, and 1/3 of it is theirs to spend or do with what they wish. Every time they fight (No! My kids? Never!) or talk back, they lose 25 cents. Likewise, if they don't complete all of their assigned tasks, they lose money as well. It seems to be working really well so far; if any of you have other ideas or methods that have worked with your children, I would love to hear them!

11.  This coming week is our church's VBS. I am helping to teach one of the preschool classes. The other teacher plans on leading the lesson for three of the days, and assigned the other two lessons to me. I find it interesting that both of my lessons just happen to be about mothers who gave up their children. I will be teaching about Baby Moses and Samuel. Both mothers loved their children. Both prayed for their children. Both gave their children to someone else to raise.  I think about my Ethiopian child(ren)'s mother all the time. What must she be going through? I'm sure she loves her children and  doesn't want to give them up, yet wants a better life for them. So she gives them up to God. I am amazed and so humbled at these mothers' sacrifices.

12.  I am hoping that each one of you has a great weekend!

Depraved Indifference

I know that many of you have already watched this video. But it touches my heart in a new way every time I see it. I was reading an article this week about the horrific things taking place over in Sudan. Someone asked me the question, "Why do you even read these things? Why would you even want to know about it?" My answer: because I DON'T want to suffer from depraved indifference. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, after all, to a dark and sinful world. I want to be able to pray for those poor orphans who are being tortured and brutalized. I want to be able to pray for those who are doing the torturing and brutalizing. How can I make a difference if I don't know? Or if I plug my ears or put blinders on and PRETEND I don't know?

We have also had some people wonder why on earth we are adopting when we have 4 children of our own. This video answers that question as well.

"If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?" Proverbs 24:12

A Family Project.....

One of Chris's uncles has access to large amounts of food items (think pallets and huge boxes full). So, we've been packaging the rice, pasta, etc. to send to disaster areas, poor countries, and food pantries. Sometimes, our whole church gets involved and at other times, a small group will get together to package the food. Chris is now the person in charge of setting up the work teams, and so sometimes just the six of us will spend the evening together packaging food for the needy.

Here is Malia standing by the boxes and bags of food on Tuesday evening:

Adrian and Malia were in charge of placing labels on the bags that we were going to fill:

On the menu this week is......split pea soup!

Ashton was the pea supplier:

Chris and I were the bag fillers, a.k.a headless pea scoopers. (A short little person took this picture, and cut off our heads!)

Shana was the bag sealer:

She used this handy little machine to seal the bags of peas:

A sealed bag of split peas:

Shana then put all of the sealed bags into this barrel:

All the little peas nestled snug in their little pea beds :-)

A full barrel weighs close to 400 pounds. It is now ready to seal and be shipped!

Our kids love packaging food, and it's a great way for them to learn about helping others. We have so much fun working together!

Also, if you get a chance, please visit Kristi's blog to read little Wes's story. This tiny little guy has to undergo some major surgery, and I'm sure his family, who have been an inspiration to many in the adoption world, would appreciate our prayers.

Have a great day, everyone!