Ready!

Yesterday in the mail we received a video from our agency's director who just returned from Ethiopia.  I couldn't wait until Roddy got home so the kids and I watched part of it then last night we all sat down to finish watching it.  The video was of the director going to the care center where our girls are.  It showed them introducing themselves and doing a little Ethiopian dance.   It also showed them receiving our care packages. 

When it was over Gray said, "How much longer..to get them?"

I said, "Probably four months."

Gray, "Awww."

I said, "Are you ready to have them here?"

And they all said, "Yeah!!"

I love that even my boys are excited and thankful they all have sweet hearts and want their sisters home!

Guest Post Part 2

And here is part two of my guest post for Tyler regarding child training.

Guest Post

I was honored to be asked by my friend, Tyler, to guest post on her blog.  Tyler is transparent, encouraging and focused on helping moms overcome anger.

Check out my first installment!

Crappy Foods

You should have heard the conversation around our lunch table today. 

Some non-moral issues are more important to some people than to others.  For example, food.

Food can be a moral issue if someone is gluttonous or greedy.  If food controls them more than they control it.  If they eat so much junk they aren't healthy enough to be of service to anyone, especially God.  In which case, to me, it becomes a moral issue.  If we can think of food and excercise as a tool rather than a rule, I think it changes our outlook.  I happen to like eating healthy food.  I don't like exercising anymore (I used to)but I see the benefit, so I do it.

Anyway, in our house, on a certain level, I see eating healthy as a moral obligation.  After all, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  And so what comes into this house and into our bodies...especially my children's bodies...is important to me.

At lunch today we were talking about all the foods that are crap.  Crap is not really a bad word in our house.  Although I prefer the kids not to use it around other kids so I don't get in trouble by other parents.  But when the shoe fits, wear it.  And so we had a great time talking about all the crappy foods.

Someone told me once if I made my kids eat so much good-for-them food, they would grow up and eat all the junk food they could get their hands on.  I disagree.  If my children understand the why of eating the things God has given us and of being good stewards of the bodies He has given them, they will hopefully be wise when they they are grown and on their own. 

Oops!  A whole bowl of fresh watermelon.

Does that mean we never eat crap around here.  No.  We do. And in the last couple weeks it feels like it's more than usual.  Which is why we had the conversation at lunch.  My list of foods to avoid is pretty long so I'll tell you what I consider healthy:

Food that God gives us...preferably processed as little as possible. 
We eat meat once or twice a week and try to make it free range, no hormones added, no antibiotics, etc.

I would prefer organic everything but unfortunately we're probably not even halfway there.

I often hear that eating healthy is too expensive.  Here's how I look at it.  You can pay more to eat healthy now or pay later for the drugs to counter all the cheap junk you think is saving you money.

And for the record, our grocery budget for our family of 7 is only $700 a month.  And that is without buying cheap processed dinners, etc.  But, again, we also don't eat meat every night.

Now what do we do when we go to someone else's house?  We eat the gift they have prepared for us.  Just as we teach the children that food at home is a gift to be eaten in gratitude without complaint, we are thankful for whatever someone has taken the time to prepare for us.  We do not expect a special "healthy" meal on our behalf.

I have no intention of being legalistic about it.  And although some people think I'm crazy (mostly family members), I'm okay with it.  I'm obligated to do what I consider to be in the best interest of the family God has given me.  What anyone else does is between them and God...that is, as long as it doesn't interfere with what I'm teaching my kids.

October 31

I know it's a little early but wanted to share a new tradition that we came up with last year for October 31. 

In years past, we've gone to Fall Festivals, trick-or-treated in the neighborhood, passed out candy, or even one year did nothing.  Roddy and I tried to figure out what to do about this particular holiday.  You see, I hate Halloween.  I don't care what it started as, or used to be, or has become, or should be, etc.  I just don't like it. 

And we discovered that the only real excitement for the kids was getting candy.   They don't get it that often so it is understandably an enticing holiday for them...along with all the other holidays that load them up on candy (something else I really don't like!).   Usually we let them have a bunch the day of, then let one a day for a week.  After a week I tell them to pick 10 pieces to keep and then we throw the rest out.

Well we decided to make it special in our own way.  We went to Walmart and picked 3 movies we approved of and told the kids to pick the one they wanted us to buy.  They chose Swiss Family Robinson.

Then we loaded up on chocolate for melting and lots of other things for dipping: Oreos, marshmallows, graham crackers, brownie bites, bananas, pretzels, pineapple, etc.

The night of the 31st we turned off the lights downstairs so we wouldn't be disturbed by the doorbell, everyone put on their pjs, we put in the movie (we have a large screen tv in our room), and we ate, and ate, and ate!

The kids loved it.  We loved it.  And we all decided it was a great way to spend the evening.

Hmmm...I need to go find some chocolate!

MIA

I feel like I've been MIA with only my few posts here or there.  The truth is everything takes me a little longer these day since my energy level has dropped majorly.  Of course, I'm not complaining.  Two things I will not do during this pregnancy: complain or waddle. 

On a scale of 1-10 my nausea is a 1 or 2.  I have a friend who is so sick she ends up in the hospital has to be medicated.  So, see, no complaining here.  Mostly I'm tired and extra hungry.  I'm still working out but have gained 5 pounds already! Yikes.  I'm determined not to get plump.  We'll see.

I have decided on a doctor.  My friend and her husband have their own ob/gyn practice.  I will not being SEEING them (if you know what I mean), but will see the midwife and other two doctors in the office.

They deliver at a much smaller hospital than the one at which I delivered the first five so I'm looking forward to that.  My first appointment is Thursday.  Then next week I go back for a sonogram.

Did you know insurance only allows 2-3 people to be with you in the hospital room when you deliver now?  I had 5 with me when I delivered Iris.  I definitely want Emma and Iris with me this time.  I didn't ask if that eliminated kids.  And all this time, I've been picturing 5 kids coming in to see the baby when he/she is born.  There will be 8. 

On the adoption front...We sent our dossier and three care packages with the agency director to Ethiopia this past Friday.  I forgot to take pictures of the care packages.  We included a photo album with pictures of all of us, stickers, bandaids, crayons, pencil, a small notebook, hair bows and headbands, toothbrush and paste, lotion, and beef jerky (we don't eat it but we'll work on healthy eating when they get here).  I think that's it.

This weekend we get to go to a gathering with other families in the area who have or are adopting from Ethiopia.  Isn't that cool?  What a nice support system they have in place.

~~~
I have so many posts I want to do on topics like chores, picky eaters, books I'm reading (ever so slowly), etc.  Hopefully I'll get to them soon.

Thoughts About Having 9 Children

Someone asked me what my thoughts have been realizing we will go from having 5 children to 9 in the next seven months.

Well, I've had lots of thoughts.  The thought of the work load actually doesn't phase me too much.  I can handle more laundry and food preparation and dishes, etc.  Our current 5 are very helpful and independent.  I'll expect the same from the K, A and E after their transition to their new home, country, family, etc.  I've never been one to baby my kids.  If they can hold a cup, they can walk to the refrigerator and get their own ice and water.

The most daunting part right now in my mind about the girls coming from Ethiopia is the medical stuff - parasites, lice, scabies, ringworm.  I don't know if they will have all or just some of the above but I'm not looking forward to any of that.  And I don't want the kids here to get any of it!

I told my mom if people ask me to help, I'm going to take it.  I'll be washing sheets daily for at least the first month and vacuuming twice a day.  And propably wiping everything down like a woman with OCD on steroids!

I'll also be teaching them how to use a toilet and not the backyard.  How to wash themselves, brush their teeth properly, wear underwear, use toilet paper, that sort of stuff. 

And since you never know how they are going to transition, I'm preparing for the worst...rejection, fits, etc.  Think about it...some crazy white family is taking them out of their culture, away from their people to a place they can't even imagine with strange food and an overabundance of everything.  It has to be shocking to them.

I was also thinking one night in bed about how sad it is for them.  They went to bed without a kiss from their mommy.  And when they woke up in the morning, she wasn't there to greet them with a smile or a hug.  So while it's great that they get the opportunity to live in this affluent country and have the best brothers and sisters in the world, who wouldn't trade all that for their mommy?

School next year is a blur!  I have no idea how I will get it done.  Again, if anyone knows a teenager who needs community service hours next year, surely that would count, right?!  I will basically do kindergarten with the K, A & E.  And then will have grades 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th & 6th.

My word for next year is "NO".  Not to my kids but to outside activities and commitments...at least until July.

I am looking forward to the baby and all the hands that are eager to hold and pet him or her.

I will say I had a talk with God and respectfully told Him He got us into this. I'm going to need Him to HELP me through it!  I CAN NOT DO IT MYSELF!

So there you go. 

The Duggars

I love the Duggars.  If anyone should have a bunch of kids, they should.  I don't get to watch the show very often (only on vacation or at my parents') but when I do, one thing I notice is that they rarely if ever have a negative thing to say about anything or anyone.  How cool is that?  Talk about standing out in a crooked and twisted generation!

Well, here is a nice article (there are so many bad ones) about the Duggars that I thought I'd share. Enjoy.

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.