Merry Christmas!

As I sit here, taking a quick break from making a delicous turkey dinner, I am thinking of "P" and "M" SOOO much and remembering that a year ago, we were still in the final decision making process and searching for an agency. We would listen to the song by Steven Curtis Chapman, All I really want for Christmas, and I would just cry...knowing there were children too many to number, wanting a forever family. Now we are (hopefully) just weeks away from bringing two home to our family. And then three days ago, we celebrated "J"'s 13th Happy Adoption Day. What a blessing he has been to us and it means so much more now that we will have two more "gotcha" days to celebrate! We are truly blessed. We have been completely in awe (shame on us) as to how God keeps providing for our expenses for this adoption. Gifts from people and places we NEVER dreamed. One family's children chose our family to share their savings of tithe to bring the kids home. Talk about humbling. What a lesson to our children. Show Hope (Steven Curtis Chapman's organization) blessed us with a grant. Just love coffee has provided for various expenses. People told us that God would provide and we did believe that, or we wouldn't have begun this process, but we also didn't know how and were a little worried. God forgive us for not having the faith. He has proven to us over and over that we are doing what He has led us to do. The real challenges are yet to come, as we adjust as a new family of 7 (yikes!), but we are all excited and can't wait to get these kids into a home filled with love, maybe some sibling rivalry even! But that makes a family real right? Thank you Lord for the best gift of all today, Your Son. Without whom none of this would mean anything. To finish off, here is "M" singing the perfect song for today!!

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

I'm finally getting around to trying to sum up our final day. It's been so crazy since we've been home. I'm doing some serious nesting and at the same time, not enough. Where will I put everything? How will I store things for two girls in one room, let alone two boys? Oh it will all work out. These are good problems to have! I keep telling "M" that we need to buy more dishes, glasses, shelves etc.....thankfully he kind of agrees! I'm excited to be a mom to 5. There are so many of you who read this blog who have already adopted multiple children from various places and it is to you I say thank you. You have inspired us and encouraged us without even knowing it. Some of you have over 10 children through adoption and I'm not saying we're doing that, but it sure is comforting to know that there are wonderful people, moms especially, that I can talk to and get advice from! We miss "P" and "M" and wish they were her with us but at the same time, Christmas can be excessive and they will already be overwhelmed. We sure are praying for a speedy paperwork trail, but we'll see. God's timing has always overruled our plan!!


Okay, our final day in Ghana. We woke up and went to get the kids....probably mid-morning. We also had to clean our room and pack a bit if we brought them back to the hotel. Both kids immediately were drawn to the t.v. and seemed to know that the remote did something! Unfortunately, we really didn't get any channels on that tv!! :) When we arrived at the orphanage on this morning, Mary saw us and RAN to us. It was quite a special moment! She was pretty much with me from that point on for the rest of the day. She napped on my lap and didn't want me to put her down. She didn't want to pass her to anyone either! I kind of enjoyed that! We didn't really eat much during the day. We met up with the most wonderful couple, Auntie "C" and her husband, Pastor "E". We met with them for a while in the afternoon and they blessed us beyond description! They helped us to communicate with "P" and "M" in a way we hadn't done since we had met them! They were able to tell us that "P" is happy to go home with us and he knows that we will be coming back to bring him home! They were also able to tell us a little more about where "P" and "M" have come from and what life was life before they came to the orphanage. I won't share those details here, but it was hard to hear but good to know. When we left "M" started to cry, because she was very familiar with this family and didn't want to leave and really, from then on, she wasn't happy. She was starting to sniffle and cough and was getting tired and hungry. We tried to spend a little more time with the kids at the orphanage before we said good-bye ....that was SO hard to do because all of the children there wanted our attention. We tried to go behind the building and hide and they found us!! "P" was still pretty patient, but getting a little tired of the other children taking our attention away and "M" had had it!! :) She can stand up for herself, that's for sure. It was so hard to leave and say good-bye and "P" was very quiet when we left, but "M" was so tired and not feeling well that she didn't even want to say good-bye. In some ways I was upset by that, but at the same time it made saying good-bye easier, than if she had been clinging to me and I would have had to pull her off. When we go back we'll be able to focus more on that. I shed a few tears as we walked down the dirt road to catch a taxi and I know it was hard on "M" too...we both were emotionally drained by that point but so glad we had come here and met the kids. God was so good to us this whole trip and we can't wait to go back and bring them home, even on that long travel day of 24 hours!!!! Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Wednesday, December 9th

Well, I'm finally sitting down again trying to organize my thoughts!  We woke up on wednesday, ready to go, slept in a bit, had an interesting breakfast of mystery vegetables and mystery sausage, but I finally got a cup of coffee, which I had hardly had any of since I left Chicago!! At any rate, we went to the orphanage and spent a while there with the kids. They seemed happy to see us that morning. "P" was in school so we took "M" with us, as we went and delivered donated supplies to two other orphanages. We also gave plenty to our orphanage. It was really neat to be able to do that and we thank everyone again for sharing with us and those who received these donations!  We really enjoyed the time we were able to spend at the other two orphanages. The people serving in these orphanages are just incredible. We just have too much here in the U.S.   Anyway, "M" went along with us and was so good. She eventually fell asleep on me...I quite enjoyed that! It was awesome!  We took her back and I took a bunch of videos for the other parents and lots of pictures too, of all the other kids. It was fun to be there but really hard too because they were all wanting attention so much that we really couldn't spend any time with our kids alone. We left when they were having lunch and then sat down to wait for our ride to the embassy for our 2 pm appointment. Let's just say that an hour later it was 1:40 and no ride! Apparently traffic was to blame for the hold up, but we were to have left at 1 pm. God took care of us though, as He has this entire experience, and we arrived at the Embassy with no minutes to spare! We were ushered in and then proceeded to wait a half an hour! But we walked in, handed in our paperwork, they looked it over and said thanks. We'll let you know in 30 days! Okay! So now we're praying there were no errors and that all goes well. We'll keep you posted on that one! We headed back to the orphanage (and I am constantly leaving out the crazy cab rides by the way) and spent more time with the kids. It was hot and we were getting quite tired so we headed back at dinner time and promised them w e'd be back in the morning!  We had dinner at the hotel again and then just crashed. We really didn't use the pool or go on the beach at all like you would think I would, but neither of us were in a vacation mode at all. Overall a good day and glad to have that appointment done!!  We were able to call home a couple times over these few days too and that was so wonderful. It was very hard to leave our kids, but they were brave and mom took awesome care of them!

All I Really Want for Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnRNP0Qipws&feature=player_embedded


Steven Curtis Chapman's Interview


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Entertainment/steven-curtis-chapman-healing-death-daughter-album/story?id=9329578

Tuesday, December 8th

We arrived in Ghana around tuesday, 8 am and had left our home at 3:30 am on monday morning. We had wonderful first class seats thanks to an amazing friend. Stand by worked out great despite the seeming risks! God was in it!  We were SOOOOO tired and even starting to get hungry, and got off the plane right onto the tarmack. It was HOT and HUMID. That coming from someone who has lived in Florida. My hair did things it never did in Florida! We were picked up by a representative from the orphanage who took good care of us by getting us to our hotel and then to the orphanage. In hindsight, we probably should have slept and eaten first before we went, but we were also anxious to make the most of our three days there. We got to the orphanage and it was hard to see it honestly. I think we had major culture shock already. It's a good reminder for us that these kids, when they come, will be experiencing culture shock far beyond what we went through! We were brought into the home and sat down and they brought the kids to us, both whom gave us hugs and then left. It was a little hard and strange knowing that these are our children, these two little ones. We couldn't communicate too well and we were just not feeling good. But we had brought some things so we did that right away. Our kids had bought things for them and so we gave them to them. "P" got a rubber snake and a hotwheel at first and "M"  took that snake as her own right away! It really broke the ice because she loved it and it made her laugh. We had really not seen many pictures where she was smiling or laughing and we saw that a lot on this trip, which was awesome.  We showed the kids pictures and that got "P" talking and smiling and he was naming the kids in the pictures. "M" got very animated also. It was fun. We then left them to have their lunch and caught a taxi (that's a whole other story!) to go back and sleep at the hotel. It was a strange ride back. We were so overwhelmed, terrified, not feeling well and just in general, not sure how to feel. It wasn't what we expected, not that you can really know what to expect. After a good nap, a little food and caffeine :) we went back to get the kids. They had both just napped and so we took them to the hotel and went down to the pool. "M" would have nothing to do with it but she certainly was happy to run around and throw the balls back in the pool, eat candy and dig in her little purse that "M" gave her. She made us laugh so much. "P" was willing to go in the pool but only the little one. He stuck his face in the water a couple of times with his mouth open. It was clear they had never been in a pool before. They both seemed to enjoy it. We went to the room again and played with them a bit and then down to the hotel restaurant. After AN HOUR of waiting they finally brought us our food. By that time "M" was SOOOSOO hungry she was starting to get really blah, fussy and unsettled. Peter waited perfectly.  As soon as she started to get food into her, she perked right up again and was full speed again. We took them back in a taxi to the orphanage in a taxi at night that had no headlights. When you ride in a taxi, they drive fast and very close to each other and go when they can go. The taxis are also quite rickety! But no accidents! There are goats and chickens everywhere. Thankfully this animal lover never saw one being hit by a car!  It was a good first day by the end of it. A rough start but it just got better and better. We all really enjoyed the day together! It was evident people were praying, so thank you!! We went back to our room and even though it was 4 in the afternoon Chicago time, we went to sleep and slept until 9 the next morning. A good 12 hour sleep!!

Pictures and Videos

I will take time soon to write our experience down, but first I'm putting pictures up! Enjoy! It will take me much time to figure out how to put this experience into words, but I will!!
I can't figure out how to put videos on! Sorry!

What a week!

It's obvious to us that people have been praying for us. Thank you! We had a great time with Peter and Mary. We have not been able to get any videos uploaded or pictures for that matter, but we will do so as soon as we can. We fly out early tomorrow. 6 am we get picked up and that is 1 am Chicago time, and we have to be at the airport 3 hours early!  Oh boy. No air at the airport by the way. :) Mary really attached to us so well and was sleeping on me for her naps even. She goes goes goes and then crash. She's out! She started not feeling well today so she got to a point where she wouldn't let me put her down and she wouldn't go to Mark. She got heavy! But I enjoyed it.  Peter understands a lot less than we thought he did but we had a wonderful conversation with another older couple there and they assured us they would help us when we go back to write down words we need to learn. It's hard to even begin to describe these three days here. It is another world, entirely. We have enjoyed our time, but we've missed our three kids in "America" and we are good and ready to get home to them! Thanks for all the prayers and we'll see you all soon!!

We're in Ghana!

This will be short and sweet because we're sSSSSSSSSSOooooooooooooooo  tired! But thank you for all the prayers. Thanks to the blessing from a very special pilot, we flew first class twice on the way here. There was three feet between our seats and the seats in front of us. We had appetizers, desserts, just amazing service in general. It was a blessing! Thank you again to you "B"!!

Okay, more details later, but we enjoyed time with P and M today a couple times. The first time was a little surreal and tough really because we were at the orphanage and unbelievably tired but it was still nice. We went back and slept at the hotel for a short time and then came back and got the kids to bring them back to the hotel to swim, play and eat with us. M just cracked us up constantly! She is quite a character! P is very very sweet but so quiet. M rules the roost with the two of them! We can feel your prayers and will post more later. Here are a couple pics and videos!!
I cannot get anything to upload for now, so it'll have to wait! Sorry!

Blessed

Well, it has been busy the last couple of days! We are busy busy busy packing, going over paperwork, making arrangements for the kids next week, shopping for the trip....it is a LOT to keep track of!  But it's coming together. Mom is flying down to watch the kids, friends are offering to help next week, and then last night, at my favorite coffee shop, a special group of ladies held a dessert fundraising event for us. It was so moving. Not just because of the amazing ladies who made the desserts, organized it, let people know about it, and even arranged for the coffee shop to be available, but it was also incredible to see the people come, knowing they were supporting us. We were given the unique gift from "J" in the form of her famous poems. It moved us to tears. Thank you to all of you. We are overwhelmed by your support, thoughtfulness, generosity and know that we couldn't do this without all of you. It is a family affair and we do consider you all family. We get to meet our kids in just four days and can't wait for you to meet them too! Thank you! God is good.

We got it!!

Praise the Lord! We finally got our appointment in Ghana the second week of December! Can't wait to meet "P" and "M"! Thanks for your prayers!!

hmmmmm

I am getting a little better at waiting, but really, I dont' like it. I thought I'd have an appointment in Ghana by now and I don't. I might not even find out until next week. When will I learn!?

Jesus calls us....

When he does....  (shared from another wonderful blog)


Expect to encounter adversity in your life, remembering that you live in a deeply fallen world. Stop trying to find a way that circumvents difficulties. The main problem with an easy life is that it masks your need for Me. When you became a Christian, I infused My very Life into you, empowering you to live on a supernatural plane by depending on Me.

Anticipate coming face to face with impossibilities: situations totally beyond your ability to handle. This awareness of your inadequacy is not something that you should try to evade. It is precisely where I want you-the best place to encounter Me in My Glory and Power. When you see armies of problems marching toward you, cry out to Me! Allow Me to fight for you. Watch Me working on your behalf, as you rest in the shadow of My Almighty Presence.

She is happy!! And so are we!!

I don't have another new one of "P" but I do have this!!!!!  We got great news today...we get to start planning our first of two trips to Ghana to file our paperwork! Hopefully by mid-December we'll be going!!!

Cannot resist showing this darling video too!!

Mary from Andrea Klingman on Vimeo.


This was taken by the family adopting their cousin! It was just last week and it makes it that much more special!!!

Allow me to share a little video...

Here is a short video of "P"You have to listen very carefully.

17 from Kamille Peterson on Vimeo.

When are we going to Ghana?

I'm really being tested these days with waiting. I'm sorry Lord, for not trusting in Your timing. I KNOW Your timing is perfect. I found out today that I have an unknown wait time for these court documents. It's all unpredictable. Could even take a few weeks. It's hard to hear that.  As you pray for our family, please pray for our ability to trust the Lord for His timing and for "P" and "M" as they have to wait to come home. We are SO thankful for such a supportive church family, who have been showing us lately just how much they want to love these children too!
May I add another picture or two? :)

Peter working in school

shy little girl

These siblings pictures are precious......so precious...

Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday Live Stream

Next week maybe...

I guess we must wait another week for the paperwork from the court appointment where our adoption was approved. So no news this week......

Serving God with everything

As we wait and wait for the court documents, we keep praying for "P" and "M" and I follow the blogs that I enjoy and today I read Katie's blog. I have never met her but I think I'd like to. She is one of THE most sacrificial, loving, obedient servants of God I've ever heard of. You MUSt read this. 

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

WE'RE OFFICIALLY THEIR PARENTS!!

We got the call we've been waiting for!! We passed court and are officially "P" and "M"s parents!!! Here are their pictures!!! I can finally show them on our blog!!!!

Maybe just maybe this friday?

We are hoping and praying that this friday will be the day. We have a court date in Ghana and it should happen, but at this point, we'll believe it when we see it (or in our case, get the call!) Please pray with us! Got to see Peter and Mary's passports and their pictures as well as birth certificates. So amazing! Thank you Lord! 

Wonderful news today

No court date yet, but we received an e-mail today letting us know that the kids' passports are done, crosschecked and correct and ready to go! The reason that is good news, is that after our court date there should be (should be) no delays because sometimes it is the passports that can cause months and months of delays! So thank you Lord for that today! We are excited about the coffee store too. We haven't even tried it ourselves yet because it didn't launch until yesterday morning but we ordered some so we'd know and hope to get it by the end of the week. I hope it becomes a way to help bring our little ones home.

Public Blog

"M" and I have made our blog public as we reached our limit of readers and wanted to share our story with more of our family and friends! We've just tried to make it more private by not using names. Thanks for understanding and for following us on our journey!

Just Love Coffee Adoption Store

Just Love Coffee

We are very excited to announce one way that we are going to try to raise money for our adoption. This store is run by Just Love Coffee Roasters and they will give us $5 a bag and also a small amount for the other accessories, towards our adoption. Please consider trying some African coffee and support our family's adoption, an orphanage in Ethiopia and Fair Trade coffee farmers! Thank you!

The Just Love Coffee Story

Our Agency....

http://aainews.blogspot.com/2009/10/gail-gorfes-reflections-on-aai.html


I really appreciate being with a strongly humanitarian agency!

more delays

I just have to say that I'm bummed. Discouraged. No time frame seems to work. We have been told our case will go to court 'within the month". I have no idea how long it will be. So please pray with us that God will help us wait because there must be a reason that things are being held up. Thanks. And I am determined to listen to Anita's wise words "Hold on loosely, until you can hold on tightly!"

Cutest doll ever!

This has nothing to do with adoption, nothing to do with anything spiritual...it's just so cute I had to show you! My dear friend "B" (who is about to have a darling baby of her own) brought this doll to church this morning and her sweet little girl , gave it to "M", then to "M" and then to me. SO CUTE! Thank you!! "M" will love it!

Gifts for the children at Eban House

I am so touched by people's willingness to give to these children whom they don't even know. I sent out a request, because I can't sew very well, for people to make a few stuffed dolls or animals for the kids at our orphanage, for Christmas and it will go beyond our orphanage as well. These are two samples of what these wonderful ladies made. Thank you so much. It means so much!!!!

Faith like a child...

Well, here I go again....as you know, or may not know, adoption is expensive. Honestly, it is becoming more and more challenging to trust the Lord as the bigger expenses are really starting to come in. But God has led us on this journey and HE WILL PROVIDE. The hard part is waiting. We have so many people faithfully praying and one of those families, is my sister "S". When I drove up to Canada last week to surprise my other sister for her 40th birthday (who also faithfully prays),"S"'s daughter,  who is 6,  runs out to me to say welcome and shoves this plastic baggie at me and says (I'm moved to tears just typing this) "Here Auntie "C", this is for your adoption. It's all the money I have in the whole wide world. I emptied my whole piggy bank." Wow. I was speechless. Thank you "S", for reminding me that with God, all things are possible and that I should have faith like a child.

God's Timing

Well, due to a big misunderstanding, another family's case went to court today when it should have been ours. I could get mad, ask lots of questions, but I won't and so I would please ask you not to ask me "why" either. I can't answer that but "M" and I immediately said, "It's God's timing", not ours. It was heartbreaking though, to tell the kids and "M" just cried and cried, but it's a good teaching moment that our plans are not God's plans...hmmmm, think I heard that in a sermon from some preacher on sunday.... ;) Anyway, looks like maybe next week but I will believe it when I see it, as they say! Please just keep praying. It gives more time for us to try to come up with the money and to prepare our home for the kids.

The wait continues...

Well, I should have known not to expect a day....that is the norm. We now have to wait until next wednesday afternoon for news. I'm trying to be patient...trust in the Lord....very hard today.

18 years

Who would have thought that after 18 years of marriage, our family would still be growing. I feel so blessed to have such a godly, strong man to be married to, someone who is sensitive to God's calling and willing to step out on a limb with me. Happy Anniversary honey! I love you!

No court date today

Well, it looks like some additional paperwork needed to be completed, and should be finished by monday so we will have our court date later next week. We'll keep you posted. Please continue to pray for this journey. The expenses are looking a little higher than we anticipated and we are truly on a faith walk with the Lord on this one. Motorcycles just did not sell and it is end of season. Thanks for your prayers!

I-600A approved!

Finally! After tons of e-mails back and forth, our advance petition to classify "P" and "M" as our immediate relatives has been approved! Now onto the bigger stuff! We find out this week hopefully whether we passed court or not and then we file the final I-600. Where will we file? Ghana or Illinois? No idea.

Faith steps.....

I read a blog today from another family and some of the things they said really struck home with me and I've edited and added many of my own thoughts....Things I hear people saying....I THOUGHT ABOUT ADOPTING, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY or I AM JUST TO BUSY TO ADD ANOTHER CHILD TO OUR FAMILY or I DON'T THINK I COULD LOVE AN ADOPTED CHILD AS MY OWN or DON'T YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ROBBING YOUR OTHER KIDS OF THINGS IF YOU BRING ANOTHER CHILD HOME or YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T SAVE THEM ALL or I COULDN'T DO WHAT YOU DO ... or WHAT IF IT'S HARD, WHEN THEY COME HOME? .... ... I could speak boldly about what God is doing in our family because of ADOPTION ... I could show scripture that says God never promised us life that would be easy, happy, or conflict free ... I could hand you my heart in your hands and let you try it on for size today and let you feel the depth of love and joy that is in me because I said YES to God's calling to care for the orphans of this world ....we can all be fulfilling our God ordained mission here on earth and what it could truly be if we say YES ... How looking into the face of an orphan (hungry, abandoned, lonely, desperate, sick, afraid) could bring you closer to Jesus and bring Him honor and glory, yet also give you the purpose we all long to feel here in earth ... ... I love my husband today more because he has stepped out in faith in such a huge way and been a strength for me constantly, I love my kids today for praying and wanting their brother and sister home even if it means less of everything for each of us, I love my family and friends more today because they rejoice with me and love my kids, even if it means difficult days, I love God more today for once again revealing to me His purpose for the our family  and for showing me His face each step of the way... Do I worry about how we'll all bond, how we'll adjust, how on earth we'll ever pay for this, (we still have braces coming!) how I'll handle leaving my three kids here to go to Ghana, not just once, but maybe twice?......of course. That's unfortunately been my nature as long as I can remember. But God has brought me on a journey that has gone through so many twists and turns and I never know what to expect. I know that He doesn't promise that this will be easy. It might be really really hard. But I know He has called our family to do this and I know He'll be with us each step of the way. I think of "P" and "M"....they are probably scared and still grieving the loss of their biological family. It could be a long time before they are comfortable with us. But that's okay. I read something earlier today that I must share.... from the Steven Curtis Chapman adoption devotional guide that we were sent...."In adoption, the fearful become beloved, the scorned become adored, the nameless become cherished, the lonely become the laughing, and death becomes life abundant....

Please pray today for "P" and "M" as they have a long healing process ahead of them. Please pray that they will bond with us and attach to us and that we will do the same. Please pray for wisdom to know what decisions are the right decisions that we need to make in the very near future about travel. Please pray for the money to come in that is needed. Thanks for your prayers and support!

We're closer!

We received an exciting e-mail last night! We are about a week and a half to two weeks away from going through court in Ghana. That will mean we are officially "P" and "M"'s parents! Wow! Then we have to decide if we file our final paperwork in Ghana two weeks after that and then meet the kids and come home without them, or if we file in Illinois and wait on them! Plus we have to come up with a lot of money soon so we are praying hard about that. More to come!!

I must share this post from a blog I found, from a family who has adopted MANY times!

Friday, August 28, 2009

A Greater Capacity
Every day I receive emails from potential adoptive parents and post-adoptive families asking for advice, support, feedback, direction, and information regarding adoption. It thrills us to be able to point people in the right direction, advise families in the process, and pray for those who are preparing to live out James 1:27. This is the ministry God has given to us, and we are stoked. Our vision is to serve as full-time adoption advocates, and we are making real steps in that direction. Soon we will be operating through our We Have Room web site, which will act as a resource for those stepping into the adoption world, those who are just getting their feet wet, and those who are swimming in the post-adoption sea, sometimes raging and sometimes of glee. We feel honored to be able to be used even in just a small way and to let others know, "Hey, we've been there."One email that I receive a few times every week sounds a little something like this: "Heidi and Kirk, Your story has been very encouraging to us, as we also feel led to adopt older kids or a sibling group, but I am just very scared of what it might do to our family, how it will affect our current kids, and what kind of short- and long-term implications it might have. Can you tell me how your biological kids adjusted to being knocked out of their birth order? How did your oldest feel about no longer being the oldest? I'm afraid I'm going to be taking away from them something that is legitimately theirs and I'm scared of what that will do to their emotions/personality/self-worth/security/what-have-you. I'm afraid they will feel ripped off."To each and every person reading this post who knows the concrete conviction of being called to care for the older orphans yet also bears the weight of the accompanying thoughts of fear, I want you to know this...Please hear me loud and clear, as we have now SIX times over displaced our "original" kids' birth order:You are NOT taking anything AWAY from your birth children. Instead, what you are doing is imparting to them something eternal: You are expanding their capacity to love. Think about that for a minute before you read anything else. How do you plan to teach your child to love others unconditionally and in total compassion without giving them the opportunity to do so? I'm telling you now, You CAN'T.My biological children have a greater capacity of love in their hearts than I could ever impart to them by just giving them a safe Christianity, by maintaining their status quo, by simply modeling "godliness" as parents (as if that's the end-all be-all for a Christian family). My kids...all of them...have lived out self-sacrifice and understand (because they live it!) that laying down one's life does not steal anything from us. That is the lie of the devil, who would have us believe that sacrifice is not worth it; that there is nothing for us in return; that God doesn't really mean what He says when He said to His followers that "anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [Because] Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:38-39).Do you really believe that? That whoever LOSES his life for Jesus's sake, for Jesus the Orphan's sake, will actually FIND it? Ask yourself honestly. Because you might answer YES prematurely. I have no doubt that you might believe it for yourself, but do you really believe it for your children, too? That if they "lose" their "place" in the family that Jesus will instead impart to them LIFE? REAL life???What is birth order anyway but just a sequence of how your child came to you? Let's not make an idol of that sequence. Because that's what it becomes...an IDOL. Something standing in the way of you taking up the Cross to follow Him, to BE JESUS in this world. Let's not place a value on birth order that God did not intend to be there.Consider the older orphan. Consider the sibling groups. Consider the ones who are not often considered.And whatever you do on your adoption journey, PLEASE I beg you, do NOT steal from your children the opportunity for their love capacity to be expanded. Do not deny them the true gift of learning early in life that "My life is not my own."When your feisty and spunky 7-year-old biological daughter, who is now the middle child of 9 after being knocked down to #5 from #2, pleads "Please, Mommy, Please!!! I want another sister my age!!! Can we PLEASE adopt again?!!," your heart will beat out of your chest, not just because you can envision another child saved, but because you know that your daughter will NEVER EVER live a limited, safe Christianity. She won't even know what that means. In fact, she won't even have the capacity do so.And all because you didn't limit her, either. You didn't limit God.Give your children the gift of the greater capacity to love. Let it ripple out into the future. Let it change the world.

Waiting

Well, as we tell more and more people about "P" and "M" , all I get is When? I don't know! We have to wait for a court date in Ghana ... that takes one to three months. That could put us into October. Then we have to wait, I believe, for their passports and visas and our immigration paperwork too. I get confused myself. That also can take another one to three months. That could put us into January. So my answer is, I don't know. We wait. That gives me time to get what I need, prepare emotionally and physically and to get adjusted to homeschooling the three in my house now! So far so good! It also gives us time to pray for them, and their adjustment when they come home and for our adjustment when they come home. Trust me, when there is something to update you on, I will!!! :)

OUCH!!!!!

Today "M"  and I took the kids and drove to "R"  to get some of our shots to travel. We got yellow fever, typhoid, Hep A and polio. "M"also got a tetanus because it had been so long! We took over an hour there to go through all the education of everything. The kids were very patient. Especially considering that they had to come back home and get school done afterwards! My arms both hurt!!!! "M"  was ridiculously obnoxious. He'd say he was funny. He had to fill out a questionnaire and it asked if you were allergic to anything and then listed a lot of things....beside "eggs" he wrote...."over easy please". Then beside "other" he said "allergic to work". He had 50 other comments by the way! I will not go into the gory details. I will say that he made the nurse laugh a lot and the kids too! I just rolled my eyes a lot!

Promo for "We Have Room" Documentary from David Watson on Vimeo.

VIDEO!!!

I WISH I could post the video and pictures but I guess I cannot quite yet. But yesterday we did a very big thing, and send our dossier to our caseworker to review and then she'll send it to Ghana. That gets us even closer to bringing "P" and "M" home. But today, I was given a gift. I checked my loop of families from our agency adopting from Ghana and the wonderful mom who took our gift bags had videos for all of the Ghana families, waiting or already referred, and there was video of "P" and "M"! Almost 5 minutes of them! It was video of them sitting down and being told they have a family, opening their bags from us and then (gulp) this wonderful mom read our welcome to our family letter to him. He didn't show a lot of emotion, it had to be overwhelming, but when he looked at the pictures we sent, you saw a smile or two! It was unbelievable. I had tears pouring down my face as I watched. I felt like I did, the day "J" was placed into my arms. Can't really explain it. The kids loved watching it. It helps "P" and "M" be that much more real to us! Oh I wish the whole family could go there to get these two beautiful children. Sometimes I am afraid of how hard I think it will be, but then other times I'm given little blessings and can see the gift that they will be to us! God is good and we are trusting and obeying!

It's IN!

Finally! We got a call from our social worker yesterday, on my cell phone while we were going to a wedding that the homestudy is FINALLY approved and in from Illinois. They are SLOW! But it's done! We haven't been able to send our dossier to Ghana without it! So now the international paperwork can move forward and we can get closer to bringing "P" and "M"home. I've also started nesting...that's way too early isn't it? I want to paint "J" and "P"'s room, and make it more cozy, I want to get a bunkbed for "M"'s room, I realized I need a carseat and a booster seat, a booster seat at the kitchen table, another school desk, clothes, winter clothes....lots! So I should really start getting my garage sale addiction into high gear! But that's all fun stuff!

WOW

How do I even begin to say thank you to the mom, I'll call her "K", for traveling to Ghana and taking our gift bags to "P" and "M". More than that though, how do I say thank you for the priceless pictures I just looked at of them opening their bags, having their letters read to them and seeing them be told they have a forever family. It was SOOO exciting. I can't wait to put those pictures up on this blog! Thank you!!!

Change is coming...

As we look forward to hearing more about "P" and "M" and seeing more pictures, I look at the pictures on our shelf in the kitchen and realize how much will change and I can't wait to take their pictures and to include them in the family picture. I don't share a lot on this blog about how I have truly felt in the process, but I know that I am excited yet nervous, hopeful and yet knowing I can't do any of this without God's strength. Finances? Another complete step of faith. But He has already started providing in ways we didn't expect and it is pretty fun to watch God work. He has led us to these two children we know that for sure! So we pray every day for them as we look at their pictures on the fridge, praying for their adjustment and our adjustment. I have to say that I am SO thankful for the support the church is showing us now that they are all more aware of this process and I also love the new "family" I've found through our agency and all the families who have adopted or who will be adopting from Ghana. No one understands better than they what we are going through or what we will go through. I just switched songs to He Reigns because I know He does and I am thankful today for that!

Fingerprints done for the 2nd time

"R" and "C" took the kids for the day and gave them quite a fun day and LOTS of sugar! Thanks!!! No seriously, it really helped. We had to drive to northern "C" to get our fingerprints done for the FBI for our advance petition of the I-600A for orphans. We will have to do it again when the I-600A is approved. Yes, a third set of fingerprints. No, I don't know why! But it's done!

Gift Bags!

We have been working hard assembling gift bags for "P" and "M". Everything had to fit into a ziplock gallon size bag. They are delivered by other families going there.This is the way that they find out they have a new American family! They are pulled into the office and presented with a bag, a letter and told they have a new family! Then they put on the t-shirt or dress we send and then all the kids in the orphanage know they have a family! They are all congratulated and celebrate together! In "P"'s bag, we included a letter, a disposable camera (recommended by the agency), a t-shirt and short outfit, with flip flops, a monster truck, a small football, and 15 pictures in an album. "M"s bag includes a dress, that matches one we got for "M"  too, a black cabbage patch doll, darling little size 2 sandals, a book that has textures for puppies and kittens, a letter, and an album filled with 15 pictures too. We should be given pictures and maybe even video of them opening their bags! It will be fun!

Please pray for "P" and "M" while they are waiting for us and for the many, many adjustments they will have to make when they come home to us. Please also pray for our family, as we prepare for the many adjustments we will make too. We know God has already provided and led us in this and trust in His continued guidance and blessings!

We are also praying for God's financial provision. "M" has worked very hard and paid for the first big chunk, but there is much more to come. It can be overwhelming and we almost didn't pursue this because of it, but God has made it clear to "M" and I that He will provide, so we continue to pray for that.

Pictures

Until this becomes more official, I cannot legally put their faces on the blog, but I can put parts of them! So I chose their eyes! They are beautiful children!!

It's a big yes!!

We have accepted a referral of a sibling group!! We will be welcoming "P" (7) and "M"(2 1/2) at some point, hopefully in a few months from Ghana! We are starting our international paperwork and we're excited! Thanks for praying! Please continue to do so! We need prayer for all the paperwork and red tape we're facing as well as the finances we need to raise. So far "M" has worked SOOOO hard to come up with the money through buying crashed bikes and cars and selling them but more needs to come. Thanks! We'll hopefully put up some pictures soon!

Thank you for the support!

As we have gone through this process, and now may be SO close, so many of you have been extremely supportive, encouraging and praying with us! This picture of two stuffed dogs is from Connie, who said I could show it, and she said she bought these for whoever would be joining our family one day, to give to them eventually, but to remind her to pray now. So we have this picture and that promise. It means MORE than we can ever say. So thank you to all of you!! We'll keep you posted! (p.s. they represent her Molly and our Molly!)

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been given a REFERRAL!! what does that mean? It means there are two children, a brother and a sister that we have been given the opportunity to decide if they are the right fit for our family! We are going to PRAY PRAY PRAY and talk a lot and we'll keep you posted! Wow!

We must now hunker down for the wait

Well, we had good news today but now we realize we could be in for quite a wait. We don't know how long...I think we had thought it would be sooner than it's going to be...could be months before we get matched with kids and then months before they can come home. So we will pray for those kids because they are definitely alive and waiting for forever homes!

Homestudy is approved!

We got a very exciting phone call today....our homestudy has been officially approved by our agency so we now able to view waiting children....unfortunately there are none that are waiting that fit what we are looking for so now we wait and pray more!! It's very exciting news!

They're in!

Our caseworker called today and guess what? "M"'s fingerprints have been sitting somewhere for a month. They were done when mine were. Hmmm...well, we could be frustrated or we could look at this as God's way of delaying things for a very specific reason. Maybe the children waiting for us aren't even there yet. We'll see! Anyway, it's huge news and as of today we are finalizing the paperwork and it could all be sent to the agency in just a few days. When they have the completed paperwork approved in their hands, we get to start viewing "waiting" children. Things could actually start moving quickly! It's exciting! Our next appointment is July 7th at 8 am northeast "C", to get fingerprints done for immigration. That will be an EARLY day! We've also sold the motorcycle with the sidecar and it looks like the jeep liberty is sold as long as financing comes through for the couple wanting to buy it. So God is providing money just as we need it. Thanks for the prayers. Keep 'em coming!

paperwork is nuts

I worked for a few hours yesterday getting all my papers filled out, organized, checked, and double checked...even got everything notorized, only to realize, after repeated back and forth e-mails to my contact at the agency, that the birth certificates of "M" and I, and our marriage license, have to be certified copies, not notorized copies. SOOOOOO, just when I thought we were SOOOOOO close, I have to send away for these things, to two different states and another country. So the delays continue. I was warned of this, knew this would happen, but still I don't always handle it well when it does. I can't "make" anything happen! That's part of this process for me....trusting in God's direction, timing and plan, not mine. As "M" reminds me on a regular basis..."who's in charge honey? ...God. I know, I know. So I am sending away. Two are done, one should be done on monday and then I'll check the mail regularly. Hopefully within a couple weeks I'll get what I need!

Grandma "G"

When I am getting stressed, anxious and fearful about all the things that we're trying to get done and will face, I dig into the Word, pray, have people pray for me and now I've got this picture too. For anyone who doesn't know, this is my mom's mom, "N", my grandma "G". She and my grandpa were missionaries in Africa for years...I don't even know how long...and my sister found this picture and I had to have it. Thanks "S". It's on my fridge now. Love it. My kids think it is a really cool picture and what a connection we'd have. I think Grandma "G" would be very happy to know what we're doing!

Fingerprints

I found out today that my fingerprints have been cleared and we're waiting on "M"'s! So now we have to get our training done ASAP and notorizations done and all the paperwork is done!!! One more immigration form, that is short, will get done tomorrow. Wow! It makes it so exciting. Clearly God is in this and we are anxious to get to see videos/pictures of waiting children! Then we get to choose!!! Wow!

Ghana!

We want to let you all know that after much prayer and research we are switching from Ethiopia to Ghana. Our agency works in three different countries in Africa and we have found out that Ethiopia has been cracking down harder on adoptions and extending paperwork and court dates so much that the wait is getting closer to two years. We are not wanting to wait that long so I checked into Ghana. We hadn't really even pursued it before because we were just so struck by Ethiopia's need. Well, it turns out that there is much less paperwork, and a much shorter wait. Same costs, but that's in God's hands anyway! So we have switched and are currently wrapping up the paperwork for our Dossier and will be ready to go as soon as our fingerprints are processed, which we are still praying will occur by the end of June at the latest. The wait to be matched can be little or none and then the wait to process the adoption and bring the children home can be anywhere from 4-8 months.
We both feel really happy with this decision and had been praying just before that that if God wanted to change anything in this process that he would clearly do so and redirect us if He chose. Well, Ghana is not what we expected, but we are thrilled and excited. It is also a "little" closer!!


A little information about Ghana.....

Ghana is a beautiful country about the size of Oregon, situated in the heart of West Africa. Ghana is one of the most stable countries in Africa. Unfortunately, the economy has struggled and like most African countries, the majority of people live in poverty. 45% of Ghana's people live on less than $1 per day, and up to 60% of Ghana's children are involved in child labor or child slavery. UNICEF estimates that there are 1,000,000 orphans in Ghana. Traditionally the extended family would take on orphaned family members. But in today's Ghana, many children, (even toddlers) are left to fend for themselves on the streets.


Please keep praying and please join us in praying for the children that are "waiting" for us. We pray that their bellies would be full, their hearts comforted and their bodies protected.

This is why...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIBZ-kJ6XAc

Love this....

I realize I haven't written anything lately, but we are in that waiting mode. Waiting for medical papers to come in the mail and waiting for fingerprints...as soon as I have something to report I will. for now please keep praying!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIBZ-kJ6XAc

Homestudy is complete!

Today is the last doctors appointment..."Z" goes for his medical. Then we send it off in the mail and the only other thing to wait for is the FBI fingerprints and they take 2-3 months and we did that a month ago so we are going to pray that it is 2 months for us! We are also finishing up the dossier paperwork and agency on line training and should be done with all of that in the next couple of weeks. Then it all goes to the agency, then to Washington, D.C. and then to Ethiopia and the real wait begins for a match for what we are looking for! Thanks for praying for us! Please keep praying for things to sell that will help pay for this whole process!

Deep into the Dossier

A new term to learn...what is a dossier? It is all of the international paperwork that goes into this process. Once we finish this it all goes to the agency and then it all heads out to Ethiopia...unbelievable. We are really getting close to the official waiting process, where we wait for Ethiopia to submit to us the child/children whom they think will fit our "criteria", which is really the Lord's criteria. And I mean wait! I turned the radio on today, in the 2 minutes it takes to pick up the kids, and heard on the radio a lady talking about adoption. The next thing she says is how amazing it is, (she works for an agency), to be a witness to how God can bring a child to their waiting family, in what seems to be such a random experience and journey all across the world. It is far from random. Then I read a verse today that is now posted permanently on the blog on the upper right in bright red "I feel hopeless and I cry out to you from a faraway land". Psalm 61:2. I know God is leading us in this direction and although not everyone will share our passion or understand what God is doing in our lives, it is exciting that God chose us to be parents to a child who needs desperately to be rescued. ( 2 Samuel 22:20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.)

I didn't sub today, so I cleaned, ran errands, visited a friend on her birthday :) and then spent a bunch of time this afternoon really looking hard at what is required as I dug into the Dossier paperwork. Lots of notorizing, but "T" helped me out today so so much, by talking to a friend who is a notary, and will graciously do it all for no charge if we go to her. That is so awesome! So I will keep plugging away at it. It is a lot of paperwork, but nothing to complain about in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes people ask me why we should have to do all of this, pay all of this money, go to all of this work, to which I say, you know what? I don't mind. I know the humanitarian work this agency does with some of the money. I completely support that. They are the most affordable agency around actually. And of course we want the children being adopted to go to good stable families. We did it for "J" and we'll go do it for this child/children. No questions asked.

"M" and I were talking today about what it might be like for her to have a sister and I said, maybe you can help us choose a name. She said, you mean we can do that? I said, sure. We might change their Ethiopian name to sound more American, but some of their names are just beautiful so we might not, we'll have to wait and see. She said, well, if we do, we need to see them first because they might not look like the name we think is right at first. I said, you are exactly right! We'll wait until we see them! I can't wait for that day.

Final Homestudy Appointment

Well, "M" enjoyed riding his motorcycle to "R" to try to make his appointment more fun! He walked in there with his helmet and motorcycle jacket...I'm sure some judgments were formed quickly! However, his appointment went well and now with a few loose ends of paperwork to tie up for them, we're almost finished with everything that they need and now we wait for the two months for the fingerprinting to be analyzed. Now we will begin with our international paperwork and hopefully we'll be finished in a month or two with all the things we can do and then it all goes off to Ethiopia. Then the real wait of many months begins. That will be the much harder part than all this paperwork I'm sure!

2nd to last homestudy appointment

Four down, one to go! I'm done actually! Got the TB test done yesterday, biometric fingerprinting done today as well as my life's social history! And I delivered MUCH paperwork to the caseworker in "R", and still forgot a couple things, several actually, but "M" can deliver them when he goes friday for his final appointment. Then we wait for over two months for the fingerprinting analysis and then it's officially completed. Now we work on our Dossier, which is all the international paperwork that is to be done. LOTS of notorizing! But it's getting there and we're a fair chunk (not a great word) of the way into the process, with a fair chunk of money out too. Please keep praying for the sale of various motorcycles and vehicles to pay for this process. We know God will provide and have already seen His leading through this!

Interview with the kids...

Yesterday our caseworker came to interview the kids about this whole process. Honestly I was pretty nervous. I didn't know what she would ask, nor did I know what they would say! But each of the kids' interviews took just minutes and the questions were very simple and basic. She wanted to know basic information like birthdays, school age, interests..and then just what they thought of this whole process and how they might help children adjust to our family. We've actually talked about doing a project together on Ethiopia to learn more about their culture, food and other things like that. They seem interested in that so that might be a good summer activity. Thanks for prayers again! Now please pray for things "M" is working on, like vehicles and motorcycles, to sell, to pay for all of this! Thank you!

Training Day

Today we had a training day with our homestudy caseworker. She came to our home with her laptop and we watched a powerpoint presentation, did a few exercises with her and discussed various things that will come up through this process, or things that may or may not come up. It was actually very interesting. She said she'd be here from 9 to 3 and she was done by noon. We'll take it! I know I don't post much but I can only do that when there are things to write about. She comes back thursday to talk to the kids about what they think about all of this! Good thing they've had six months to think about it, almost anyway! They'll do great. Thanks for praying with us!

First Home Study Appointment

Oh hurry up and wait right? We had our first appointment today. The social worker for our case came to us which saved us so much time, instead of having to go to "R"! She says she'll come here every time if we want her too! It was a pretty easy appointment really. Just getting basic information from us and checking out to see if the house was suitable, which she says is! We just have to turn down our water heater a bit. If only this whole process was that simple! Now the MAJOR mountain of paperwork begins. I mean MOUNTAIN! The agency is apparently sending us the dossier packet today which is the international paperwork. Just as much if not more I'm sure! We have to get fingerprinted, and that's not easy to even find a place close that does it. "F" has one location but they only do it once a month. The fingerprints apparently take 2-3 months to process for the FBI and that is what will keep the whole homestudy from being completed. So we hurry up and wait as I said. We can pray that things will move along quickly though, and we will do that. Then we have to all get medicals and "M" and I have to get TB tests. Oh the fun!! But we are quite excited that we are finally actually doing something!

The official letter

On saturday, a big envelope arrived from our agency, thanking us for applying and asking for more information, more signature, lots of them, and payment. In addition to that, we received a phone call from the agency doing our homestudy and our first appointment is in two weeks! It's really happening! We continue to pray for wisdom, clarity and guidance! Wow!!!

The paperwork begins...

This is what arrived in the mail from the agency that will eventually do our homestudy! Oh my. It can be a little overwhelming to say the least!