Keep Making Me

This past week I have really struggled with the fact that I have absolutely NO control, not alittle bit but none....over this process. I would love to say this is the first time but we all know the answer to that. Yes, I  have tried to lay it down more than once.  It is hard to explain the emotions I feel.. the issue is trying to get my heart to communicate with my brain. So much harder than it sounds. Because I know without a shadow of a doubt, I can't do anything but I so badly want to. Yes, I do realize I am showing signs of being bi-polar based on my last post just a few weeks back. Positivity comes in waves! :) 

So....quick update, we returned from our last trip to Haiti on March 2nd - Ellie's birthday.  We were told while there it was a possibility that she could be home in 3 months. I heard it but tried not to internalize the idea because we have been stuck in every part of this process. Being vulnerable would allow more pain if it didnt happen. There is no way she would be home in 3 months, I thought. Not to mention I send emails and hear there is no progress, our file hasn't moved since we left. How is this ever gonna happen if our file doesn't move??? These are the conversations I have with myself frequently.  Um yes, once again limiting God. It isn't that I don't think God is capable because I know he is. It is fully just me being stubborn. Another example, I have prayed for God to open or close doors, even recently (like last week) but my response to the closed door isn't what it should be. Because I desperately want a different answer. Adoption has meant a lot of confession for me. Again, slow learner. 

Fast forward to Friday afternoon.  After a few days off with the kids for spring break, I should be on cloud 9 but I am once again impatient. Impatience is followed by the C word. I start an email to our crèche to ask has there been any movement since last weeks email. Watched pot!!!! I am distracted before finishing the email by a walk at the park with my sweet Riley and our doggie Autumn. (Insert, happiness)  A few hours later I go back into my drafts and finish the email and hit send. I have to immediately check my sent items to make sure it in fact did send. Hello...I'm controlling. Who knew?  Upon returning to my inbox, I had an email from our crèche that was sent about 2 hours before where they had notified us of movement. My eyes swell with tears and I begin thanking Jesus! Then I of course make a quick call to Brad, such a day brighter. I have found through this process the enemy will try to steal any joy I have at any time but specifically before we get good news. And I am saddened to say I all to often left it happen! 

God's grace is such a beautiful thing, I am so thankful for His love and forgiveness when I doubt.  I continue to see God's hand in our adoption and how He teaches me something new everyday. Sidewalk Prophets has a song that I love, Keep Making Me. If you haven't listened to it, take the time. I attached a link to a great version below on YouTube. My prayer is that God will bring Ellie home quickly but most of all that he would keep making me through the process. 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jsP_SwSyZ-w

► 4:28► 4:28

► 4:28► 4:28

Why Today?

Why today....why am I posting on our blog after a year and a half has gone by and nothing.  Not a single word! To be honest i'm not 100% sure... it isn't like I got up this morning thinking it was a good day to blog, or I have some exciting news to share;  let alone something meaningful or inspirational. I really haven't had the desire to blog or even thought about the blog itself in several months. However, after reading another blog this afternoon, nothing related to adoption, I decided to pull ours up. As I looked back through my previous post (almost like looking back at old photos) I realized how much of the process I had blocked from my thoughts. I have been so focused on what hasn't happened yet and the whys that I have forgotten to celebrate where we are now.  I like to think of myself as a positive person, I think in most situations I really do see the glass half full.  But the truth is,  I have allowed my attitude to change over time in regards to our adoption.

Question:  Why Today? 

Plan and simple we have been in the process a long 3 1/2 years. Not to mention we are STILL in the process.  Somewhere along the way I got lost in the whys and the negatives. Why isn't she home yet? Why are other families bringing their children home sooner when they started the process much later than us? I created these UGLY negative thoughts and have allowed them to set up shop. I have allowed the process to be about me. I have said many times it wasn't about me but once again I have made it about me. In the beginning it was about us....the initial talk of adoption was about how we could feed another child, we could cloth another child, we could love another child. Our hearts were pure and we truly felt we had been called to adopt and we would be doing a good thing. Over time, God changed my heart to realize it wasn't about what we had to offer but how if we allowed him to use us, he could be glorified.

So here I am writing this post because once again I have allowed the process to be about me but in a
different way. After some much needed self reflection, I am realizing slowly (sometimes it takes me awhile to get it) it is time to change!  This has been along time coming...meaningful or inspirational thoughts can happen even if she isn't home. Why am I limiting God's moving on behalf of our adoption because of my negative attitude.

Answer: Why Not Today? 

 T-o-d-a-y is a new day. A new day to find hope, a new day to share all that God has done and is doing in the process of our adoption and our life as we wait. Our adoption will happen and it will happen in God's perfect timing. It is time to meditate on the positive. I will sing His praises in all that He is doing so He may receive the glory He is due. Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who did begin a good work, will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.

Help Bring Ellie Home

 Arthur Adoption Fish Fry - Saturday, November 10th 3:00pm - 5:30pm - Shackle Island Fire Hall off Long Hollow Pike

Meet our Sweet Ellie - She is 8 months old and currently living in Tomassin, Haiti, she shares a small room with 3 nannies and 12 other girls ranging from 3 months to about 3 years old. We can't wait to bring her home to Tennessee. 

We began the adoption process 2 years ago and still have several months to go before Ellie will come home. However, we are nearing the end of this first step when we must provide the final fees to the creche to adopt her. We will incur additional misc charges after the final payment is sent but the full amount to the creche is due very soon. We are planning a Fish Fry Fundraiser with bake sale, silent auction and bounce houses. We are so excited to share Ellie's story with you. Please join us as we prepare to bring her home.

Can I scream from the rooftops?

Yes, I could absolutely scream from the rooftops this afternoon....I could scream for Joy, I'm full of excitement....Praising God our Father's name. God is absolutely amazing, I know this each and every day but TODAY, He has shown grace and moved mountains on our behalf.

The first step of our paperwork moving toward adoption in country is to enter IBESR. Well you can't enter IBESR without a referral.... so after our Dossier has sat in Haiti for 10 months we received our referral. Might I add God knew exactly what he was doing. (I'll catch on someday!) We were given the most precious beautiful baby girl EVER. Well guess what? My joy of receiving our referral in May overshadowed the fact that IBESR closed the week prior to us receiving our referral. Unsure of when IBESR would reopen we would wait but at least we were waiting with a face for this next phase.

This may be painful and you may wonder why am I telling you all this but you will see exactly why.
A new law was passed in Haiti over the summer that Haiti would become a Hague country meaning additional paperwork, finding an agency and added checks along the way. Great for the orphaned children in Haiti not so great for the families (like ours) already in the process.  Stay with me because the good part is coming..... The new law also stated that anyone under the 35 could not enter IBESR. So here we would wait until Feb 2013, Brad's birthday, to enter the first real step toward bringing our daughter home. Not to mention there is no timeline, it could still be two years from Feb. God's timing is perfect so we wait with anticipation and joy.

We got some hopeful news in August while in Haiti that our Dossier might be accepted into IBESR if reopened in October with an agency. This would require additional fees and new paperwork. So I began researching, spoke with Stephanie at A Love Beyond Borders...Haiti had yet to determine which agencies they were going to accept so we couldn't move far. It was looking more and more like we may or may not meet the October deadline. Two weeks ago IBESR reopened, to accept any Dossiers that had been there since May of this year. Okay we passed that by about, um, 10 months. But we were uncertain if we would get in due to our age.

So I couldn't stand it another minute, I had to email this past Monday to determine if our Dossier would at least be taken to see if accepted. We received an email the same day that they would try to submit this week and let us know. Ok......here is where God is gonna get some GLORY. I received a call at lunch today that we are in IBESR. We have a number, we are in. No we are not 35, no we do not have an agency (which we will probably end up getting because the lady I had spoken with two weeks ago was the one who called to tell me we were in...Thank you Stephanie!) but our God is GREATER, He is above all and can move mountains. Thank you Jesus for moving yet another mountain in this process of adoption. May your name be glorified through this entire process.

Sorry for the long post but the frame work needed to be set up for you to see this has been a long, long process and it was looking even longer until today. :) There will be many more milestones in this journey and each one will be amazing. I can't wait to continue sharing our story of God doing what He does best.    
  

Unsettled

This morning I find myself unsettled....As I sit here in the comfort of my home, awaking after a decent nights sleep in a bed and waking to sunshine, I turn on the tv and check Facebook to see if there have been any updates from a place many miles away. A place I never knew would be so dear to me. How can you visit a place once and be so changed? Only God that is how!!! 

I have neglected to post about our trip and wish I would have done so before now. I don't want this post to over shadow our trip to meet Ellie. But I feel I need to post about this time...Tropical storm Isaac has/is passing over Haiti and did so during the night. When the storm ends it won't be over. Will they have power, will they have food, will the water be contemned, will there be mudslides? How long will they experience the effects of the storm after it passes? These are all questions that I have for my daughter, her caregivers and the men and women of Haiti.

I know I'm not in control of anything really, but this gives new meaning to trying to protect something so precious that is so far away. The answer is only Jesus....it has always been only Jesus and I know that but I continue to be reminded of that during this entire process. I'm broken by how far away my daughter is and I can't console her from the storms or even touch her sweet face. My emotions are so all over the place. I want to hop a plane and go to Haiti this minute, I want to bring Ellie home to an environment close within reach, I want her to experience life in our family. Why is this so hard for me when she really doesn't even know where we are or that we are even coming back for her. She is so little, so innocent, so precious, a true blessing!

I could go on and on but I am asking God to hold her closely over these next few days and weeks. I need you Jesus to help me make it through these next several months or even a year to get to the day when I get to cradle Ellie in my arms in her room. God will get the glory from all of this and our family will see these times as a reminder of God's unfailing love. Thank you Jesus for your word, your love and your outstretched arms to cover a gap no mother could cover on her on.





 

Haiti Bound

The day has finally arrived when we will see our baby girl for the first time. I can't describe the feeling I have as we sit here in the airport waiting to board our first flight. It's early, I've had about 2.5 hours of sleep and my two sweet made kiddos are at home nestled in their warm beds with their Mimi. However, my other sweet girl is many moons away and she will wake up this am without anyone to hug or kiss her. But after this short 4 hour flight, I will hold her and pray she will experience the love a mother shares with her kids. So for 2 days I will cuddle and love her so big. Praying for the moments to pass slowly and that we will enjoy every moment we have with her. I will come back home to my precious kiddos and go back to our normal way of life here but I will never be the same after today. My heart will reside in another country far away for up to the next 2 or 2.5 years. Yes, we will make trips to visit but we will leave with empty arms. 

I will cherish this trip and the trips to come until God decides it is Ellie's time to come home to her forever family! We love you Ellie, today we come to you with open hearts and open arms! 

Anxiously Awaiting.....

I think, anxiously awaiting is the best way to describe the way I spend my days now, that may even be an understatement. I check our email and Facebook page several times a day looking for new pictures or updates from families visiting their children in Haiti. I did this same thing almost compulsively before we received our referral. I thought it might get better once I saw her face but now I can't seem to look at it often enough. I'm not sure that the compulsion will go away until our sweet Ellie is in my arms, at our house, in our family forever. 

Each month our creche send a brief update on height, weight and a new photo. Today I saw Ellie's monthly update, I knew it was coming this week so I have been extra aware of our email inbox. :) I read the update on height and weight and scrolled quickly to the bottom to see her photo attached. My emotions start, first so happy to see her face, see her growing and doing well. Next alittle sadness because she looks like she has grown so much since her last photo. The more I begin thinking about it, I then begin thinking of the missed opportunity for bedtime hugs and kisses, morning smiles (those were such sweet times for me when my kiddos were little seeing their smiles first thing in the morning). and snuggle time. Missing the making of these memories is going to be tough but I have to move past these thoughts, I know she is in good hands. God has chosen the perfect time for Ellie to enter our lives and home. I must look to Him to fill these empty spots in my heart for our girl. I was reminded this week through devotionals that God goes before me each and every day before I wake, He will not let anything overwhelm me as long as I take everything to Him. I have to give Him Ellie because He GAVE her to us. I will place my complete trust and faith in Him. 

I will continually wait anxiously for many milestones to come: our first trip to meet our girl in August, those post with new pics and monthly updates, emails notifying us that we are one step closer, bringing Ellie to meet her brother and sister for the first time.... but I will do so knowing God is ahead of each one of them. 

So with that the count down begins....41 days until I board a plane to Haiti. And the SMILES begin again because you can't look at this face and not smile.        

          

Who is your Author?

Who is the Author of your days? Do you make decisions on our own or do you trust in your Heavenly Father to guide your every step? I can't say that my husband and I have always consulted God before we made decisions but I'm proud to say that we do today. We started this blog in 2010 after God had placed the orphan crisis on our hearts through our church and my husband's mission trip to Haiti. We wanted to take the step to Choose God over wordily things and possessions. After much prayer, we decided to pursue adoption.  At first it started out we have extra food on the table, we have love to love another child. However, God slowly took what we thought we had to offer to a new level. It was no longer about us but about Him, how God sent His Son to take our place for our sin and adopted us as His own. We both enjoyed the song we sang so many years at church Today (As For Me and My House) we choose to follow you. Today is no different than 2 years ago when we decide to create this blog, we choose Jesus.

And today.....May 7th God wrote another sweet, sweet chapter in our lives.....He ordained this day oh so long ago but we were given a glimpse of His glory today! We were given a picture of our precious 2 month old baby girl, whom we have waited over a year and a half to see her face. Prayed for morning and night....we now see her, the beautiful little child God created for our family. God is so good!!!!

I say all this to say sometimes, we get in the way of God's plans or try to turn in a different direction. It is so hard to know sometimes what to do even after praying. We had just made the decision that after waiting 8 months in country that we might need to look to other creches' in Haiti that had waiting children. We didn't take this decision lightly, we prayed about it and didn't always come to the same place. There were days my husband said God is telling me to wait, to be still. My heart as a mother was telling me I had a child who needed me, I needed her. Don't get me wrong, I am very blessed and love the two "gems"children I have but as a mother I knew of another child. God had grown this child in my heart not in my tummy. There were days when we had to fight the enemy as he tried his best to tell us this wasn't God's plan for our lives. Today God showed the enemy differently. Today God showed us His plan. Thank You Lord for your plans and your perfect timing!

God has a plan for each of us, we would have been blessed if we hadn't chosen to adopt but I'm so glad that we did. God has shown us over and over through this process what He is capable of doing. We get to grow in our faith and see God move these obstacles and mountains we face to get our daughter home. I know we have just begun this walk, we will face times of sadness that our daughter is so far away and the whys of it all but how great to know if we call on the name of Jesus, He will carry us through. God's unfailing love is the greatest gift!

We have friends who will be in Haiti next week so I will be posting pictures of our girl soon. I will not rush the time between now and when our new addition comes homes. Just remind me I said that in a few months on those rough days!

Time to Post

Today seems like a good day to post. I haven't posted in months because I haven't had any news to share.  We are at 6 months waiting.... It saddens me terribly that we are still waiting but I know God has a plan for our beautiful baby girl to join our family at the perfect time. I made the decision to send an email to NLL about a month ago, just to make sure that we hadn't fallen through the cracks since there had been no communication in over 4 months. I told myself I just wanted to hear something from them, that was all, no expectations.

To my surprise I got an email that same day stating they had not forgotten us, we were just waiting for a little girl to be brought to them without siblings and we had one family in front of us. At this point, just hearing from them wasn't enough. Even though that is what I said I wanted, I wanted more. I actually found myself disappointed by the email. I have days/weeks when it is harder to accept than others...this week has been a tough week. Just knowing we may have another two years in the process after we accept our referral, it could be another 6 months before we get our referral.

I wonder sometimes why my flesh is so impatient. I long to see her face, to feel I know something about her...when I pray for her I want to see her face in my mind. I find myself checking my email all day everyday just for the hope that I will have an email telling me we have a child for you. Here I am hoping and praying for a child to find her way to NLL, she could be taken to the creche where she will no longer live with her parents or there is a chance she could be alone wondering the streets. I try to justify that she isn't being cared for the way we could love and care for her. I am convicted that she will have to encounter suffering or a lose to become mine. Which in turn reminds me, Christ encountered suffering for me and I have to lose myself to gain Him. What a beautiful picture of my Savior. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20 

I know God loves our precious girl more than I can imagine and His plan is so much better than ours. This is something I constantly have to remind myself of through this entire process. I have been blessed with many moments of realizing God makes everything perfect in His timing. My prayer today is God will give me peace about our wait...YES, I'm so ready to see her face and don't want to wait for another 6 months but willing to wait because it is going to be so much better than I can ever imagine.

In Country

Yesterday marked 4 weeks that our Dossier has been In Country, this is an adoption term meaning our Dossier has been in Haiti for 4 weeks. Guess you could have figured that out. We haven't received any word on a refferal, in case your wondering, YES.... I am anxiously waiting. However, I know that Dr. Bernard and his staff have been reviewing our documents and praying over the correct little girl for our family. That sounds so strange to say that they are praying for the perfect child for us. God already knows and has known for along time which little child would enter our lives and when our family would be ready to meet her for the first time.

I must say that adoption is so different than having a child. Ok, ok, I know your thinking, REALLY?.!@ did you just stumble onto this almost one year into the process. Yes and No! When your pregnant each day something new is happening, your either feeling the baby kick, gaining weight  or visiting the doctor- those were basically my three stages :). I loved being pregnant with both my kiddos minus the weight gain. You anticipate the end and feels like it is never going to get here, the moment you will meet you precious little bundle of joy. Realistically, you know you can't be pregnant more than 40 weeks give or take a couple. With adoption while your collecting documents and gathering paperwork, you experience that daily connection. However, this current stage of adoption seems like, us bringing our daughter home, just isn't real. I think our kids are beginning to think the same thing.They pray for their sister and Riley draws pictures of her family of 5 but I can't imagine how long this process seems to them. I know I have talked about this before but it just boggles my mind. I feel so connected to our little one some days and distant others. These emotions do have one thing in common with pregnancy, there are highs and lows.

I know the wait can't even compare to the super special memories we will make as a family of 5. We pray for our daughter's needs to be met but also that God will not only continue to do a work in us but in her as well, preparing our hearts for each other. God is great at prepping us for what is ahead when we seek him. I'm so thankful that our God is in control, I know He is working in me each day.

BTW - I sure hope to be posting some great news the next couple of weeks!!!!      

Can't Believe We Are Here

So the moment has arrived when we finally sent our Dossier to Haiti. We are part of a group through NLL where the families support each other going through the adoption process, let me just say how thankful I am for this group. I'm sure this want be the last time that I will be super grateful for the support, a sweet couple from the group was headed to Haiti Sunday and agreed to hand deliver our Dossier to Dr. Bernard. What a peace I felt when Lindsay agreed to do this for us.

I can't wait for the moment we receive our call or email from Dr. Bernard with a picture of our sweet, precious child. What a wave of emotion that will be. I keep thinking I have already experienced every emotion possible but then again I know this is only the beginning. (On a side note I teared up Friday when we packaged up our Dossier to send to CO, Brad thought I was alittle overboard but from one mother to another that resembled one step closer to bringing my sweet child home, He gets it, he was really happy but he just didn't feel the need to shed tears. However, this momma couldn't have stopped them.)

I can't wait for our first evening as a family of 5 at home just hanging out or our first Sunday at church together. We went on a small day trip over the weekend and I couldn't help but think our child should be there with us making these family memories. I am overcome with joy that the Lord has found our family faithful and worthy of such an AMAZING opportunity to walk with Him. I continue to feel God's grace during this process.

I know we will continue to struggle as more time passes, our hearts will become saddened by that fact that our precious child sits hundreds of miles away waiting for us to bring them home forever. I will do my best to remind myself that my Heavenly Father loves our child even more than we do and His plan is perfect. May His will be done and may glory and praise be given to Him.   

  

It has crossed my mind several times to post in the last couple of months but I just really haven't had any news to share. Not any news that I wanted to share. We received all our documents back from the Haitian Consulate right before our trip to the beach the first week of June. I was super excited and ready to send our Dossier to Haiti. I was on top of the world thinking we would have a photo any day of our child. However, the same day we were scheduled to leave for the beach, we received a letter from USCIS requesting additional information for approval here in the US. Most familes adopting have to wait for this approval before moving forward to their child's home country but that was not the case with Dr. Bernard. This was another advantage so it seemed when adopting from Haiti, you could go ahead and move forward with the process in Haiti before receiving approval here in the US. This was not going to be the case for us which saddened me. After receiving the letter, we made the decision to gather all documents and wait for approval before moving any further in the process.

The thought of not being approved for adoption broke my heart. Brad and I have both prayed and cried, cried and prayed and prayed some more. I know in my heart God can move mountains, He can make a signature appear where He wants it too. My flesh began telling me maybe we weren't meant to adopt, we weren't going to get approval and my dream of bringing our little girl home was looking so distant. I wrestled with myself over and over through the last few weeks. I kept coming back to God already knows all the details, He wrote this chapter of my life along time ago. We have prayed for God's will and we have been praying that our plans for our family were God's plans for our family. We jumped through hoops to get everything ready to send out. This past Friday our updated homestudy and all documents were ready to be sent to Lees Summit, MO, our deadline was the end of the day Monday. So as I walked out of Pony Mailbox Express Friday afternoon I gave our documents over to God and said may Your will be done, I trust you. I was thinking it may be weeks before we would hear anything.

To my surprise when I arrived home yesterday, Brad said I received a call from USCIS just a few moments ago. My lip dropped and my heart sank. He said our case worker called to let us know that she had received our documents and everything was on her desk to be reviewed. He took the time to explain how much we hoped our case would be approved and we had everything ready to send to Haiti as soon as we received approval. Our case worker said that she would call me today with an answer one way or another. So you can only imagine how my day went, my phone didn't leave my side all day. I anxiously awaited. Each time I called Brad today, he would answer saying did she call? I began thinking is she ever going to call. I was even thinking about how I was going to respond.     

So after the longest day/wait in my life, my phone rang at 4:51 today, And the answer was......she was recommending us for approval from her supervisor which is routine. I wasn't sure if I wanted to cry or scream. I continue to learn through this process that God has all the details and He is never a day late with his blessings in our lives. I hope to be able to share our story with others to bring glory to God. He continues to show me His grace even when I don't deserve it. Thanks to everyone for your prayers, we love you all. We hope to send our Dossier to Haiti in the next few weeks and we will yet again be asking for your prayers but we will be so grateful.   
  

Random Thoughts Thursday

Summer is officially here. The kiddos last day of school was yesterday and they couldn't be happier. This past week has been crazy with two birthdays. I now have a 10 year old man child  and a 5 year old going on 16 little lady, man where does the time go. I certainly feel alittle saddened by how quickly they are growing and changing, as I watch them play together in the floor as I type this post.

A week ago today Brad and I had the opportunity to meet the current legal guardian of our little one at a BGM benefit dinner. It was so nice to meet Dr. Bernard, he has dedicated his life to caring for orphaned children in Haiti. He is a Godly man who is highly respected in Haiti. This helps when dealing with the Haitian Government. I am 100% confident that we are exactly where we are meant to be and grateful that God lead us to NLL. This was also a nice middle of the road feel good. It has seemed for several weeks that this process is surreal like we keep talking about adopting a child but it just isn't happening. The process is so hard to explain the ups and downs and crazy emotions that go along with it.

I received an email update from our translator this week, she has begun working on our documents but isn't done yet. I am hopeful we will get some good news next week with the long weekend ahead. I will not be dragging my feet to send our docs to the Haitian Consulate like I did with the translation. I  going to be on stand-by... ready to lay down some mini van rubber on the way to the Post Office to overnight our docs to Miami.

Several family friends decided to continue on the path of adopting through the Jeremie orphanage, they are on a difficult road, please keep them in your prayers. A particular friend, Seth is leaving tomorrow to go to Haiti to meet his son. Please be praying for his trip and Momma & kiddos here while he is away. I know God has a plan for all these precious kids in our families, I can't wait to see where we all are in six to nine months from now.

Have a great weekend!    

Broken Record

This post might sound like a broken record, I know I have been saying for weeks that we were hoping to finalize all documents so we could send everything off for translation. Well, today was the day.... I FINALLY sent our Dossier off to our translator. One more step closer. This should be a happy time for us but last week was a difficult week for me. I have begun having a roller coaster of emotions, I had all our papers ready for over a week now. However in an effort to save time, I lost a week and a half and now one more family is in front of us. I kept thinking that I could find someone who could have our documents back to us in a week or two. Ok, I was completely wrong! Yes,they can translate a Dossier in a week but it depends on how many people are in front of you. Needless to say, disappointment set in and I drug my feet. I so wanted to get our Dossier sent to NLL in early June with someone from church rather than sending it overnight. I mean this packet is our entire life and I can't IMAGINE how I would feel if something happened and it didn't arrive. I just so want a picture of our child I can't stand it.

Some friends of ours received a referral last week, for an 18 month old little girl. This is the same age range we are in. I am so happy for them but yet saddened that we aren't there yet. God is still teaching me and for some reason I just want listen. It isn't our time yet but that certainly doesn't make it any easier. Maybe He knows once I get the picture of our little girl I will want her even more than I do now and I'm just not ready for that. I trust in HIM for all things and am thankful my Heavenly Father knows far better than I do what is best for me and my family. So.....today was a new day and I decided to not let another day pass without sending our Dossier. I have been my own worst enemy. I have checked our email and Deborah received our documents so we are in line.

I am anxious for us to be a family of five but God has blessed me with two amazingly wonderful children and I am going to enjoy them everyday before things get alittle crazier!

Perfect Timing

I am so excited to be typing this post, our t-shirts have arrived along with the warmer weather. Perfect timing! The cost of the t-shirts are $20.00 for an adult and $15.00 for youth.We have all sizes, if your interested please contact Brad or myself and we will get you one, two, or three. :)  We are asking that payments be made to The Abba Fund, this is an account we have set up through our church where they will match the first $1500.00 we raise. Your entire purchase will be tax deductible.

On a side note, we are thinking of having another yard sale. I KNOW.... I think we are crazy too. Our neighborhood will have a community yard sale on Sat, May 14th. If any of you just didn't have an opportunity to clean out your closets for our last sale, now is your chance. Just give us a call and we will gladly pick up any items between now and Fri, May 13th.

Proud brother and sister sporting their new T's. Poor Trent had the hiccups horribly while we were trying to snap this photo earlier today. They only lasted about 20 mninutes, it was driving me nuts, I know he was so glad when he finally got rid of those nasty little things.

 

Once Again I'm Amazed

I have once again been blown away by how AMAZING and FAITHFUL our God is. I'm alittle late posting about our yard sale but again things are crazy in our world. As I sit home on this Friday afternoon with my sick not so little, big guy I thought it was time to share how God continues to move all around us. We made $2300.00 at our sale, we had an amazing turnout, beautiful weather and we were still able to pass some stuff onto another family for their sale. Our immediate need was met, as it always seems to be. This isn't a shocker to me but it is always nice to feel like I am right where God wants me to be.

We submitted our I600-A this past Tuesday, I am hoping to get an appointment in the mail anyday....I'm sure it won't be that quick but again I said I was hoping.

We are going to purchase a Minivan this weekend.....I did say I probably wouldn't ever drive one of those but I'm good with it. Brad may actually be driving it, he is trying to tell the kids it will be his fun bus! He is ready to load it up with a PlayStation in the back, Trenton loves that idea. :)

We received our design for our T-shirt's and I can't brag enough about how awesome they are gonna look. I'm super excited and can't wait to get them in. I may get me one for everyday of the week, laundry isn't my favorite thing.

Well my little guy is up and needing his Momma's attention so that's all for now.    

Where do I begin....

It has been a month now since my last post, not because I didn't want to post but things have been crazy in our world. And yes, I'm asking for more with another kiddo but I will gladly accept it.  First the Lord has shown himself to us in so many ways. His timing is amazing, as well as, his provisions. Just when I think I know what needs to happen God tells me he has another plan. I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father's plan, it is far greater than mine and so much more rewarding.

We have completed our psy evaluation, we are waiting on our letter to arrive any time this week. Applied for my passport, check. Our yard sale is HERE.....this Friday and Saturday from 8-1. God is providing good weather for us!

Next week we will submit our I-600A and order our T-shirts. It has been slow moving these last few weeks but we are getting there and we couldn't be more excited.

I know I will be posting on Saturday telling everyone how God blessed us with sales beyond belief.

One More Step

We are one more step ahead in this long journey, we received our rough draft of our home study this week. How exciting!!!! It is weird to read a story of your life written by someone else and you only spoke with them for two hours tops. Kelly has been great, bless her heart, she endured 3 kids with the Flu while writing up our home study. She is making minor revisions and then we will get our final draft sometime next week. We are so ready to take the next step!

I have joined a message board for NLL and have seen some precious pictures of Haitian boys and girls from a recent trip to the orphanage. OH MY.....MY HEART just about melted. I can't wait to see a picture of our sweet little one. I wonder so often what he/she looks like and how they spend their days.

Please keep us in your prayers as we move forward, the enemy wants us to get discouraged but we will look to Him in all situations.

When It Rains It Pours

If you read the title of this post you are probably thinking that I am going to be a Negative Ninny but actually I'm going to be quite the oppisite. Just call me Positive Penny..... HA.  Just let me start by saying that GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME, ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!!! These past few weeks we have been blessed with several donations, so much so that we now have two storage units. We originally started out with a super small unit not knowing how many goodies we would we get for our yard sale. Needless to say we have filled that unit and gotten another larger unit. We like to see it as a good problem to have. We are extremely grateful and thankful to the families who have donated. Our prayer is God will bless each and everyone of you. We have been able to list some of the items on Craigslist and possibly gotten more than if we would have had the items at the yard sale. Let me tell you we listed a washer/dryer tonight and within an hour and a half of posting it, we were driving home from the storage unit with cash in hand.

We started this process with no cash in savings and not sure how we would get the money required to bring  our sweet child home, but God has not only been AMAZING through donations but the sale of the items as well. We just keep pushing through the darkness and He keeps providing. I know this want be the last post from Positive Penny, so this isn't good-bye it is just until next time.

P.S. We plan to have our yard sale middle of March so we will be accepting donations until the day before the sale. We would love to have to splurge to get a 3rd storage unit.     

Needed Prayer

This is going to be a short but very important post. We were notified earlier today that there has been a Cholera Outbreak in the Orphan Village in Jeremie. Two young boys have passed away and 10 other children have been hospitalized. Please be in prayer for the leaders, momma's and children in Jeremie, these men, women and children have become more than just faces in another country to so many at Long Hollow. Not to mention our family and the other families who have hopes to adopt from Jeremie. Our prayer tonight is that God will shine through this dark time and protect our brothers and sisters in Haiti.