Whew, I can't believe it was August the last time I updated our blog. Soooooo very much has happened in the last 3 months... So excited to update you on our progress and the changes in our family since August!
First of all, at the end of August, we adopted a puppy. He is an adorable Maltese/shihtzu named Otis. Our boys did not know we were going to get a dog, so waking them up that first morning to puppy kisses was truly an experience that my husband and I will never forget. It was so precious to see their truly surprised and excited faces. Otis, named by our boys, has been a wonderful addition to our family and has brought us much joy :) Otis eases our adoption wait a little, at least for the boys!
Here is a bit about the last few months of our adoption by the numbers...
Each month, we get an email from our adoption agency about where our family is on the agency's wait list to be referred a child. In August, we were #112 for a boy and #131 for a girl. In September, we moved up to #104 for a boy and #125 for a girl. We were making so much progress that excitement and spirits were high! We opened October's email to have that excitement fall a bit. Our move was very small, but it was movement none the less. We were still hopeful that it was movement forward. So, here we sat, moving into November at # 103 and #119.
We began to feel little nudges in our heart the beginning of November (after all, November is Adoption Awareness month, so we knew it would be a hard month for us, longing for our little one more than ever) - scripture began to leap off of the page, sermons were giving us restless feelings, conversations with just the right people were too amazing not to see God's leading, family devotions made us stop
and think... We were beginning to feel as though God was leading us in another direction in which to
adopt. Really??? We had so many conflicting questions. Why had we felt so lead to go with our current agency in the first place? Why had we not checked out other agencies? We loved our current agency, they said and did all the right things. Why would we leave them? We would lose a lot of money, if we broke our contract with our current agency. Were we really supposed to lose this
money to go to another agency? After all, adoption is expensive as it is... scary! This was a crazy new development.
We needed wisdom and prayed James 1:5 for many days in November, as we had when we were questioning whether we should adopt in the first place: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without fault, and it will be given to him." We needed wisdom from
God to make this decision - couldn't do it alone...We got invited to a friend's church for Orphan
Sunday and heard from 3 families that adopted children, 2 families from Ethiopia and 1 family from
Haiti. The sermon, given by those 3 families through their adoption journeys, wasn't so much about
adoption, although that was the obvious theme, it was more about hearing God's will in whatever that
may be and choosing to follow Him in faith. Our hearts are not to be like the Dead Sea... lifeless, still, and have no outlet. Instead our hearts in faith to God are to be living in the word, moving on what we are charged to do, and, most importantly, spreading the word to others, creating that outlet for our spirit to flow over others in our life and whoever we meet. The family car conversation on the way home from that service and later into the afternoon was awesome. The verse that kept radiating, at least for me, like a little light was 1 John 3:18-20: 18. "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions in truth. 19. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence 20. whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything." Were we just to wait out the time to be matched with our child, or were we to move in whatever direction God was calling us - pursuing the truth of our calling which was to care for the orphan?
God was setting that foundation of wisdom that we had asked for! We were pointed in the right
direction to adopt, but we just needed to change direction a bit and really do this with faith... listen with faithful hearts and trust that God would fulfill more than our heart's desire, when we
follow Him. So we decided to, at the very least, check out other agencies that same week of that Adoption Sunday sermon. We called a local adoption agency, and, to our surprise, they only had a few families on their Ethiopian adoption wait list that wanted a child older than 3. Our age range is for a boy or girl age 3-6. Hmmmmmm! I talked to the adoption director for Ethiopia, and she broke down the costs for us, and she said many of the fees for their agency would not apply to us, as we were far enough along in the process. Hmmmmm! We wouldn't be out as much money as we thought. Then, she said the thing that turned on the lightbulb for us. Our wait to be matched with a child would only be 2-4 months after our paperwork got updated and sent to our new agency! WHAT?!! We could go from waiting 2-4 years to waiting only 2-4 MONTHS?! We had to pinch ourselves. Needless to say, we filled out the new application with the new agency and got the ball rolling this week :) Whoo Hoo!
We are so grateful for God's orchestrated plan in this change in direction. We can't hardly find the words! He gave us the wisdom to pursue this new direction, and we are excited to move along so quickly! God's plans for us are so much better than we could imagine for our lives.
Whew! That is a lot of change in just a few months! Keep praying for the orphaned and pray that the adoption process continues to move along swiftly - God bless!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Settling Into the Wait
We are officially finished with all paperwork and fingerprinting that is necessary to make sure we are able to adopt. Our last letter came yesterday, as US Immigration has deemed us a "favorable family" to adopt internationally from Ethiopia :) We are rejoicing that we can now officially move forward. We got put on our agency's adoption wait list 2 weeks ago. Now, all of our paperwork and fingerprinting and family profile information can get sent to Ethiopia to begin the journey of not only our adoption agency but also the Ethiopian adoption agency working to match our family with God's choice for us! It doesn't seem real that this journey is now completely out of our control. From here on out, our prayer is that we always remember to trust in God's timing, which is perfect, as the Lord does NOT make mistakes. God has our family and our new, little one in the palm of HIS hand, and I know, whether or not our child is with her or his birth family still or in an orphanage or not even born yet, that the Lord is watching over this precious little one... Thank you, God, for making this journey possible!
We get monthly updates about our progress regarding that wait list and where we fall each month based on how many children get matched and united that month, so not only does it mean good news for us, when we go up on that list, but this also means that other orphaned children are being referred and/or matched with their forever families and are orphans no more!!!!!!!! That is great news for everyone :)
This month, we made HUGE gains - amazingly thrilling to say the least. We opened up our email last night, and we went from #146 for a girl to #131 and from #125 for a boy to #112 - YIPPEE! 28 children got matched this past month. That is so wonderful... Praise the Lord! The courts close in Ethiopia for the months of August and Sept because of the rainy season there, so I am happy that so many got matched before this happened. We probably won't do much moving in the next 2 months, so it was such a blessing to move up so much in just one month - our first month on the wait list :)
We are bracing ourselves for the months that not much happens and the wait seems too long to bear, as that is going to be disheartening, I am sure, but we are moving forward... to the day we get the call that we have a referral! It is then we will be able to see our child for the very first time! The journey will be worth it :) The settling into this wait will be worth it!!!
Keep praying for the orphaned child! God bless.
We get monthly updates about our progress regarding that wait list and where we fall each month based on how many children get matched and united that month, so not only does it mean good news for us, when we go up on that list, but this also means that other orphaned children are being referred and/or matched with their forever families and are orphans no more!!!!!!!! That is great news for everyone :)
This month, we made HUGE gains - amazingly thrilling to say the least. We opened up our email last night, and we went from #146 for a girl to #131 and from #125 for a boy to #112 - YIPPEE! 28 children got matched this past month. That is so wonderful... Praise the Lord! The courts close in Ethiopia for the months of August and Sept because of the rainy season there, so I am happy that so many got matched before this happened. We probably won't do much moving in the next 2 months, so it was such a blessing to move up so much in just one month - our first month on the wait list :)
We are bracing ourselves for the months that not much happens and the wait seems too long to bear, as that is going to be disheartening, I am sure, but we are moving forward... to the day we get the call that we have a referral! It is then we will be able to see our child for the very first time! The journey will be worth it :) The settling into this wait will be worth it!!!
Keep praying for the orphaned child! God bless.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Wait Listed
Last night, while having a great dinner with friends, we got the phone call we have been waiting to recieve since January, when we began our adoption journey... Our adoption agency called to tell us that we were officially done with our adoption paperwork and that we are now on the adoption wait list for a child to be matched with our family!!!! All of us were rejoicing at the dinner table in the middle of the restaurant, as I wrote down the details of my phone conversation on the paper tablecloth, so everyone at the table could keep up with my conversation, especially my husband :)
This news is bittersweet... We are family number 125 waiting for a boy, and we are family number 146 waiting for a girl. Our match guidelines are for a boy OR girl ages 2-6. These numbers, while expected, are very high. We were praying for lower numbers on the wait list, but we know our God is mighty and can do anything... such as move us along more quickly than these numbers show. Our wait time now is approximatley 2 years from now to bring our child home. This timeline is NOT what WE want, but, again, we know that God can do anything. We rest in the trust we have for HIM, knowing this is exactly where we need to be :) We ARE moving forward. We ARE on the wait list. We ARE going to be matched and united with our child some day.
Our boys are thrilled! It is their joy in this that brings us closer every day to knowing we are where we need to be... number or no number! As we leave on a family vacation soon, our boys have prayed that they wish their new brother or sister could share in this trip, as well... some day! They always take him or her in their hearts wherever they go, so, then, do we :)
We are praising God for this huge stride forward. We feel blessed to be on this journey together as a family and being able to share our journey with you! Keep praying for our little one so far away but getting closer each new day. We pray without ceasing and rejoice in everything!
Blessings...
This news is bittersweet... We are family number 125 waiting for a boy, and we are family number 146 waiting for a girl. Our match guidelines are for a boy OR girl ages 2-6. These numbers, while expected, are very high. We were praying for lower numbers on the wait list, but we know our God is mighty and can do anything... such as move us along more quickly than these numbers show. Our wait time now is approximatley 2 years from now to bring our child home. This timeline is NOT what WE want, but, again, we know that God can do anything. We rest in the trust we have for HIM, knowing this is exactly where we need to be :) We ARE moving forward. We ARE on the wait list. We ARE going to be matched and united with our child some day.
Our boys are thrilled! It is their joy in this that brings us closer every day to knowing we are where we need to be... number or no number! As we leave on a family vacation soon, our boys have prayed that they wish their new brother or sister could share in this trip, as well... some day! They always take him or her in their hearts wherever they go, so, then, do we :)
We are praising God for this huge stride forward. We feel blessed to be on this journey together as a family and being able to share our journey with you! Keep praying for our little one so far away but getting closer each new day. We pray without ceasing and rejoice in everything!
Blessings...
Friday, June 29, 2012
Just One More Starfish - Praise the Lord!
Since Mother's Day in May (my last update), we completed our home study and sent it in to Homeland Security (Texas), along with our I600A document, so that we can get our immigration (biometric) fingerprinting. This is the last hurdle to being able to send our dossier in to get put on our adoption agency's waitlist for a child!!! Praise the Lord that things are going so smoothly!!!
Last week our agency called to tell us that they made a change in this process, which benefitted our adoption journey greatly. Again, Thank you, Lord! We could send in our dossier before we got the I600A fingerprinting appointment, which facilitates our adoption more quickly and can get us on the waitlist for our child that much faster. Praise the Lord! We sent in our dossier last week, as it was all complete and just ready for the go ahead to send out. Our agency received it, approved it after we send in one missed document. We have our fingerprint appointment for July 16th. We are just waiting to see where we fall (what number we will be) on the adoption agency's waitlist to get matched with our child. This is exciting news to say the least. We are praising our Lord and Father in Heaven for moving this process along so quickly! We are singing happy songs and doing happy dances in the Holwerda household :)
We have had little set backs here and there since May, but nothing that has been too devastating! We feel we have accomplished alot (that the Lord has accomplished alot in our lives as we grow more patient, trusting and faithful in His plan for our family), as we move closer and closer to that day that we will see our child face-to-face for the first time! I know we will glimpse the Lord himself in the face of this beautiful orphan, who, on that day, will be an orphan NO MORE! We know it is a long journey that we have ahead of us, and we know the daunting statistics of the large number of orphans out in this great, big world. We are only one family adopting one child. There are millions of children still out there waiting for a forever family!
However, one story that comes to my mind often (as we think of how staggering the number of orphans is in this world) and as I prayed about and thought about adoption for our family a year or 2 ago, is the story of the little girl and the starfish... My husband would also admit that this story played a role in his prayer life, also, as it came to his mind a few times, too! The Lord made us listen and be reminded of this story in our quiet times with Him... If you listen, maybe the Lord is telling you something as you read this story, too... It is short, sweet and to the point, so I hope you take the time to read it now :)
The Starfish Story
A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.
She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”
The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,
“Well, I made a difference to that one!”
The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved. - adapted from the Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley
Just imagine what it would be like if we as God's people, saved the life of just one orphan....just one? There would be no more orphans....not one left in this world!!!!!
A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.
She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”
The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,
“Well, I made a difference to that one!”
The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved. - adapted from the Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley
Just imagine what it would be like if we as God's people, saved the life of just one orphan....just one? There would be no more orphans....not one left in this world!!!!!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
More Than an Iphone for Mother's Day
Mother's Day this year for me was a bit bittersweet. I am sooooo very thankful for the family that I have - an amazing husband, who loves me for me (and that is saying alot), and 3 amazing boys who fill up my heart with unconditional love! Who wouldn't be happy with that, right? However, this year my heart was also in Ethiopia - a bit torn... just couldn't help but think about our little one there without us in their life yet - an orphan waiting to be matched with our family. Did you know that there are 5700 children worldwide that are orphaned EVERY day. That number is heartbreaking... to know that a child is growing up each day without the things in their life that we all deserve, especially a child - love, stability, safety, food, family, etc. So while my heart was filled up celebrating the 3 reasons why I am a mom today, I was a bit sad that our family was not yet complete and that there are so many waiting orphans out there!
As I am in a family with all boys, I usually get interesting presents for Mother's Day, to say the least! I have gotten the token blender or plug-in appliance - poor husband had a difficult time living those "presents" down :) I have gotten my share of hand-made gifts and/or handmade cards from each son - presents that are all near and dear to my heart. In recent years, I have gotten flowers, captured bugs/creatures, jewelry, clothes, etc. I am one lucky and blessed mom, and I hope I have taught our sons well about how to buy a gift for the beloved female in their futures - LOL! This year I got the newest Iphone. Grant it, I did want one, but, as I am technologically illiterate at best, I was a bit scared to own one. Of course, our 3 sons promptly began to tutor me about all of its functions and to introduce me to Siri - my personal phone attendant. Yep, that is right. I have a phone "butler". To a person that owned a flip out keyboard phone (non-touch) and had never texted another human being before, this was awe-inspiring, to say the least. I'll just say it... We have come a long way, baby!
As we were all fooling around with the phone to see what it could do, one of our sons said that the phone has a world clock on it... can search any country for it's time at any given moment or have the ability to save world time clocks to your phone, so, at the touch of a button, you know the time in specific places. I was thrilled. I have parents and a sister/brother-in-law and nephews that live in Arizona, and I can never remember how far behind they are in time, as this timing changes twice a year. I uploaded Arizona's clock for easy reference - nice! Then a few minutes later, our oldest son typed in Addis Ababa and said, "Mom, did you know that Ethiopia is 7 hours ahead of us?" A bit of a lump developed in my throat. I immediately downloaded Addis Ababa's clock to my phone :) That Iphone app, in my eyes, just brought me to more than a firm place in the 21st century. In a small way, I can carry a piece of Addis Ababa and our little one there wherever I go!!!! I know it may sound sappy, but I feel a bit closer to this very special country that holds a bit of all of our family member's hearts! When I feel sad or impatient about how long the process takes to adopt, I can look at this clock and picture what he or she may be doing at such and such a time and pray for them. It is so comforting and helps to make things real, as that is hard to do, when you are just simply filling out paperwork. That Iphone is more than just a phone for me right now - it's a link to our Ethiopian child! We then used the internet on the phone to Google Ethiopia and all that it has to offer. We looked at maps of the country, special places there, famous landmarks, etc. We made our day brighter by learning more about where our newest addition will come from. We all grew a little closer to Ethiopia, because of that silly Iphone! It was a wonderful Mother's Day after all (and wonderful gift at that), as we were able to include our little one from so far away!
I wanted to update you all a bit as to where we are in the process of our adoption since our home study visits over spring break in April. Our home study is complete, and is at the main All God's Children office in Portland, OR. Once it is approved (hopefully some time this week), it will be sent to us, so that we can send it to Texas to get our immigration papers approved and approval to get special fingerprinting through the Homeland Security office. Once this step is complete and we have our fingerprints (about 6-8 weeks), we send this paperwork, along with our dossier (Ethiopian documents needed from us - letter of intention to adopt, certificates of birth/marriage, passports, etc), back to Portland for translation into Amheric (the Ethiopian dialect). When it's translated, it is sent out to Ethiopia to the AGCI agency in Addis Ababa (hopefully by the end of the summer) to be used to match our family to an orphan there in one of their orphanages. WE praise God for how quickly this process has all moved along!!!! We really have had no glitches in this process, so far. PTL!
Thank you all for your continued support in prayer for our family! I would ask, that if you are reading this blog today, would you be willing to pause and take a minute to pray for the 5700 kiddos that were orphaned just today and the more than 160 million orphans worldwide, waiting for a forever home? Please pray about your own family status. Is the Lord calling you to adopt? If you think you financially can't handle this option, remember, the Lord blesses those that are a blessing. I know, without a doubt, the Lord will help you with this component. We have experienced that blessing. If you think your spouse is resistant, but you feel the call on your heart, please pray that your spouse's heart will be changed. We have experienced this change in our lives that only the Lord could bring about! If the Lord is knocking on your door today, maybe this is a wonderful opportunity to either answer the knock and move forward with adoption or, at the very least, commit your family to pray regularly for the millions of orphaned out there worldwide! Thank you, again, for your support of the orphaned in any way!!!!! Blessings :)
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Small Sacrifices but Big Fun on Spring Break
We decided this year, in an effort to be more frugal as we save for our upcoming adoption, that we'd stay home with our kiddos during spring break and make a go of some fun and good memories right in our own back yard... The kiddos are at an age that they believe they are the ONLY human beings in our whole town that are staying home this year - that ALL of their friends got to go away for spring break BUT them. While this is not true, I am sure to a 7, 9, and 11 year old this probably feels true. I feel their pain. If I was completely honest, I would have to say that I'd much rather be on a beautiful sandy beach somewhere feeling the cool ocean breezes in my face, but it is a small price to pay to be able to save that much needed money. Next year, maybe we will go some place warm and far away, as a family of 6 instead of a family of 5 - whoo hoo! Then again, maybe we will choose to stay home again :)
It is a difficult lesson to teach little ones how to sacrifice... It is something that they need to learn early, bit by bit, I think! We send our kiddos to a private school, so we sacrifice for that. But, God has led our family to this decision, so God will provide, and He has provided. We decided to build our own homes - 4 in total over the last 11 years; God gave my husband the talents and skills to be able to build our houses without an outside contractor (outside of his 9-5 job as a high school assistant principal). We have sacrificed roots to keep moving and building equity. But, God has led our family to each piece of property, each house built, and each new move, so we sacrifice our roots; God has provided for us in every move in more ways than we could have imagined. After the birth of our second child, God led me to be a stay-at-home mom. I quit my awesome high school teaching job that I LOVED! Our income was cut in half, and I didn't want to leave really, but we knew it was the right thing for our family, so we sacrificed. But, God led us to this decision, and He has provided in every way for our needs and then some, more than we could have dreamed. And, I can't imagine my life as a full-time teacher (or even part-time teacher), AND one of being a mom. (I give all working moms so much credit - kuddos!) Now, God has led us to adopt. He will provide for this; I have NO doubt. It is hard on a daily basis to see God's hand in His provision for us, but it is always there. If we need to sacrifice by staying home on spring break, rather than go on a big vacation, we will do that. God will provide for our fun and memories here in our own backyard!
So, how do you teach little ones how to sacrifice?? For us, I think, it boils down to leading by example, in alot of ways. I hope our kiddos see that we have sacrificed to get where we are, but that sacrifice doesn't have to mean going withOUT. God provides, when we can't do it ourselves, but you have to ask yourself what the motivation is... The kids are getting "it" little bit, by little bit!
In preparation to have our staycation this year, I challenged our family to keep our week under $200 in activities. I scoured the internet; I accepted coupons from alot of friends that weren't staying around for break that I could use as money off of fun things to do in our town; we are relying on other families from around our town that are staying home, too, to get together with etc. etc. We are determined to sacrifice but not do withOUT!
Maybe this might help you, too! Here are some of the ideas I have planned for our family of 5...
Friday - Day 1 - Our local movie theater has free matinees every weekend in March and April, so we are going to go see a free movie (of course, since the movie is free, we will splurge on popcorn and pop for the kiddos - huge treat for us, as we usually don't splurge on those things when we go to the movies) ~~ $12 with free refills of pop and popcorn refills for a quarter.
Saturday - Day 2 - We are having a sleepover for all three boys and their friends... Built in fun, AND this proves we aren't the only ones staying home for break - ha :) ~~ $15 for food and special munchies and one movie rental (Redbox is $1)
Sunday - Day 3 - Our weather is fairly warm (about 60 degrees), so on this day we are going to a local park for a picnic, kite flying, fishing, and skate park extravaganza. We have a local park that has all of these fun things to do in one spot. ~~ FREE
Monday - Day 4 - A few families that are staying around town are getting together to go bowling. We all received coupons for one free game of bowling through our school, if we pay for shoe rental. ~~ $15 for shoes for the whole family
Tuesday - Day 5 - We are going to our local bounce house with cousins for unlimited play time. I downloaded deal coupons. $25 for the whole family
Wednesday - Day 6 - We had a family board game tournament in the morning. We own so many board games, but I also purchased one new one just to change things up a bit. ~~ I purchased the game Pit for $18.95. The boys then volunteered at our local educational farm for the rest of the afternoon, which they do on weekends throughout the school year ~~ FREE
Thursday - Day 6 - We are relying on families that are staying around town again. We are getting our kiddos together, called our school to let us have the gym for an hour, and had a few of the dads run a mini-sports camp for all of the boys in basketball and soccer and football. Then we walked to a near by park to have a Nerf gun war and have pizza - $10 chip in for pizzas and pop for the whole gang.
Friday - Day 7 - We are doing a screen day... The kids are allowed to finally play their electronic games (they had to earn time throughout the week to get this day - I gave them pebbles in a jar for completed chores, being kind to one another, etc., and predetermined the number of pebbles that they had to have by Friday to be eligible)... Wii, Dsi's, Ipad, etc for part of the day.~~ FREE Then, it's out to eat that night to Buffalo Wild Wings. We have 3 boys, and this is their favorite restaurant :) ~~ $40 for our whole family.
Saturday and Sunday - Day 8 and Day 9 - We called up one of our local hotels that has an indoor pool. They are doing a spring break special for a one night stay that includes a full breakfast buffet. You'd be surprised how hotels are willing to wheel and deal, if you ask. We can check in before 4 on Sat and ask for a late check out on Sunday! We brought munchies and ate dinner before we went, and breakfast is provided the next morning. ~~ $90
That brings our total to: $201... I think that is a pretty fun week, and it was extremely budget-friendly!!! We also took nature walks, went on bike rides, played football, soccer, baseball, etc in our backyard... On a rainy day or 2, we did crafts (our favorite is fusion beads, or.... as my kids like to say, "The big bucket o' fun"!), had carpet skate relays in our basement, played with playdough, baked and cooked together, made special reading nooks around the house and read our favorite books, etc. The boys never said that they were bored :) We kept them moving... that is the key!!
I think they learned that sacrificing is necessary in life, as they see us sacrifice for them and our lifestyle. We sacrificed by not going somewhere exotic on spring break, but we did not have to do withOUT. In fact, I think our family had a great time. My kiddos didn't complain, and I think they learned a little about sacrifice. That is a great thing!
It is a difficult lesson to teach little ones how to sacrifice... It is something that they need to learn early, bit by bit, I think! We send our kiddos to a private school, so we sacrifice for that. But, God has led our family to this decision, so God will provide, and He has provided. We decided to build our own homes - 4 in total over the last 11 years; God gave my husband the talents and skills to be able to build our houses without an outside contractor (outside of his 9-5 job as a high school assistant principal). We have sacrificed roots to keep moving and building equity. But, God has led our family to each piece of property, each house built, and each new move, so we sacrifice our roots; God has provided for us in every move in more ways than we could have imagined. After the birth of our second child, God led me to be a stay-at-home mom. I quit my awesome high school teaching job that I LOVED! Our income was cut in half, and I didn't want to leave really, but we knew it was the right thing for our family, so we sacrificed. But, God led us to this decision, and He has provided in every way for our needs and then some, more than we could have dreamed. And, I can't imagine my life as a full-time teacher (or even part-time teacher), AND one of being a mom. (I give all working moms so much credit - kuddos!) Now, God has led us to adopt. He will provide for this; I have NO doubt. It is hard on a daily basis to see God's hand in His provision for us, but it is always there. If we need to sacrifice by staying home on spring break, rather than go on a big vacation, we will do that. God will provide for our fun and memories here in our own backyard!
So, how do you teach little ones how to sacrifice?? For us, I think, it boils down to leading by example, in alot of ways. I hope our kiddos see that we have sacrificed to get where we are, but that sacrifice doesn't have to mean going withOUT. God provides, when we can't do it ourselves, but you have to ask yourself what the motivation is... The kids are getting "it" little bit, by little bit!
In preparation to have our staycation this year, I challenged our family to keep our week under $200 in activities. I scoured the internet; I accepted coupons from alot of friends that weren't staying around for break that I could use as money off of fun things to do in our town; we are relying on other families from around our town that are staying home, too, to get together with etc. etc. We are determined to sacrifice but not do withOUT!
Maybe this might help you, too! Here are some of the ideas I have planned for our family of 5...
Friday - Day 1 - Our local movie theater has free matinees every weekend in March and April, so we are going to go see a free movie (of course, since the movie is free, we will splurge on popcorn and pop for the kiddos - huge treat for us, as we usually don't splurge on those things when we go to the movies) ~~ $12 with free refills of pop and popcorn refills for a quarter.
Saturday - Day 2 - We are having a sleepover for all three boys and their friends... Built in fun, AND this proves we aren't the only ones staying home for break - ha :) ~~ $15 for food and special munchies and one movie rental (Redbox is $1)
Sunday - Day 3 - Our weather is fairly warm (about 60 degrees), so on this day we are going to a local park for a picnic, kite flying, fishing, and skate park extravaganza. We have a local park that has all of these fun things to do in one spot. ~~ FREE
Monday - Day 4 - A few families that are staying around town are getting together to go bowling. We all received coupons for one free game of bowling through our school, if we pay for shoe rental. ~~ $15 for shoes for the whole family
Tuesday - Day 5 - We are going to our local bounce house with cousins for unlimited play time. I downloaded deal coupons. $25 for the whole family
Wednesday - Day 6 - We had a family board game tournament in the morning. We own so many board games, but I also purchased one new one just to change things up a bit. ~~ I purchased the game Pit for $18.95. The boys then volunteered at our local educational farm for the rest of the afternoon, which they do on weekends throughout the school year ~~ FREE
Thursday - Day 6 - We are relying on families that are staying around town again. We are getting our kiddos together, called our school to let us have the gym for an hour, and had a few of the dads run a mini-sports camp for all of the boys in basketball and soccer and football. Then we walked to a near by park to have a Nerf gun war and have pizza - $10 chip in for pizzas and pop for the whole gang.
Friday - Day 7 - We are doing a screen day... The kids are allowed to finally play their electronic games (they had to earn time throughout the week to get this day - I gave them pebbles in a jar for completed chores, being kind to one another, etc., and predetermined the number of pebbles that they had to have by Friday to be eligible)... Wii, Dsi's, Ipad, etc for part of the day.~~ FREE Then, it's out to eat that night to Buffalo Wild Wings. We have 3 boys, and this is their favorite restaurant :) ~~ $40 for our whole family.
Saturday and Sunday - Day 8 and Day 9 - We called up one of our local hotels that has an indoor pool. They are doing a spring break special for a one night stay that includes a full breakfast buffet. You'd be surprised how hotels are willing to wheel and deal, if you ask. We can check in before 4 on Sat and ask for a late check out on Sunday! We brought munchies and ate dinner before we went, and breakfast is provided the next morning. ~~ $90
That brings our total to: $201... I think that is a pretty fun week, and it was extremely budget-friendly!!! We also took nature walks, went on bike rides, played football, soccer, baseball, etc in our backyard... On a rainy day or 2, we did crafts (our favorite is fusion beads, or.... as my kids like to say, "The big bucket o' fun"!), had carpet skate relays in our basement, played with playdough, baked and cooked together, made special reading nooks around the house and read our favorite books, etc. The boys never said that they were bored :) We kept them moving... that is the key!!
I think they learned that sacrificing is necessary in life, as they see us sacrifice for them and our lifestyle. We sacrificed by not going somewhere exotic on spring break, but we did not have to do withOUT. In fact, I think our family had a great time. My kiddos didn't complain, and I think they learned a little about sacrifice. That is a great thing!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Great Expectations
I read somewhere last week that "Adoption is the new pregnant"... I kind of laughed that statement off, when I first saw it, but I do think there is so much truth in it, as well. Clearly, both a pregnancy and an adoption have the same end-result, and we couldn't be more excited if we actually were pregnant again. At the end of this amazing journey, God will have gifted us with new life, not by knitting together our child in my womb, but by knitting this child together in our hearts. So... It is with great expectations and joy that we wait patiently and do our part for God's amazing plan to unfold for our family as the months go by and as we prepare the way for this little one to come home to our family that God already ordained in His great plan 1000's of years ago! Now, that is amazing... Praise be to our Lord!!!!!
FIRST TRI-MESTER ~~
Of course, at the age of 42, I am slightly grateful that I do not have to go through an actual pregnancy again, with all of it's physical trials and changes, but we will be heading into this adoption with all of the emotional attachments and spiritual gratitiude, and love, as if we were expecting :) We also have been thrilled to be able to tell anyone and everyone of God's wonderful plan for our family. Yep, telling people this time around has been just as fun and exciting, as when we announced that we were pregnant with each of our 3 biological children. Each time is special. We announced our thrilling news, as you probaly read in my earlier blogs, to our families about a few weeks into the whole process, when we knew we were approved to move forward. This is kind of like when we waited to tell our families when we were pregnant. We didn't announce this news with ultrasound pictures or jars of pickles, but we were able to share the joyous call we felt in God's knocking at our door! We then told our kiddos. After much thought about when, because we wanted to involve them in this process, but we know for their sake and for our sake and because of a long time line, that we didn't want to make them and us crazy about an end date. Just like in pregnancy, we waited to tell them until we knew this was going to happen (typical 12 week wait to share news after you get past the first tri-mester), that God was calling not only us but also them to this journey, and that everything was going to be okay in moving forward. We then announced this wonderful news to all of our friends - everyone that would listen really :) It is tremendously exciting!!! So many friendly words of congratulations, some cards of support, words and questions of encouragement, etc. The only hard part about announcing an adoption over announcing a pregnancy is time line. So many want to know about this child and when we can bring him/her home. It is great, though, to be able to educate and advocate for the adoption process; you never know who may have a calling on their hearts that is just hard to hear right now, so I am grateful to be able to educate people about the process. With a pregnancy, however, you get to tell people about your due date, which is such a nice, concise way to close your story. With adoption God needs time to grow this heart preparation, so I feel blessed to say things like "All in God's timing... not our own", and show others that we are resting in the trust we have for God's great plan for us and our new life :) Having patience is so difficult, when you want something so badly to happen quickly, but God knows when this needs to happen, so we wait patiently and tell everyone with great expectations and joy about the Lord's perfect plan for us.
Our kiddos are doing great with the adjustment of the expectation of a new brother or sister in our family. They feel a part of this process through daily prayers offered up on behalf of our new child... "Keep our new brother or sister safe. Keep them warm. Give them a hug for us!" God is changing and preparing their hearts, too. It is amazing to see this transformation in their spiritual lives! They are also pooling their spare money together to help off-set the cost of adoption - hee, hee, hee, that they have from doing their chores. We are up to a whopping $22.39. They are already sharing and making room in this family. They collect cans on the playground, so I keep a huge garbage bag in the trunk of our car for times of hitting the "mother load" of cans on any given day, which was 5 cans in one day - whoo hoo. We are up to 12 cans all together, so far. They are already seeing that they can have a part in making this happen - following the call that God placed on their hearts, even if they have no picture of this child to keep them going. God is working in their hearts, too - thank you God!
As I voiced earlier, I feel like we are in the first "tri-mester" of our adoption right now, we are gathering documents and papers, securing copies of this, that and the other thing, and taking parenting classes all to put in our home study binder. This first 3 months is all about the home study binder and growing it with all the care and effort we can muster! The home study binder is what our case worker will use to evaluate us as they do their home visits with our family - interviews with us one-on-one and interviews as a family and seeing our home function as a home and family in preparation for one more life to add to it. We are on the eve of sending this home study binder in to our case worker; I kind of feel like I did when I was pregnant in the first tri-mester of each of my 3 pregnancies... a bit nauseated at all of the "work" yet ahead, happy and thrilled that we are indeed in a "family way", and sort of feeling out of sorts that things are not progressing fast enough!
I would ask that, if you are reading this, would you be willing to say a quick prayer over our homestudy binder, as I send it out into the world from our hands...
1.) That all things are filled out correctly and that we didn't forget anything...
2.) That when our binder is looked at by our social worker that she would do so with much prayer and consideration on her part.
3.) That this quick pace we are on can be continued, as now this journey is somewhat out of our hands and into the hands of someone else.
4.) That we grow a wonderful and Godly relationship between our family and our case worker.
5.) That the millions of orphans waiting for a forever home will be cared for in orphanages that care for them well until that glorious day they are matched with families that will soon see/feel their calling to move into action on their behalf and begin to diminish that million + number little by little by giving even just one a home!
Thanks for being the hands and feet of Jesus just by praying. We appreciate all of your prayers on the behalf our little one so far away from us right now but always so close to us in our hearts!!!!
FIRST TRI-MESTER ~~
Of course, at the age of 42, I am slightly grateful that I do not have to go through an actual pregnancy again, with all of it's physical trials and changes, but we will be heading into this adoption with all of the emotional attachments and spiritual gratitiude, and love, as if we were expecting :) We also have been thrilled to be able to tell anyone and everyone of God's wonderful plan for our family. Yep, telling people this time around has been just as fun and exciting, as when we announced that we were pregnant with each of our 3 biological children. Each time is special. We announced our thrilling news, as you probaly read in my earlier blogs, to our families about a few weeks into the whole process, when we knew we were approved to move forward. This is kind of like when we waited to tell our families when we were pregnant. We didn't announce this news with ultrasound pictures or jars of pickles, but we were able to share the joyous call we felt in God's knocking at our door! We then told our kiddos. After much thought about when, because we wanted to involve them in this process, but we know for their sake and for our sake and because of a long time line, that we didn't want to make them and us crazy about an end date. Just like in pregnancy, we waited to tell them until we knew this was going to happen (typical 12 week wait to share news after you get past the first tri-mester), that God was calling not only us but also them to this journey, and that everything was going to be okay in moving forward. We then announced this wonderful news to all of our friends - everyone that would listen really :) It is tremendously exciting!!! So many friendly words of congratulations, some cards of support, words and questions of encouragement, etc. The only hard part about announcing an adoption over announcing a pregnancy is time line. So many want to know about this child and when we can bring him/her home. It is great, though, to be able to educate and advocate for the adoption process; you never know who may have a calling on their hearts that is just hard to hear right now, so I am grateful to be able to educate people about the process. With a pregnancy, however, you get to tell people about your due date, which is such a nice, concise way to close your story. With adoption God needs time to grow this heart preparation, so I feel blessed to say things like "All in God's timing... not our own", and show others that we are resting in the trust we have for God's great plan for us and our new life :) Having patience is so difficult, when you want something so badly to happen quickly, but God knows when this needs to happen, so we wait patiently and tell everyone with great expectations and joy about the Lord's perfect plan for us.
Our kiddos are doing great with the adjustment of the expectation of a new brother or sister in our family. They feel a part of this process through daily prayers offered up on behalf of our new child... "Keep our new brother or sister safe. Keep them warm. Give them a hug for us!" God is changing and preparing their hearts, too. It is amazing to see this transformation in their spiritual lives! They are also pooling their spare money together to help off-set the cost of adoption - hee, hee, hee, that they have from doing their chores. We are up to a whopping $22.39. They are already sharing and making room in this family. They collect cans on the playground, so I keep a huge garbage bag in the trunk of our car for times of hitting the "mother load" of cans on any given day, which was 5 cans in one day - whoo hoo. We are up to 12 cans all together, so far. They are already seeing that they can have a part in making this happen - following the call that God placed on their hearts, even if they have no picture of this child to keep them going. God is working in their hearts, too - thank you God!
As I voiced earlier, I feel like we are in the first "tri-mester" of our adoption right now, we are gathering documents and papers, securing copies of this, that and the other thing, and taking parenting classes all to put in our home study binder. This first 3 months is all about the home study binder and growing it with all the care and effort we can muster! The home study binder is what our case worker will use to evaluate us as they do their home visits with our family - interviews with us one-on-one and interviews as a family and seeing our home function as a home and family in preparation for one more life to add to it. We are on the eve of sending this home study binder in to our case worker; I kind of feel like I did when I was pregnant in the first tri-mester of each of my 3 pregnancies... a bit nauseated at all of the "work" yet ahead, happy and thrilled that we are indeed in a "family way", and sort of feeling out of sorts that things are not progressing fast enough!
I would ask that, if you are reading this, would you be willing to say a quick prayer over our homestudy binder, as I send it out into the world from our hands...
1.) That all things are filled out correctly and that we didn't forget anything...
2.) That when our binder is looked at by our social worker that she would do so with much prayer and consideration on her part.
3.) That this quick pace we are on can be continued, as now this journey is somewhat out of our hands and into the hands of someone else.
4.) That we grow a wonderful and Godly relationship between our family and our case worker.
5.) That the millions of orphans waiting for a forever home will be cared for in orphanages that care for them well until that glorious day they are matched with families that will soon see/feel their calling to move into action on their behalf and begin to diminish that million + number little by little by giving even just one a home!
Thanks for being the hands and feet of Jesus just by praying. We appreciate all of your prayers on the behalf our little one so far away from us right now but always so close to us in our hearts!!!!
Friday, February 24, 2012
The First Step Through That Door on the Other Side
We began the process of adoption around the time of Thanksgiving of 2010 after some research on various adoption agencies and seeking out advice from friends that had recently adopted... just did an on-line application to see if we qualified. We had our bold-faced, digital answer from God! We were approved to adopt from the country of Ethiopia. Whoo hoo! We did a whole bunch of research on the country of Ethiopia - any information we could get our hands on for that knowledge was bringing us closer to our little one so far away. We were thrilled and excited but also a bit nervous... I was nervous about taking care of a little Ethiopian girl's hair, as I can barely take care of my own mane and the 3 easy boys' coifs we have in our current household at that - ha!
This new direction felt oddly comforting and right, though, not scary or self-defeating or even self-fulfilling. We were fulfilling God's plan! We had our answer, and we couldn't wait to share this news with our family. We told my family and my in-laws over the Christmas holiday about our plans. We were very encouraged by their support. Whew, they shared in our excitement! It was really fun telling them all about God's plan for our family.
We then got all of our home-study materials and dossier materials - oh, the paperwork. I can't adequately describe this part of the process, as it is very overwhelming but absolutely do-able. I don't want to alarm anyone or turn anyone off to the adoption option. It isn't that bad - just reality. We began furiously filling out paper after paper after paper......... The weight and reality of the difficulty of this process kind of took over for a brief instance! It was definitely going to be like a marathon, we thought, and we were not going to grow weary of this process, because it was, after all - necessary - "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31 We were determined to do this in as quick a manner as possible. Our competitive nature (in racing against the clock) was about to kick in and be used for a force of good! Nice!
Then it was time to tell our kiddos. We waited to have to tell them until this process effected their lives. My husband and I decided to tell them on Valentine's Day this year. What greater time to talk about our action of love toward our Lord and Savior than in stepping out in HIS plan and show our love for one of God's orphans? We read them a devotional about a family that adopted from Africa and was that weird or wonderful?? It was an amazing little story about how God can knit together families in the heart and not just in the womb. The family heard God's call for their whole family, not just the mom and dad, we pointed out to the kids. The boys had great questions about it and were actually amazed that little kids could be called to God's plan, too. Oh, they are learning so much from this experience already - thank you, God! Yes, little children can get calls from the Lord, too! We told them that we also heard that call for all of us, not just for mom and dad, and that we would be following that call to Ethiopia to bring home one of God's children, an orphan, to be in our family forever... Conner and Carson would be big brothers again, and Chase would finally get to be a big brother! Conner crumpled into tears of joy; Carson did a happy dance and asked for a sister; Chase got kind of quiet (thought he was going to be upset about no longer being the baby of the family), but he said, "He knew something like this was happening - didn't know what - but that he knew it in his heart!" Oh man, did their reactions get to me. The tears started streaming down my cheeks. It got to JJ, too, for I have only seen my husband cry 3 other times in our 18 years of marriage. God was working in that man's heart for sure. Again, thank you, God! It was a moment I will NEVER forget!
The next day, the kiddos couldn't wait to tell their classmates. I was so happy that they were happy. Conner told his classmates through sobs and tears... such a tender-hearted young man. Carson told the kids with great enthusiasm and confidence that he was going to have a new 5-year old brother after the adoption was finalized... ha, such an imaginative young man. Chase tried to retell the devotional story from the night before... such a little thinker. Conner's classmates (mostly a group of 5th-grade girls from his class) surrounded me in hugs and wishes of congratulations that same day. They were thrilled for us, too. They also said that they wanted to help us bring home our new son or daughter by wanting to organize a pop-can drive to help offset costs. Bless their hearts. Conner's class has been together since kindergarten, so they are all pretty close. Even if it never happens, I was so touched! The tears were flowing down my cheeks again.The hands and feet of Jesus, even in His children, were wanting to help us bring home our child - God's child. I was overwhelmed that
5th-graders would want to move so quickly into action for us - what a beautiful picture of the community of believers. What can I say?? The Lord is good :)
This new direction felt oddly comforting and right, though, not scary or self-defeating or even self-fulfilling. We were fulfilling God's plan! We had our answer, and we couldn't wait to share this news with our family. We told my family and my in-laws over the Christmas holiday about our plans. We were very encouraged by their support. Whew, they shared in our excitement! It was really fun telling them all about God's plan for our family.
We then got all of our home-study materials and dossier materials - oh, the paperwork. I can't adequately describe this part of the process, as it is very overwhelming but absolutely do-able. I don't want to alarm anyone or turn anyone off to the adoption option. It isn't that bad - just reality. We began furiously filling out paper after paper after paper......... The weight and reality of the difficulty of this process kind of took over for a brief instance! It was definitely going to be like a marathon, we thought, and we were not going to grow weary of this process, because it was, after all - necessary - "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31 We were determined to do this in as quick a manner as possible. Our competitive nature (in racing against the clock) was about to kick in and be used for a force of good! Nice!
Then it was time to tell our kiddos. We waited to have to tell them until this process effected their lives. My husband and I decided to tell them on Valentine's Day this year. What greater time to talk about our action of love toward our Lord and Savior than in stepping out in HIS plan and show our love for one of God's orphans? We read them a devotional about a family that adopted from Africa and was that weird or wonderful?? It was an amazing little story about how God can knit together families in the heart and not just in the womb. The family heard God's call for their whole family, not just the mom and dad, we pointed out to the kids. The boys had great questions about it and were actually amazed that little kids could be called to God's plan, too. Oh, they are learning so much from this experience already - thank you, God! Yes, little children can get calls from the Lord, too! We told them that we also heard that call for all of us, not just for mom and dad, and that we would be following that call to Ethiopia to bring home one of God's children, an orphan, to be in our family forever... Conner and Carson would be big brothers again, and Chase would finally get to be a big brother! Conner crumpled into tears of joy; Carson did a happy dance and asked for a sister; Chase got kind of quiet (thought he was going to be upset about no longer being the baby of the family), but he said, "He knew something like this was happening - didn't know what - but that he knew it in his heart!" Oh man, did their reactions get to me. The tears started streaming down my cheeks. It got to JJ, too, for I have only seen my husband cry 3 other times in our 18 years of marriage. God was working in that man's heart for sure. Again, thank you, God! It was a moment I will NEVER forget!
The next day, the kiddos couldn't wait to tell their classmates. I was so happy that they were happy. Conner told his classmates through sobs and tears... such a tender-hearted young man. Carson told the kids with great enthusiasm and confidence that he was going to have a new 5-year old brother after the adoption was finalized... ha, such an imaginative young man. Chase tried to retell the devotional story from the night before... such a little thinker. Conner's classmates (mostly a group of 5th-grade girls from his class) surrounded me in hugs and wishes of congratulations that same day. They were thrilled for us, too. They also said that they wanted to help us bring home our new son or daughter by wanting to organize a pop-can drive to help offset costs. Bless their hearts. Conner's class has been together since kindergarten, so they are all pretty close. Even if it never happens, I was so touched! The tears were flowing down my cheeks again.The hands and feet of Jesus, even in His children, were wanting to help us bring home our child - God's child. I was overwhelmed that
5th-graders would want to move so quickly into action for us - what a beautiful picture of the community of believers. What can I say?? The Lord is good :)
Opening That Door...
Someone once said to me, "Life is not about what happens, if you don't open the door; life is about what happens when you open that door." It is a great variation on the Bible verse from Revelations 3:20 ~ "I stand at the door and knock. If any of you hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in." Those words have had a major impact on my life. Turning 40 (the "half-way" mark) has made me see this more clearly as it applies to my own life the past 40 years and hopefully the next 40+ years yet to come. If I am to be brutally honest with myself (and all of you), I would have to say, I have lived most, if not all of my life, afraid to open the door, when I heard God's knock. I was at times in my life paralyzed by this fear - 'Please don't knock God, because I am not strong enough, good enough, ready enough to open the door to your will'. Satan is so deceptive in making us all feel that way, wouldn't you agree? It's scary to open the door... see what the Lord is calling you to on the other side. It might be messy; it might be hurtful; it might not be what WE planned, etc, etc, etc. Most days it was easier to ignore the knock. Some days it was easier to talk myself out of the knock that I know I heard.
Turning 40, for some reason for me, has made me more open to seeing the beauty in the free will/choice God gives us to open that door or not and step out in HIS perfect plan, because He knows us better than we know ourselves... not to simply dwell on the fear of opening the door, but to discover what good I can do, what blessings await, what joy and happiness I can bring others, when I trust that perfect plan for my life and move through the doorway. He prepared my life behind the closed door through trials and fires, through wonderfully happy times, through prayer, through scripture reading, and through all the God-moments He has brought me to in my life to some day feel ready enough, to feel strong enough, and to feel good enough. We can and DO live the life on the other side of that door doing the Lord's will, NOT in fear, but in trust... NOT in weakness but in strength. NOT in self-defeat, but in confidence! This is God's promise to us, when we follow HIM! This is what happened in our lives as we heard God's knocking, opened the door and walked over that threshhold... not wondering what happens if we OPEN the door, but finding ourselves wondering what happens if we DON'T open it!
Our story is not unique, but we feel overwhelmingly blessed, amazingly humbled, and truly excited to begin a new chapter in our life's story, as we open this door together, as a family... With a tremendous amount of prayer and talking to God, scriptural preparation, talking as husband and wife, praying for our family and about 2 years of time passing, we felt prepared to open the door, when we heard God's knocking! His timing is perfect! We stepped through the door into the world of adoption! God has called our family to open our hearts and our home to one of his many orphaned children from Ethiopia, and we couldn't be more excited!
In the last few years as our 3rd child entered school, I felt a tug at my heartstrings. My husband, JJ, would not say the same about that tug on his heart, however. We were pretty far apart on the issue of adoption! I would say that we were very much like polar opposites at best! Over time, as we prayed for God to either change my heart about adoption or change JJ's heart about it, we both agreed that we needed to forge our family ahead into a new direction - one more obedient to God. Yep, I think it is that whole turning 40-thing again - LOL!
What would that look like for us? Would it mean going on mission trips? Would that mean volunteering as a family more deliberately? Would that mean adoption? Only God knew the answer to our questions and what the perfect plan would be for our family, so we prayed for wisdom. We prayed for answers. We prayed for direction that would be without doubt what the Lord was calling us to do! Maybe turning 40 will do that to a person... make you feel more boldly about a life direction! It's a turning point, a half-way mark, a time of reflection on a life lived one way and now maybe looking forward to a life that needs to be lived more deliberately, for you only have this one half left to get it right!
JJ and I both started to see more clearly little "signs" about what God's perfect plan was for our family. It got to the point that JJ and I would have sharing sessions about we saw each day that drew us closer to God's calling for our family - a devotional here, a conversation with a person there, a whispered word in our prayer times, an unexplained change in our hearts, confidence in a direction that was not there before we asked God to show himself to us... We couldn't resist that knock at our door anymore! It was pretty loud... We, for the first time, weren't so much concerned about what would happen if we opened the door, we became more concerned about what would happen if we didn't!! So, thus we began the application process to adopt! Whoo hoo :)
A bit about us, as this is my first ever blog post... I can't believe I am doing this - whoo hoo! My husband JJ and I have been happily married for 18 years. We are best friends, really! We feel richly blessed by our 3 boys: Conner (age 11), Carson (age 9), and Chase (age 7). All 3 boys are very active in sports and in music. My husband is a high school assistant principal, and I am a stay-at-home mom, who works very part-time at our sons' school as the coordinator of a Spanish/Mandarin immersion program for young children.
Turning 40, for some reason for me, has made me more open to seeing the beauty in the free will/choice God gives us to open that door or not and step out in HIS perfect plan, because He knows us better than we know ourselves... not to simply dwell on the fear of opening the door, but to discover what good I can do, what blessings await, what joy and happiness I can bring others, when I trust that perfect plan for my life and move through the doorway. He prepared my life behind the closed door through trials and fires, through wonderfully happy times, through prayer, through scripture reading, and through all the God-moments He has brought me to in my life to some day feel ready enough, to feel strong enough, and to feel good enough. We can and DO live the life on the other side of that door doing the Lord's will, NOT in fear, but in trust... NOT in weakness but in strength. NOT in self-defeat, but in confidence! This is God's promise to us, when we follow HIM! This is what happened in our lives as we heard God's knocking, opened the door and walked over that threshhold... not wondering what happens if we OPEN the door, but finding ourselves wondering what happens if we DON'T open it!
Our story is not unique, but we feel overwhelmingly blessed, amazingly humbled, and truly excited to begin a new chapter in our life's story, as we open this door together, as a family... With a tremendous amount of prayer and talking to God, scriptural preparation, talking as husband and wife, praying for our family and about 2 years of time passing, we felt prepared to open the door, when we heard God's knocking! His timing is perfect! We stepped through the door into the world of adoption! God has called our family to open our hearts and our home to one of his many orphaned children from Ethiopia, and we couldn't be more excited!
In the last few years as our 3rd child entered school, I felt a tug at my heartstrings. My husband, JJ, would not say the same about that tug on his heart, however. We were pretty far apart on the issue of adoption! I would say that we were very much like polar opposites at best! Over time, as we prayed for God to either change my heart about adoption or change JJ's heart about it, we both agreed that we needed to forge our family ahead into a new direction - one more obedient to God. Yep, I think it is that whole turning 40-thing again - LOL!
What would that look like for us? Would it mean going on mission trips? Would that mean volunteering as a family more deliberately? Would that mean adoption? Only God knew the answer to our questions and what the perfect plan would be for our family, so we prayed for wisdom. We prayed for answers. We prayed for direction that would be without doubt what the Lord was calling us to do! Maybe turning 40 will do that to a person... make you feel more boldly about a life direction! It's a turning point, a half-way mark, a time of reflection on a life lived one way and now maybe looking forward to a life that needs to be lived more deliberately, for you only have this one half left to get it right!
JJ and I both started to see more clearly little "signs" about what God's perfect plan was for our family. It got to the point that JJ and I would have sharing sessions about we saw each day that drew us closer to God's calling for our family - a devotional here, a conversation with a person there, a whispered word in our prayer times, an unexplained change in our hearts, confidence in a direction that was not there before we asked God to show himself to us... We couldn't resist that knock at our door anymore! It was pretty loud... We, for the first time, weren't so much concerned about what would happen if we opened the door, we became more concerned about what would happen if we didn't!! So, thus we began the application process to adopt! Whoo hoo :)
A bit about us, as this is my first ever blog post... I can't believe I am doing this - whoo hoo! My husband JJ and I have been happily married for 18 years. We are best friends, really! We feel richly blessed by our 3 boys: Conner (age 11), Carson (age 9), and Chase (age 7). All 3 boys are very active in sports and in music. My husband is a high school assistant principal, and I am a stay-at-home mom, who works very part-time at our sons' school as the coordinator of a Spanish/Mandarin immersion program for young children.
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