Giving Thanks

Oh, give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!

Psalm 105:1

I wanted to share some fun ways God has been blessing us during this adoption process.

First off, not long into our paperwork, Roddy came home to announce he had gotten a raise. The raise was just to show his employer's appreciation for his hard work. The amount of the raise was 10% more than the amount we needed to send in with our contract.  Of course, we don't get the raise all at once but it was a cool confirmation of what we are doing.  Did you notice the 10%?  Remind you of tithing?

Then, we were praying for the large amount of money we needed all at once to send in with the contract and referral acceptance.  We had read, initialed and signed the 28 pages and post-dated the contract for August 20.  I had not looked at a calendar, just picked that date some time in the future hoping we would have the money by then and could send it in.  I think it was the next week when Roddy decided to sell his car.  He listed it on a Thursday.  One week and one day later - on August 20 - he met the couple at the DMV and received the cash for the car!

I didn't even realize it until I was going through the paperwork again to have it notarized!  How cool is that?  So with that cash and money we've saved and sweet friends have donated, we finally got to send those 2 big items in.

Then, of course, God has chosen to bless us with another baby!! So very thankful for and excited about that.  Well, it's been 6 years since I was first pregnant with Iris.  I had gotten rid of and passed on my maternity clothes - the few timeless pieces went to my sister.  I was thinking I was going to have to go to Goodwill and look for some clothes to wear because even though I am only 9 weeks, I am already out of all my pants and skirts.  I have nothing against Goodwill.  In fact, I love that place, but it would still be money going out out the door.

Well yesterday, my sister came by with 3 garbage bags full of summer and winter maternity clothes!!!!  Skirts and shorts, dresses and shirts and pants and capris!  I had so much fun trying them on and sorting them out by season.  Now I just have to take all the clothes I can't wear off their hangers so I have room in my closet for the new stuff.

The other thing that happened yesterday is that we found out we didn't have to wait for this certain government form to come back before sending in our dossier.  It does have to be done before we can travel, though. Well that certain form costs $830.  And the dossier has to be sent in with $1000.  We had enough for one but not both. 

So while I was excited that we didn't have to wait almost a month to get our paperwork moving ahead to get an earlier court date (which means getting the girls home sooner), I didn't know where we would get the money to send both of them in.  We were praying about it a lot throughout the day.  That afternoon, some certain someones very close to us, handed us a wad of cash making it possible for us to do both!! They didn't even know that we needed it right now!  I couldn't help but cry.

Isn't God good?  What an exciting journey He has us on!

Hallelujah!!!

9 weeks along

Estimated due date: April 3, 2010

(Technically, I guess this child is #9 since the girls should be here before he/she arrives.)

Truth

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9

How often do we hear today,

Follow your heart!

or

Listen to your heart!

I've got two words for you WORLDLY WISDOM.

We cannot trust our feelings to guide us.  We have to be grounded in Truth.  God's truth.  Not whatever-is-true-for-you truth. 

Feelings come and go.  What is True is always true!

Where do you find Truth? I've got two words for you...THE BIBLE!

Schedule

I was talking with a friend about the schedule I posted not too long ago. She said she couldn't figure out how I made it work.  Then she came over and saw this up on the wall in our office/school room:

It' is only for the school hours but it helped her visualize what I was trying to type up.

Pet Peeved!

Can I throw caution to the wind here and be completely frank?  There might be little tact in this post.

I have a huge pet peeve! Actually I have many but today I experienced one of my biggest!!

Our Sunday School class joined up with a faith-based community center in a pretty poor part of town to have a back to school party. We had games, food, a dj, bounce house and 200 backpacks full of school supplies to be given away.

To kick start the morning everyone gathered in the little chapel to hear the gospel message presented by two of our classmates.  All of us volunteers were asked to stand in the back of the room so the kids and parents coming to the event could sit in the seats closer to the front.

The registration table was also in the back and people were still checking while Chris and Shelley were talking about creation and Adam and Eve, etc.

So it didn't bother me too much that those at the registration table were talking but what just about had me over the roof was the talking coming from the volunteers and their kids!

This was a small room.  Any noise could be heard up front and was very distracting.  At one point I went over to a group of kids with two dads supervising - and I use that term lightly because they were talking too - and told them if they wanted to talk, they needed to outside.  And by the end I was just about ready to drag another dad and his son outside and have a little "come to Jesus" meetin'!

More than likely, you are not one of those rude parents who talks or allows their children to talk when someone else is talking but if you are, please stop! If you are ever on a field trip with your kids or at a meeting or anything else, if you want to talk, excuse yourself and go outside.

I had the same thing happen when I hosted a butterfly day at my house - actually it ended up being 3 days.  The kids were paying attention but some of the moms were 5 feet away chatting up a storm so that I felt like I had to talk over them.  It is so rude and selfish!

Okay, I'm done.  That was my attempt to the make the world a better place for speakers every where!  I honestly don't mean to offend.  I just think people need to know.

Praise

Roddy's car sold this morning.  So as soon as I get a chance, we'll be mailing in our Agency Contract and Referral Acceptance form. 

The girls' blood work was checked out and is fine.

The homestudy came in the mail yesterday.  Now I can send off for our last clearance.  When that paperwork comes back the dossier and done!

Thanks for praying!

He's Back

Not sure if he ever left.  We just haven't seen him in a while.

Look at those talons!

Questions

We've had lots of questions asked since we decided to adopt.

What lead you to adopt?  God. 

Why not adopt in the States? God closed that door.  We actually planned to adopt through the state but we didn't want anyone (from the States) older than Iris.  At the community awareness meeting we were told that there really aren't any children under the age of 9 available.  She didn't give us reasons but we've figured out it's because they try so hard and so long to reunite kids with their parents that they stay in foster care a long time.  Also, if they do become available, foster families get first dibs.  We can't foster because we already have 5 kids.

Why adopt from Ethiopia?  God opened that door after reading Jessica's blog. Here's that story.

Why older kids?  When considering adoption, we've always wanted siblings but ones that were younger than Iris.  However, now that we are adopting out of the country, we have had no doubt about adopting kids older than Iris.  Other countries have their own issues but kids from the US are a whole different story.

Are you adopting because you can't have any more of your own?  No. 

What will you do if you get pregnant?  Have a baby!  Since we're not adopting because we can't have our own it has no effect on the adoption.  So, the more the merrier.  We have left having biological kids and adoptive kids in God's hands.  He knows who we're supposed to have in our family and when.

We just want to do whatever God wants us to do.

Will You Follow Him?

What does this song mean to you?  Will you follow Him into the homes of the hopeless?

How will you meet the needs of the poor and the needy?

As much as He's done for you, what will you give away freely?

FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD!

August!

I'm starting to really dislike August. It is such a busy month!  School starts back! Teaching on Wednesday nights at church starts back!  And so many other little things. 

This year I determined not to add too much.  And I really have done pretty well but still, it's busy!  This week we have something every day. 

And, of course, the blog is the first thing that seems to get dropped.  So let me quickly give you an update about the adoption:

We are trying to sell Roddy's car to get enough money to send in our contract and referral acceptance form for the girls.

That's something you could pray for if you don't mind.  We can't send in either document until we get the money.  He will then get a company car.

The next thing we need in hand is the homestudy.  I emailed our social worker last week and she said we are next on her list.  But she didn't give me a date as to when she thought it would be done. 

When that comes in, I can send a copy of it with another form to get some kind of government clearance and fingerprints (at least I think that's what it's for.)

When that comes back, our dossier will be complete and I can send it to the agency with another check!

When they approve it, we make a whole bunch of copies and send it back for them to send to Ethiopia for translation. 

Then we wait for our court date.  Roddy will fly over for the court date.  If we pass the first time, we should be able to pick up the girls 6 weeks later.

So that's where we are with that.  I did start a post a couple weeks ago answering some of the questions we've been asked since we decided to adopt.  I'll try to finish it and at least get 2 posts this week.

Just for Fun

Someone posted this picture of me on Facebook.  I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Iris.

Look at the size of that belly!

It was impossible for me to be upset if someone asked me, "Are you sure there aren't two in there?"  I mean, who could blame them!  Ah, memories.

Adoption Fundraising

Have you noticed the cup of coffee on the right side of my blog?  Let me tell you what that's all about.

As you know, adopting can be a very expensive process. In our case, about a third of the total cost will probably be our airline tickets. Depending on the season or other factors, they average $1,500-$2,500 round trip. Roddy will fly over for the court date and then about 6 weeks later we will both fly to pick the children up and bring them home.  I think it's about $1,000 per child coming home.  I'm praying now that when the time comes to purchase tickets they'll be on the lower end!

We have been given a formal referral for 3 sisters. We have accepted the referral pending an evaluation of their blood work. When we send in our the acceptance form along with our contract, we'll also be sending in the first large chunk of change (which also happens to be about 1/3 of the total cost).

God blesses and provides for us but by no means do we have thousands of dollars sitting around.  So we're trying to be creative in our fundraising.  Just as someone going on a mission trip raises funds, we're trying to do the same.

The Just Love Coffee Store started when a gentleman who grew up in the coffee industry adopted from Ethiopia. After his family's adoption, he wanted to help other families with their adoption costs and in the process benefit Ethiopia. If you click here or on the cup of coffee to the right, it will take you to our coffee store. When you order coffee either for yourself or as a gift, a portion of the proceeds will be sent to us to help bring our children home.

A friend ordered coffee from another adoptive family's coffee store and gave it as Christmas gifts last year. People called her and said it was the best coffee they had ever had.  So check it out.  Might be good to get your Christmas shopping done early :)!

I'll let you know later this week what else we're working on in the fundraising department.

First Day of School and A New Schedule

Today was our first day of school which means a new daily schedule has begun.  Here is what it looks like:

MWF 5:15 am - I get up to get ready for the gym, includes make-up for the day because I don't need to wash my hair and face when I get home.
6:00 - Arrive at gym
7:00 - Arrive home, shower if necessary, morning chores for kids and me (read Bibles, make beds, clean rooms, get dressed, eat breakfast, me-sort and put in a load of laundry, brush teeth)

T, TH 6:30am - Read Bible
7:00 - Morning chores for the kids and me

Everyday 8:00 - Bible time with the kids (review memory verses, books of the Bible, teach about character qualities)
8:30 - Emma, Gray and Jackson start Math while I work with Charlie and Iris on Phonics and Handwriting
9:00 - I work with E, G, and J on their Math while C and I have free time
9:30 - Emma works on Science, Gray and Jackson do English, I work with Charlie and Iris on Math
10:00 - Smoothie time while I read Biography, Autobiography or Historical Fiction (currently it's The Story of Harriet Tubman - Freedom Train)
10:30 - Emma works on English, Gray does Science, Jackson does his Handwriting/Spelling & Vocabulary/Latin (*see below), Charlie and Iris are free to play while I assist the older three in any area they need help with)
11:00 - Emma and Gray do Handwriting*, Jackson does Science while Charlie and Iris have Quiet Play (picked out by me and easy to clean up)
11:30 - Lunch, Put in another load of laundry, I read Oral Exercises by Abeka and if time more of history or go over memory verses
12:00 - I read our literature book (currently it's Great Illustrated Classics' Around the World in 80 Days)
12:30 - Iris and I nap while the other kids read quietly in school room
1:00 - TV/Snack time, My computer/snack time
2:00 - Afternoon chores; depending on the day it consists of cleaning the house, putting away laundry, or going to the grocery store(Friday)
2:30 - One-on-one time with Mommy; each child is assigned a day of the week and on that day they get to pick whatever they want to play with me while the others have free time
3:00 - Computer time for child whose day of the week it is while rest are free
3:30 - Free time
4:00 - I start to get dinner ready, Put in another load of laundry
5:00 - Dinner, Roddy reads the Bible (currently in 2 Samuel) to us or from the book Radical
6:00 - Clean up dinner - everyone helps/Free/Family time
7:30 - Clean up rooms, Get ready for bed
8:00 - Iris' bed time, Other kids quiet play, Mommy and Daddy time
8:30 - Older kids go to bed
9:30/10:00 Our bed time

*Depending on the day Handwriting can be combined with the kids' Spelling/Vocabulary words or Latin.  Spelling and Vocabulary words are taken from the books we are reading.  We usually have 10-11 and take 2 weeks to learn them well.