Sunday Afternoon Rest

Boy, did we need this Sunday rest! And anyone who was a witness to the many meltdowns Jackson had in church, he is napping & we hope he stays that way for a while! Nothing like a strong-willed 2 1/2 year old in church to have you question anything you think you knew about parenting!

It's been another busy week in our household but it's also been a good week. Alexa is now done with school! I can't believe she will be a sophomore next year. I just don't like how fast she is growing up. Okay, I have to think of something else before I start the tears. Emma & Wyatt still have another week to go & will be done on Friday. Those stinkin snow days really added up this year. We had a bit of the stomach bug in our house with Jackson & Emma but everyone else seems to be okay as of now. I guess we wait & see if it will linger. We got to go to 2 graduation parties on Thursday for a nephew of mine & a niece of Brian's. Did I mention how quickly all these kids are growing up?? Someone really needs to invent something to keep that from happening!

We were also fortunate to be able to visit with some cousins of mine this weekend & meet their baby boys for the 1st time. It was so good to see them & I REALLY enjoyed loving on those 2 little boys. Jackson thought they were pretty cool too.

We have the Young Peoples pancake breakfast in the morning & then it's off to Lake Shatek for the day. We haven't been there since last year & we are excited to be able to enjoy it again. Thanks Tim & Chellie for always being willing to put up with all our kids for the day!

Well, I'm going to enjoy this rainy weather just a little by taking a short nap! Thank you Lord for setting this day aside for getting us to slow down & to be able to gather at Your house to hear your Word!

Officially Waiting

We are now on the list to be shown to birth families! I can honestly say that it is exciting but also now the really hard part begins. We have no idea (guess we never did) on any sort of timing & how long this part will take. Estimated time frames mean absolutely nothing at this point. We will just have to be patient & wait on God's timing. God already knows our son. He knows who he will be & when he will come to our family. He knows the whole journey that we will have to take for him to be with us. He also knows our son's birth mom & dad. He knows what they've been through & what will bring them into the agency to make the biggest sacrifice of their lives. No words can ever be put on any blog or any paper to convey what type of emotions that brings up. None. We can only continue to pray for them & what they are going through at this time. I know so many of you have but we continue to ask for prayers. We feel them. We really do. Nothing can be more powerful at this point!

No Longer a Soccer Mom

We did it. We made it to the end of the soccer season for 3 kids. I never dreamt that having 3 different kids with 3 different soccer schedules could be so interesting. I know there are you veteran moms who have been doing this for a long time & you definitely get a standing ovation from me for having the stamina to do this all year round. I'm glad that I don't yet. I guess this is where it comes in handy to have kids spaced out in age a little. We averaged about 6-7 soccer games a week, depending on weather. We really had a fun time & Jackson did better than I thought he would with having to tag along to all these games. Candy & pretzel were a life saver this soccer season. He also found it lots of fun to practice on the sidelines with his own ball. I'm sure there will be a lot of soccer games ahead for us in the future & we will try to enjoy the busyness of it.

We now move into ball season but Wyatt is our only 1 in that so that will seem like a piece of cake at 2 nights a week. Alexa is going to be starting drivers ed soon & will be going to open gym for the summer. I think she will like the flexibility of her summer to give her break. Emma will be going to Bible school & volleyball camp. Wyatt is also going to Bible school. I'm sure the kids will put lots of miles on their bikes & lots of hours at the pool. We are definitely loving the warmer weather.

Here are a few pictures from this season:

Not Impressed

I was reading a post by another blogger yesterday about a story that the 700 Club ran on the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit that was held recently. I had heard about this event & was interested to see the story on it. The story was done very well & it really showed how God had worked in several families. What got me was Pat Robertson's comments afterward. I was not impressed by his view on adoption of children with brain damage or emotional & physical issues. I know at this point we are not expecting to adopt a child with special needs but I am most certainly still a mother of a child who was born with special needs & ended up with brain damage & died from complications from it. I don't care if a child got that way because they were born that way or if it happened because they were exposed to either drugs or alcohol before birth. Those children deserve the right to be loved & in a good Christian home. We need to promote adoption for all these children whenever we can to homes that can care for their special needs, not raise our eyebrows saying "Adoption is a blessing, if you get the right child." Careless comments. Fearful comments.

Whenever we embark on a journey of adding a family member, there will be unknowns, whether by birth or adoption.  We know this on a personal level. There are no guarantees. We may say that we aren't open to this or that with our future child but we really don't have something set in stone that says that our future son won't have these issues at some point in his life. The fact is, there are blessings in children with special needs. We know this, some of our friends know this. God will blesses those families with a unique blessing. Some far greater than this world will ever know. For that, we praise Him & try to disregard the words of careless humans & go back to the word of God for our direction in life.

Matthew 25:40


40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

It Has Arrived!

Got an email from our caseworker today that our precious package made it there safe & sound! They will have to go over everything & then let us know when we are officially approved. Then our wait begins. I don't know if anyone can prepare themselves for this stage. I know ultimately we are never fully in control but at least in the paperwork stage we had a hand in filling out papers & making profile books. We had long discussions on possible situations we would be willing to consider & how we would handle certain things. Now that all those things are decided & we've done what we can, it is ALL up to God. There is nothing more that we can do to speed up the process or "make" a birthmom choose us to place her child with. This part of the wait is going to really test our trust in God's timing. I know looking back on so many things we see God's perfect timing but I totally stink at the "waiting" on Him before things happen. I keep not wanting to learn that lesson so God has to try to teach me over & over again so I get it right!

So, to fill my time(like I need help with that this time of year), I've been working on a little project that I've wanted to do since we moved into this house 9 months ago. Alexa is really into photography & has taken a couple of little classes on it. She took some pictures last year that blew our socks off & I knew I wanted to do something with them. After looking at several options & not really having a ton of money to spend on it, we decided to mount them on wood boxes to make standouts. I ordered the pictures in 16 X 20 & Brian built the boxes out of wood & I painted them black. Then we mounted the pictures on matte board & put them on the boxes. They turned out awesome! Thanks Brian for doing this for me! Here's a pic of what they turned out like! We think she's got some talent in this department!

On a Midnight Train to Georgia

Yes, they are leaving on midnight train to Georgia! That would be our homestudy, application & profile books! We completed that last step of our official paperwork to send off & we are now officially "waiting"! We still have to wait to be approved by our agency but there is nothing more that we can do on our end. Reality is setting quickly. The fact that our future birthmom may already be pregnant is hitting me hard. Brian has a gift for getting me to freak out & then use it for his entertainment. I got back from mailing everything off & he says to me "So, you ready to get a call next week if it were to come?" Yeah, I freaked out & yes, he laughed! The likelihood of that happening are slim but we have no idea what God has in store for us in this next process. Let's face it! Do we ever know what He's got in store for us?? Things can change in the blink of eye, for better & sometimes for worse. We know that we will be on a roller coaster of emotions for a while here but we also know the blessings of Him telling us to "Be Still". That is where we are at right now. Just being still. Well, if anyone knows this house it's anything but still! We are now just relaxing in the fact that the last 2 1/2 months of getting everything ready paper wise is now at a close.

Your prayers are being felt & we continue to seek them. There is nothing greater than God's people coming together in His name!

Wonderful Opportunity

This afternoon I was checking in on some of the blogs that I read. One of my favorites is http://www.storinguptreasures.com/. They are doing an amazing thing for families in the process of adopting. It is called "10 for 20". They are trying to raise $10,000 in 20 to help out 26 families. All that was required was to put a link to our blog, do a post on their event, & donate $5. We are 1 of those 26 families on that list. They themselves have adopted several kids & want to help pay it forward. There will be 1 family who will randomly be awarded a larger amount but everyone will receive at least something. We are asking anyone who would be willing to help them raise this amount to help so many families bring their little ones home to go to their blog & consider making a donation. No matter the amount, it is still giving in God's eyes. If all of us do a little, we can accomplish so much!

Brian & I have actually talked about what we would like to do when we finally reach our goal financially to finish our adoption. We have been trying to come up with ways to give back & to "pay it forward" for everything that we have received. We have opened our hearts to a child in need but we by no means have the money to pay for this in full yet. We had to rely on God to give us the avenues necessary to complete this adoption. He has been showing us that He is all over this process. Not for 1 second do we believe that any of this is our own doing. We know God funds what He favors & we know from scripture that He favors adoption. We are adopted by Him & He shows us so lovingly the perfect example of what it is supposed to look like. We hope that we when are finally placed with our little one, that if there is a family out there that has this same desire but feels that money is the only thing holding them up, that we might be able to give that encouragement that there are people out there willing to give of their time & money to support them.

Please join me in prayer for God's blessing on this family that has been so gracious to help numerous families bring their children home!

Monday

We will get our homestudy on Monday. Our profiles came yesterday afternoon. I have everything ready to go to the post office so we should have a package on it's way to the agency by Monday afternoon. Then we will have to wait for official approval but after we mail the package, there is nothing more for us to do except apply for grants & continue to raise the remainder of the money that we need. For a little over 2 months, we have been doing the paperchase to get everything ready & we are close to having it all complete. So let's home we don't hit a glitch on Monday & that everything goes smoothly!

Still Waiting

Sensing a theme of things?? We most definitely are. We still haven't received our completed homestudy. It should be any day now. We know it's all in God's timing so we are leaning on that. Our final profile books should be here tomorrow. I'm hoping to get our homestudy tomorrow because then I will be off to the post office to get everything mailed to our agency. We will be ready for this phase of the process to be done. I'm sure waiting for a call is going to be difficult in a different way. We have 4 blessings to keep us busy so I hope the waiting time goes fast! We have quite a few things in place to be ready for a baby again. If I'm honest, I will say it's a lot of work but oh so much fun too! Who can't get excited about welcoming a new family member? We know this will be life changing for us. I can't imagine adoption not changing someone. We know God is going to use this to do His work & change those around us too. We know this is the path that God is leading us down & at times feel so unequipped to do this. We don't know why He chose us to go down this road but we agreed to follow His calling & we know He will provide us with the strength do deal with all the ups & downs we will experience.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

We just wanted to say thank you to everyone who made our tip night fundraiser such a wonderful night! We are humbled & amazed by all the wonderful support we received! Also a HUGE thank you to all who worked with us last night. You all worked so hard & we appreciate it so much. Word cannot even accurately convey how much we appreciate everything! God has so blessed us with wonderful people in our lives!

Fundraiser reminder!

Tomorrow night (May 11) we have our tip night at the Sioux Center Pizza Ranch from 5-8. This is a great fundraiser for us because they donate a portion of the sales from that time frame & we will be washing dishes, busing tables, & refilling glasses for tips. Tax deductible donations can be made out to Bethel CRC! We hope that God blesses the night not only in helping us raise money but to also help us further His kingdom by being Christian examples! Continue to keep us in prayer as we are getting the remainder of our paperwork together to send to the agency & for our grant applications!

Thinking of Adoption??

Here is a post by an adoptive mom who's blog I read. This was a post that really got to me when we were contemplating the start of this process. If anyone has thought of adopting but doubts & fears took over, this is the post to read! Thanks for speaking these words Carly!

"Has the thought of adoption ever crossed your mind? Do you excuse it away quickly,with a quick "that's not something I can do?" Well, all I am asking is for you to take that little thought and explore it. It very well may be nothing more than a fleeting thought, but it might be the voice of God, pressing something upon your heart. All I can say is that it can't hurt to at least explore the option, right? There are a million reasons not to adopt. For us the reasons were: A. It's too expensive and we really don't make much money B. We really aren't amazing and didn't feel equipped to take on adoption. As we began our journey we learned that there are so many options to help fund an adoption. God provides. Period. We also learned that no one is perfect, and no time is ever perfect. I remember asking a social worker before we began, "We have two kids and the youngest is only one. Do you think that would be ok for us to adopt?" I remember her saying "Ah yea." Now I realize she was probably thinking, "What's the problem? Two kids? One year old?" We just thought for sure they would figure out that we were just a couple of dumb kids who didn't have a clue what we were doing!







Now that we have been through the process our eyes have been opened. The need is OVERWHELMING! I know it doesn't make sense. The expense, the difficult process, the waiting, but that is adoption and there is just no getting around it. The truth is there are literally millions of kids who NEED homes and they need them NOW. How many of us, if a child was dropped on our doorstep would say "no"? Reality is that the problem is THAT urgent. We just don't see it in our daily lives so its hard to believe its going on. But it is. Just check out the 800 waiting children listed on Rainbow Kids and maybe you will start to feel the urgency.






I know adoption is not for everyone, or maybe just not for you right now, but there are little ones going to bed each night with out a family to call their own. No one to tuck them in, with a promise of being there tomorrow, the next day, and until forever. I just picture Trent and Ethan alone, without us. That is who these children are. They are real. The process may stink but that is not the orphan's fault, nor does it change their situation. We constantly ask why God allows these things to go on but the Bible says that WE are his hands and feet. He has provided for these kids. Homes filled with empty bedrooms, extra food, and most of all love, which we can never run out of. That is not to say its easy or not a sacrifice. But nothing worth doing is ever easy.






So if it has ever crossed your mind, just think about it a little more. Explore it. Talk to someone who has been there. Get on the computer and research. Most importantly, pray. God won't lead you astray. If He isn't asking you to adopt, He will make that clear, but if He is, He will also provide all that you need to accomplish His will. The Bible makes it clear in James 1 that we are to care for orphans and widows, whether it be through adoption, prayer, money, or encouragement. The amazing thing about caring for others, we are fulfilled, we get the blessing.






My desire is not to guilt anyone. We are all called to different things and when God wants us to do something we have peace, not guilt, fear maybe, but peace always. Have confidence in what God has called you to even if its not adoption. I just hear so many say "We thought about adoption but...." That "but" might be valid or it might just be a lack of knowledge and information about adoption. Don't let that "but" stop you from at least checking it out. I don't think you will regret exploring, whatever conclusion you come to."

They're Baaack!!

Just got a phone call from our social worker! The fingerprints are back!! Can we just give God glory on that one?? Time estimates were anywhere from 4-13 weeks so being just a little over 4 weeks is a wonderful thing! We should have the notarized copy of our homestudy by next weeks & as soon as our profile books come in, everything can go to the agency! With our homestudy complete, we can also file our grant applications. I can't believe that we will be ready to go(or paper pregnant, as some would say) here in a couple of weeks! Just crazy! Then a whole new waiting begins. I am hoping that the summer home with the kids might be able to distract me if we end up waiting for a while, which we know can happen.

Just a reminder to all those who are local that our Pizza Ranch Tip Night is next Tuesday, May 11 from 5-8. We are praying God's blessing on that evening & that we may be a testiment to His love in the work we do!

Blessed

There are so many times that I forget exactly how blessed we are. When I do have a chance to sit back and reflect, I can't imagine why I don't realize it all the time. We have a wonderful home, financial stability, great kids, wonderful church family & a wonderful extended family. We are much more blessed that most people in this world & yet we can tend to not recognize what we have.

Last night we were blessed enough to be reminded of a huge blessing that we have. The blessing of friends. The blessing of giving. As part of our fundraising, we are doing suppers in our home for a donation. Brian is very well known for his ability to cook ribs. They are so good that I never order them in a restaurant because I know that I will just be disappointed so I don't even bother. Anyway, we were blessed to have 4 couples join us for a wonderful rib supper. It was a great evening of food & hanging out. Toward the end of the evening, they were kind enough to give us their donation. We are so blessed by these wonderful people! I'm not going to name names in this story but I just have to tell it because both Brian & I were humbled by this act of selflessness. 1 of the women there was explaining that there was some extra money that she had put in. Earlier that day, she was explaining to her kids where they were going & why. Her oldest son then said how neat it was that we were adopting & if he could give some of his own money. As she was telling me this story, I was doing everything in my power to get rid of the lump in my throat. It may not have seemed like a large dollar amount but it meant the world to us. This boy felt so compelled in his heart to help us bring our son home that he gave some of his own money. Oh, the ways God is working in our hearts & the hearts of others through this journey, even in the small ways through a very selfless act of boy whose heart was tugged by God to give to our fund! The only word to describe it is HUMBLING!

Yet again, still waiting for fingerprints! We are making some phone calls to try to get a time frame of when we will see those back. I tried to call 1 phone number & I do have to say that I really don't ever care to get that person on the other end ever again! She was rude & mean & wouldn't even answer the 2 questions that I had. I know she probably deals with all kinds of people in a day but when someone is being pleasant & just asking a couple of questions, it was totally uncalled for! I don't know this person's life story so I try to be a little forgiving but if how she treats people on the phone is any indication of what kind of person she is, we need to pray for God to soften her heart! Can't wait to update with more news than we are just "waiting"! And yes, it's all part of the journey!