"Head & Shoulders . . . Hands & Feet!"

I was so excited to receive an envelope in the mail today from the family who took our care package over to Isaiah a few weeks ago. She sent us a disk with all the pictures she took, but for some reason, Blogger won't let me upload the pictures. (anyone have any insight? the files start "DSC") But we enjoyed seeing them! She also got his hand and foot print for us - priceless! Not only to see them, but to think that his hand and foot were on this paper! It will also be helpful so I can make sure I have the right sized shoes for him when we go.

This is Joshua on the phone to Grandma on January 21 - "We passed court!"

Josh doing his kung-fu moves :o)

Tentative Travel Dates!!

Yesterday we received our tentative travel dates from our agency. We're planning to fly to Ethiopia the last weekend in February, and return the first weekend in March. There are certain pieces of paperwork that need to be completed by certain deadlines before we go, so when those are completed, we'll be given our "concrete" travel dates. This should happen in about a week, and then we should know whether these are, in fact, our travel dates . . . or at least find out that they're still tentative for whatever reason. We're also waiting to hear back from the in-country staff to see if it's possible for us to meet Isaiah's birth mom while we're there. Once we have all this established, we'll be able to go ahead and purchase our plane tickets.

So why does it seems so close, but still so far away?? ;o)

More Pictures

The family who took our second care package to Isaiah last week was able to email us some new pictures last night. She said that she wasn't able to email us all of them,and unfortunately, blogger won't let me upload the ones she was able to send. I sent her our mailing address, so hopefully we will be receiving a disk with all of the pictures in a few days. She was also so kind to get us Isaiah's footprint so we can be sure we pack the right sized shoes for him!

We also got an update for Isaiah from the nannies at our agency's transition home where he has been living. They sent us three new pictures (wearing the second outfit we sent him), as well as updates on his size and answers to a few more specific questions regarding his development. And so encouraging to see his smile - hopefully it won't be long before we get to see it in person!



We don't know our travel dates yet, but hopefully soon. We'll see. We're using this time to finish up our list of things we need to do, purchase, and gather before we leave. I'm also working on some very basic Amharic words and phrases to help us communicate with Isaiah and allow us to understand his basic needs. Hopefully this will make the whole transition a bit less scary for him!

So, what's next??

We were asked this question several times yesterday, so I thought I would post something on here. Right now, officially and legally, Isaiah is adopted, he is our son, and we are absolutely thrilled!

The next step is to get ready for travel. We don't know when we will be going to Ethiopia yet, but our agency is doing all they can to get us there as soon as possible. We should find out our tentative travel dates sometime next week. The dates will remain "tentative" until a week or two before we leave because of all of the paperwork that needs to be done between now and the time we are in Ethiopia. They plan our travel around the expected time line for all of this paperwork to get done, but we're dealing with the government, so there is always the possibility of delay. The usual time spent in Ethiopia is 7-10 days.

Another question that often comes when we discuss travel (and that I'll admit always makes me laugh out loud) is "So are you taking the kids with you?" While I appreciate the sincerity of the question, my initial response is "are you serious?" :o) So, no, they will not be going with us. While this will be hard for all of us since we have never been away from them for more than 2 nights, there is no doubt it is the best option for our family. Besides the added cost of four more plane tickets, etc., it is a 17 hour flight, then there's jet lag, then there's the fact that we're picking up another child while we're there, who will likely be scared and have some huge adjustments to say the least . . . and then there's the 17 hour flight back followed by more jet lag! And it will give us some time with just us and Isaiah before he joins the whole clan.

We are thrilled, we are excited, we are humbled, we are blessed beyond all that we could ask or think! I am amazed to tears when I think of how God has led us to and through this path, that He has allowed us to follow Him, and allowed us to serve Him in this way! We don't deserve His goodness, and yet He has chosen to show it to us in abundance!!

Thank you all, so much for your continued prayers, support, and excitement for us. God has faithfully lead and provided all the way, and we have no doubt that He will continue to hold our entire family of 7 (!!!!) in His hands!

WE PASSED!!!!!! HE'S OUR SON!!!!!!!!

Perspective

This week has been a weird mix of emotions for me. On the one hand I am mind-blowingly excited in anticipating our court date next week. On the other hand, as I look at world events, particularly this tragic earthquake in Haiti, my heart is completely broken. I am struck with the self-centeredness that seems to predominate not only the American heart, but even more sadly, those hearts that claim to know the One who is love. And I include myself in that mix. How easy it is for me to go about my daily life, stop to watch the news with a "how sad" comment or thought and then go on my way, into my life, with no real lasting effect.

For obvious reasons in my own life, I have been struck in particular with the children that are affected by this horrible event - the many who were already orphans, and the many more, I am sure, who are now facing that situation for the very first time. My heart breaks for the many families, I am sure, who are in the process of adopting children from Haiti who are now in emotional upheaval not knowing if or how this will delay the already very lengthy process. I am praying for those children and those families!

On an encouraging note, but still along those lines, another adoptive family - one who is also adopting from Ethiopia through our same agency - posted a note this week telling us how a friend of theirs who is in the process of adopting from Haiti, was able to actually see their child because the Nightline crew went and found their little girl! (you can see the clip on the ABC News Nightline website, titled "The Haiti Miracle: "Tell her we love her'") And how now their Congressman is now involved, and they may be able to get an expedited visa. It just reminds me of how our God works all things together for our good and His glory!

As far as what is going on here, just more waiting ;o) On Monday night I was able to get together with two other women from our area whose families are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia as well, also with our agency. And one of those women invited a friend who has been home since August with her Ethiopian son. It was great! The conversation was wonderful, informative and encouraging . . . and that little boy just lit up all of our faces! It was great to finally meet some families in our area with whom we will, Lord willing, be able to fellowship and give our sons a chance to play with other children in the same situation as they are.

So, Thursday's the BIG day!!! Actually, as I mentioned before, the court hearing will take place while we sleep (or not!!) from Wednesday night into Thursday a.m. Our family coordinator said she will call us Thursday morning with the court results. I don't think I'll be getting much sleep this week, let alone Wednesday night!!!

Right now, I truly feel like I'm about to explode with excitement and anticipation! I told my kids that I know that God knows how very much we want to pass court the first time around and not have to wait any longer . . . but I am also quite aware that this may not be what He wants. And so I am praying for grace, for mercy, for peace. Not only that I can make it to Thursday morning without killing all of those around me ;o) but also that if we don't pass - if God DOES want us to wait longer - that I will be good with that. That, as we're reminded in the book of James, my Heavenly Father will give me the strength to "remain under"!

I know I've posted it on here before, but this is a verse that I've kept up over my desk for the last several months and has been a great challenge and encouragement. Simple, but difficult. But I have found, that it is a whole lot easier to wait when I am not looking at peoples' faces, waiting on human beings to get done what I think should've been done last week - but instead I am looking into my loving Heavenly Father's face, realizing that if I am waiting, I am truly waiting on Him because He is Sovereign in all things. That is comforting because I know He is Love, He is Faithful, He is Good, and He WILL do His best for His children!

"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him."
Psalm 62:5

the PUZZLE

To see updates, click on the link in the right-hand column.

This week in our adoption . . .

As we wait for our court date to come around - really only 2 weeks from tomorrow! - we are continuing to plan and prepare as much as we can. In addition to the normal household activities, putting all the Christmas stuff away, etc., we have been rearranging furniture, cleaning and organizing to get everything ready for when the Lord allows us to bring our little guy home. On Monday Joe received the 3 shots that I got last week. We've also got some kind of virus going through our family right now, so he's not sure if he's feeling "off" from the immunizations or if he's coming down with something.

This is a care package we got ready and mailed to a family in Pittsburgh who will be leaving next week to go pick up their daughter in Ethiopia. They will deliver this package to our little guy and also be able to take some new pictures for us! (his name is crossed out in the center since we haven't passed court yet, so we can't post it on here.)

Regarding our court date on January 21. This court hearing will take place in Ethiopia and, some have asked, no, we do not have to be there for this. Because Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us, our court hearing will actually take place while we sleep from Wednesday night, 1/20, to Thursday morning, 1/21. If we don't pass court, a new court date will be set. If we do, then plans will be made to travel to Ethiopia about 4-5 weeks later.

This is our stash that we have begun to compile of things we will need for our trip to ET as well as donations for the orphanages and transition homes there.

At some point over the last several years, I have made each of our children a fleece throw blanket of their own. We wanted to do the same for our little guy, so Joe and I picked out this fleece and I was able to get the blanket put together this week. Not a complicated project, but something we wanted to get done to welcome our little guy home.


We were also able to put together the final pieces of "the PUZZLE".
And here's the completed puzzle . . .

And on the back, a wonderful reminder of all those who chose to step out in faith and join us in this ministry of adoption! What an amazing work God has done and is continuing to do!!

In the frame . . .

We are so thankful that God has continued to lead us and allow us to follow Him through this adoption process. It has been so amazing to see Him at work! We are not done, and we know He is not either! Our hearts are filled full with HIS fulness as we reflect over this past year, and all of the support we have seen as our Christian family comes alongside of us in prayer and even giving financially toward our adoption expenses!

I was reading a book this past week, and there was a paragraph that I have read over and over, and particularly this first line, that just hits me everytime I read it. It's from a book called The Strength of Mercy by Jan Beazely.

"[God] writes words on our hearts that long to be spoken and strain to be lived out. Then with His own great hand, He begins to write the script. Experience by experience through seemingly ordinary days, He supernaturally orders our lives. Only when we look back and reflect on what appeared to have been the ordinary events of life does it become clear what a miracle the Lord has performed."

I don't think I could have put into words any better the process by which God brought us to adopt, and how He has lead us through it. Particularly as I look back on this past year, I am amazed at how God "writes words on our hearts that long to be spoken and strain to be lived out." (I couldn't describe it any better!) But He doesn't leave that longing and strain in our hearts . . . He works it out for us, and we GET to see it, we GET to be a part, and we GET to grow closer to Him through it all!! Thank you, Lord!!!

Christmas 2009

A few highlights from our Christmas . . .

Josh helping roll out the dough for cinnamon rolls.

Christmas dinner

Our set-up . . . in light of our adoption, giving sacrificially to that, and wanting to put a better emphasis on our adoption in Christ, our Christmas was a little different this year. We have so much to be thankful for and had a wonderful Christmas as a family!
I don't know if you can tell in this pic, but our star on top of our tree has an ornament on top - a beaded star with all of the colors of the Ethiopian flag! It was made by another family trying to raise the money for their adoption expenses.

The boys loved the matching Ethiopia t-shirts they got!

The girls loved their "Ethiopian" baby dolls and their beaded bracelets with the colors of the Ethiopian flag - made by the same family that made our star ornament.

Very excited to have gotten new darts for the nerf gun from Joey!

. . . and the penguin he'd been wanting from Gracie!

I think he's opening the gift Gracie got him here . . . I just love Gracie's face in this one! Ha!

Josh getting his stocking.

Josh as Superman - he kept taking flying leaps off the couch!

Madie and her stocking.

Gracie and her stocking.

Joey and his stocking.

Before the Christmas festivities began on Christmas morning at Papaw & Grandma's house.

The girls all waiting patiently to open their gifts from Papaw & Grandma . . . American Girl Dolls!

Joey getting a little help from Papaw opening his new baseball glove . . . love his face in this one :o)

Josh's favorite toy and gift - legos! And of course, it doesn't get any better than Diego!

Madie showing off her fake princess nails.

Kindergarten Volcano

I started the tradition of doing a volcano with each of the kids when it comes up about mid-way through their kindergarten year. I'll admit, I was regretting that this year, but didn't want Madie to be disappointed. I'm glad we were able to do her volcano, and so was she! Not sure why these pics came up in opposite order . . .

Court Date!!!!

We received an email from our agency this morning letting us know that January 21, 2010 will be our first court date in Ethiopia!!! Of course we are thrilled. We realize that there's a 50/50 chance that we won't pass court the first time, but it's a step in the right direction. After all, if we're going to pass on court date #2 or #3, there's gotta first be a #1, right?

We had a wonderful Christmas together as a family, and spent some special time remembering our adoption process and our adoption in Christ. The boys each received an Ethiopia t-shirt and the girls each got an "Ethiopian" baby doll and a bracelet with all the colors of the Ethiopian flag.

Sometime early last week, our little guy received the care package we set and saw our pictures for the very first time! The family who so graciously delivered our care package returned from Ethiopia this past weekend and emailed us some new pictures last night!!! So exciting to see more of our little guy, to see him sucking the lollipop we sent, wearing the outfit we sent, holding the toys we sent, and looking at pictures of us! Of course, our hearts ache to see him, to bring him home, but we are thankful for the little glimpses that we get through these pictures. Lord willing, I will be getting another care package ready to be sent with another family who will be traveling in a couple of weeks.

I received three more vaccination shots today. So, my arm's a little sore again, and it's possible I'll get some flu-like symptoms from the yellow fever shot, but we'll see. Joe and I are purposely going a week apart for this shot so that if we start feeling lousy, at least it won't be at the same time!

Well, I'd like to think of a creative way to end this post, but my mind is pretty much fried right now. Hopefully I'll be able to get some Christmas pics downloaded from my camera and posted sometime this week. So that's it, I'm done :o)

Another week . . .

This week has been a little less busy than last week. Granted, a lot of last week’s business was self-induced with all of the referral-receiving-adrenalin flowing through my veins! But, by God’s grace, that has begun to settle out and I am breathing and sleeping and taking a little bit more sane approach (I think) to the tasks that need to be accomplished.

I am still, although a bit more gradually now, gathering supplies for our trip to Ethiopia. Of course, we still don’t know when that will be, but I’ve started a little stock pile. There are some things we will need for ourselves, some for our little guy, and hopefully we will be taking many donations for our agency’s transition home as well as the orphanages. On Tuesday Joe and I received four of the eight shots/vaccinations that we will need before we travel . . . my arm’s still a little sore!

No news yet on when our first court date will be. I say “first” because there is a pretty good chance that we won’t pass our first court date – not because of any issues we know of, but because that just seems to be the case when dealing with courts and adoption cases in Ethiopia. We realize there is always the possibility that our case will never pass court and that this little guy was never to be ours, but so far our agency has never had it happen that a family didn't, at least eventually, pass court. They say the chances are about 60/40 (60% that you will pass), but from the last few months that I’ve seen, that seems a little optimistic. We are confident that God’s timing is perfect in all things, and we will see what He has for us. Of course, you may need to remind me of that if/when we don’t pass the first time!

Our agency is usually able to inform families of their court date within 2-4 weeks of accepting a referral. For us, it has been two weeks today. Of course, I was hoping we’d be more toward the two week range, but we’ll see! Our agency is just outside of DC, so they are actually closed today because of the snow there, and will have a few more closings the next two weeks due to the holidays. So I keep trying to remind myself that it may be even later than the estimated four weeks until we know our court date. I am so thankful, though, that God directed us to this agency where we are confident that these people are in it to serve their Savior by serving orphans, and that they have the children’s best interest in mind!

And so, another week has passed – in our lives and in this adoption process – and this morning I was wondering, how do our hearts grow to love someone so much that we have never even met? My mind immediately went to my relationship with Christ. How do I grow to love someone so much whom I have never met, whom I have never seen? God reminded me this morning that love is a choice. Throughout my walk with Christ, each time, by His grace and strength, I make a choice to act in a way that pleases Him, my love for Him grows. So, in a way, our love for this little guy in Ethiopia has been growing for over four years now as we began to pray about and seriously consider adoption. Until two weeks ago, there was no face or name to this love, but it was still growing nonetheless. Now there is a face, there is a name! And as our love continues to grow for this little guy, we are so thankful for our Savior’s love for him and for us!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Christ-filled New Year!

Frantically Waiting . . .

So, it has been a pretty crazy week since we got our referral. Our agency received our referral acceptance papers on Monday and sent us more information on what to expect and prepare for in this next leg of our adoption journey. Wow! My head was spinning once again! If you're anything like me - usually a "type A" planner - then you can understand! I've spent quite a few nights with very little sleep as my mind runs 100 mph. I made a list of all we need/want to get done and supplies needed/wanted to be gathered before we travel, and that seemed to help me settle down a bit . . . also, the frequent, gracious reminders from the Lord that I don't have to get everything done this week ;o) I spent the early part of the week getting a photo album and small care package ready to be sent with another family from our agency who will be leaving at the end of this week to go pick up their child.

Sunday afternoon we drove up to Joe's parents for a few days. Joe was speaking at a banquet at his friend's church (the family that God used to get us started in this adoption), and we had a great time talking with other adoptive parents and getting their encouragement, insight, and advice.

We sent our little guy's profile to the doctor at the international adoption clinic at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis for her review. We should be hearing back from her in the next few days with any help or insights she may have. We also saw an international travel doctor on Friday to discuss what immunizations, etc. Joe and I will need for travel. Ethiopia does not require any immunizations, but knowing that we need to be parents to our little guy in Ethiopia and also to our four children here when we return, we felt we should go ahead and get the recommended immunizations . . . so we'll be getting quite a few shots over the next several weeks . . . the kids were really relieved that it was mom and dad getting the shots this time!

On Friday we did our annual Christmas shopping trip with the kids, but with a little difference. My grandparents usually give all of their great-grandkids some Christmas money. In the past we have purchased gifts for our kids with that money and then wrapped them to open on Christmas morning. This year, with hoping/praying/planning to put more of an emphasis on our adoption in Christ and giving rather than receiving, we talked with the kids about using part of their money to buy something for orphans in Ethiopia that we will take over when we travel. We left it up to them to decided how much they would spend and what they would purchase. They really had a great time planning and buying, and it was fun and interesting to see what each one of them chose!

We don't have any new news regarding our adoption status to share at this point, but hopefully we will be getting a court date in the next couple of weeks. Our care package should be getting to him at the beginning of next week, and hopefully a few days after Christmas we should be able to see some new pictures of our little guy! We also chose a name for him. Early on we had decided that we wouldn't even discuss names until we had a face in front of us. We thought and sought advice on whether to keep his Ethiopian name or change it to a more American name. In the end, we decided to give him an American first name and keep his Ethiopian name as his middle name. Still can't share what those are yet, but Lord willing that will be soon ;o)

So, as I said, crazy week! The Lord has been gracious to me, and my husband very patient with me ;o) as I continue to plan and prepare. Joe is also planning and preparing, of course, but he remains a whole lot more "level-headed" than I am! I've found that in some ways, it's easier to not be able to do anything, but sometimes it sure feels good to be able to "do" something!

Sorry this is kind-of a hodge-podge post of our week, but just wanted to post what's been going on in the "process" this week. We appreciate so much your continued support through your prayers. And we continue to be in amazement at how God has used many of you to continue to provide financially for this process. He is an awesome God, and there is no word in the English language big enough to express how grateful we are to be serving Him!

We Have NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I waited to post this until we could contact all of those who needed to know before it "went public". Yesterday afternoon, December 4, 2009 - exactly three months after our dossier was sent to Ethiopia - we received a referral for a beautiful 2 1/2 - 3 year old little boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can't share any more information than that at this point, but wanted to let you all know (all 3 of you who read this blog :o) ) our big news. My head is still spinning!

Today we FedExed all of our signed referral acceptance papers to arrive at our agency on Monday morning. At that point they will begin working on setting a court date. If and when, Lord willing, we pass court the first time (seems there's about a 50/50 chance of passing the first time), we will then schedule our trip to Ethiopia to pick up our little guy. Also, once we pass court, we will then be able to share pictures with all of you!

We appreciate so much your prayers and support throughout this time. It's just so crazy that all of the "maybes" and "what-ifs" are now replaced . . . with a beautiful face!

Some have asked about the kids. Joey and Gracie are just absolutely thrilled. Joey has been obsessed with names for a few months now, so he is really concerned with what his name is going to be. Madie actually cried when she first found out. She has been concerned since the beginning about us traveling to Ethiopia and being away from her for so long (about 7-10) days. But we've talked and reassured her of what is going on and she is excited now. Joshua just keeps asking when the "boy on daddy's competer" is coming! Of course it will be an adjustment for all of us, but right now we are just rejoicing in God's clear blessing and direction for our family!

"Why Ethiopia?"

This is a question that we have been asked a few times throughout this adoption process. It's a good question, and I usually give a lengthy answer (I know, shocking!). One of our reasons was that as we (mostly Joe) did research early on, we saw what a great need there is in Ethiopia, especially when compared to that of other countries that are open for adoption. As I was doing a little Christmas shopping yesterday, checking out the fundraisers on the blogs of some other families within our agency who are also adopting from Ethiopia, I came across this entry on one of their blogs.

Why Adopt from Ethiopia?
• One in six children die before their fifth birthday
• 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old
• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition
• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years
• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)
• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone, and there are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia.
• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa
• In the 90s the population (3%) grew faster than food production (2.2%)• Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals)
• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.
• Coffee prices (Ethiopia’s only major export) fell 40-60% from 1998-2002.
• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.
• In 1993, after 30 long years of war, Eritrea broke from Ethiopia and became an independent nation leaving Ethiopia landlocked without any major seafaring ports.

The truth is, there are a number of reasons and influences that moved our hearts to Ethiopia, but the most important is the Holy Spirit's leading and working in Joe's and my hearts to being of one mind in this area. We continue to be overwhelmed with gratefulness that God has allowed us to follow Him on this journey!

IT IS WELL!!!

Just a little while ago now, my grandpop went home to be with the Lord. Many have been offering their prayers during this difficult time, which I sincerely appreciate. This time, however has not been the hard or sad part for me. My grandpop was diagnosed with Parkinson's just a little over 14 years ago. The hard and sad part has been seeing my energetic, passionate, bigger-than-life, fire 'n brimstone preachin' grandpop gradually lose the ability to preach, talk, walk, stand, and take care of any of his own physical needs. To see him truly trapped in his body was heartbreaking.

But today, today is a day of joy and celebration! Sure there are mixed emotions in knowing he is not with us on earth anymore . . . to know that I won't be able to give him a hug next time I see him. But he is done with all of this stuff - all of the pain and suffering of this world!

Anyone who knew my grandpop well knew that he was not a perfect man. And they also knew that he invested every part of his being into serving a great God who chose to use my grandpop in spite of his imperfections, and did so in a great way in the lives of many people throughout his years here on earth.

Anyone who knew my grandpop also knew that his favorite song was "It is Well", and he lead it like no other! I have not been able to sing this song for many years without getting choked up and will never sing or hear it without thinking of him. The line that always strikes me is "and Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight". Oh, what a day that will be!! And so today there are tears in my eyes, but they truly are not tears of sadness - they are tears of joy! Today, my grandpop's faith - his life's passion - was made sight! Today he is getting to kneel at his Savior's feet and hear "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" Wish I could hear him singing . . .

As I am writing this, I am just completely overwhelmed by God's goodness! It is so amazing and humbling to see God work, and I know we only get a glimpse of His glory here on earth. There are times in our lives when we feel overwhelmed by the difficulties in our lives . . . but I feel completely overwhelmed by the goodness that God has shown us. His power, His grace, His goodness, His faithfulness . . . words truly do not seem adequate. It feels like almost more than my sinful self can handle!

This past weekend we had another huge yard sale. After the last one in June, we had so many items donated and so many left over, we had decided to do another yard sale. For several reasons, it kept getting put off, until this past weekend. More people donated items to sell, and we set up another large sale. To be honest, I don't even know where to begin in talking about all that God did.

I guess I'll begin by explaining what He taught me from the last sale. We had planned that for a few months prior and had invested time and energy into every detail for the sale to go well - organizing a neighborhood yard sale so it would attract more people, having signs printed up, posting the sale on Facebook and on Craigslist, pricing almost every item, etc. I prayed, I stressed, and I did a lot! (I am not speaking this on behalf of Joe, as he was very steady in his faith.) The sale went well and, in spite of myself, God still showed me/us His goodness and faithfulness and provided the full amount of money that we needed for our next piece of paperwork at that point. I ended the sale physically exhausted and emotionally drained.

Then this sale. As I said, it kept getting postponed. It didn't seem we had as many "big ticket" items, and many of the bigger items we did have had already been in our last sale and posted on Craigslist several times with no real leads. Joe put our yard sale sign up on Monday night, and I posted a general listing on Craigslist. No price tags, just told everyone to ignore any prices they saw (from the last sale) and make us an offer. I truly was not expecting this to come close to making what we made in the last sale. Thursday morning came, we set up and I truly did not have a chance to sit down until sometime in the afternoon, and even that was short-lived. It seemed we had people, usually several at a time, looking through our sale for the entire day from 8 a.m. until we packed up at 5 p.m.! And they were buying - I'd guess 95% of the people that stopped on Thursday bought something! We estimated we probably had 75-100 people through our sale in 2 days! I don't know if I can even remember everything to explain all of the "little" things that God did. We had opportunities to have meaningful, God-centered, conversations with many people, and the opportunity to meet more of our neighbors.

On Friday, being the second day of our sale, I wasn't expecting much of a crowd or much in the way of sales, but God showed me once again who is in control! We had one guy stop by and out of the blue ask for an item that we didn't have in the sale, but that we had talked about selling. Another lady was talking to me about a few of the bigger ticket items (one of which I truly did not think would sell, since I'd been trying to sell it for over a year now), but she didn't seem actually interested . . . then just sat down and wrote us a check for the full amount we were asking for all three!

Probably the most exciting moment of the sale was around lunch time on Friday when a guy stopped by and started looking through our several tubs of books, all for 50 cents each. He found a set of tapes and manuals for a study through the Bible and was so excited. He asked if I was a pastor, and when I told him my husband was, he ended up sitting in the middle of our driveway and talking to Joe about all that has been going on in his life and his desire to get his life right with God!! Then he and Joe talked in Joe's office for probably another hour!

All in all, EVERY one of our "big ticket" items sold! We ended up with relatively few items to pack up and donate. And at the end of the day, our sale totaled $1300!!!! I know that God is good regardless of the $$ amount (we have been so blessed and encouraged by many "sized" gifts throughout this process), but the number shows me that no matter how much I invested, planned and worked, as at our first sale, it is God who is in control! Yes, I still walked away from this sale physically exhausted, but I wasn't emotionally drained - my heart was filled to overflowing with the goodness of my Savior!! I can't even think about it as I type without my eyes filling up with tears. I don't want to get repetitive, but I am humbled, I am amazed, I am overwhelmed by the goodness and faithfulness of my Heavenly Father!!

**Sorry for the profuse usage of exclamation points :o)

Show Hope

We just received a letter in the mail this afternoon letting us know that Show Hope is giving us a $5000 adoption grant!!! So thankful to those at Show Hope that have a heart for this ministry of adoption and praising the Lord for His wonderful works!!!

"Now to HIM who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Eph. 3:20-21

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God also continues to work through people to give toward "the PUZZLE" for our adoption expenses. To see an update, click on the link in the right-hand side of this page and then click on the photo update tab.

Why Are We Adopting?? (part 2)

by Sarah

This is a question that, I’m sure, some people take for granted. And others of you have probably wondered why we are choosing to adopt. I mean, seriously, we’ve got four kids already, right? And if we don’t have the “extra” money, why are we doing it?

Well, the obvious answer is that we have prayed and truly feel as though God is leading us in this direction. On a practical level, if you sat down with Joe and me you would probably get different answers from both of us, and yet still the same – mine would be a lot more wordy than his, of course!

As I’ve heard this question asked, Joe’s response is usually something like “well, why not?” We know that this is a good thing. God has commands us to care for the widows and orphans (James 1:27). In the book of Mark we are reminded of God’s command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That is pretty hard to do by itself, but then in John 15:12, He takes this love to a much higher level. "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”

My answer is usually to go back to the fact that ever since I was a teenager, my heart has always been touched by adoption. But I thought that was something you did if you couldn’t have biological children. I have deeply desired to be a mommy ever since I can remember, and there was no doubt in my mind that if I couldn’t have had biological children that I would’ve wanted to adopt.

However, in more recent years, through God’s grace, it has become a reality in my mind that adoption is not just a substitute for procreation. It is a wonderful plan for bringing the “fatherless” into a loving family. A family where they can not only belong physically, but also where they can learn how to be adopted into our Heavenly Father’s family! I mean, what greater example of this do we have than that of God’s love for us? In Romans 5:8 it clearly states that while we were still in our sin, Christ died for us. Now that is a loaded topic in and of itself! In a nutshell, God is holy, pure, perfect. God loves us, but He cannot have anything impure or sinful near Him. So there is the dilemma – God desires to have a relationship with us, and without Him we are hopeless. Each of us has a debt from our sin that we cannot pay apart from our own eternal death. In our sin, everything about is us in complete opposition to God and who He is. The verse could read that when we were the enemies of God, Christ died for us. Unbelievable! Not only did God love us as His enemies, but He chose to solve the problem by putting our sin onto His Son who took the excruciating punishment in our place! And now, because of this sacrifice, God looks at us and sees Christ’s blood – Christ’s perfect holiness – and He adopts us into His family – not as servants, or even good friends, but as sons! I have heard this “story” since I was born, but never have I been able to see it so clearly and so deeply as in this past year as God has been leading us through this process to adoption.

We have every confidence that as God leads, He will provide. We have already seen that so clearly evidenced over these last several months through many friends and family who have chosen to step out in faith and join us in this ministry of adoption. He will provide financially, physically and emotionally for us, the children we have now and any children He adds to our home. God has not promised that we will ever be able to adopt any children, but we are willing to follow as long as He leads us, however far down this path He chooses for us to go. Our prayer is that we will be willing to go and content to stand still, or even stop . . . that we will not become so enamored with the gift that we forget the Giver!