Here.

We have completed our home study!  And we are well on our way to completing our dossier!  I never understood how excited people were when they were at this point in their adoption process.  I couldn't fully appreciate the amount of time and energy spent on...paperwork.  It's really something.  Each piece of paper notarized, on letterhead, with an exact date; all information on every piece of paper exactly matching; nothing written over or corrected, in a specific color of ink.  Can you imagine?  The doctors and bank people we've worked with have been so accomodating. 

There have been several encouraging things that have happened recently - two of the most difficult pieces of paperwork to get done correctly, have been completed - with minimal aggravation AND we've had two offers of fundrasing help from different people -- in addition to the silent auction we are planning in July. 

The first fundraiser began even a month or more ago.  Our dear friend's daughter instigated this plan to sell strawberry plants to raise money to help us bring our boy home.  Ella is her name.  She (and her family) are in our homeschool group.  So, Ella has been marketing the plants and pulling them out, bagging them up and helping with delivery.  Having a black thumb, I know there's more to it than that...I just wouldn't know how to begin a process like this.  Her mom, Sarah, shared with me that they were a little overwhelmed initially with the success of their plan - they were concerned that they wouldn't have enough plants to complete the orders that were coming in.  However, every time they go out to the strawberry bed, she said, there's more plants - like loaves and fishes, they just keep growing.  AMAZING!  I love it.  Recently, the local paper has run a story about Ella's project - here's the link if you want to check it out:  
Girl sells plants to help friends | Hillsboro Star-Journal | May 15, 2013

Let me interject here to say that - I think I've alluded to this before, and if not in my blog then for sure if you've talked to me in person - this adoption has stretched our faith in such a different way.  We have so little information on which to continue.  We are literally hanging onto prayer.  We pray for a boy whom we hope is well; one whom we hope is somewhere to be found.  We have no updated picture or current medical information.  We merely move forward, step by step.  Educating our children as best we can to what we think will happen within the next year.  So, when we hear of stories like the above or groups of people who are willing to help with other fundraisers it's very much that they are being used as voices of Hope from our God.  He continues to offer us encouragement when we are at our lowest energy.  He continues to say to us "Go, I will work out the details.  I have a child who needs your family.  I have it all worked out."  WONDERFUL!

So, the next call I got last week was from another person in our homeschool co-op who asked if they could organize a lemonade stand and bake sale for us.  They had been working with a local business who was willing to let them use their storefront.  It just so happens that the weekend they chose is the same as Main Street Mania - our town's sidewalk sale when there will be that many more customers and opprtunities to share our story with others.  INCREDIBLE!  This is going to happen June 20-22 - so, if you need some nice cold lemonade and something sweet to go with it, check them out in front of Faith and Life Bookstore. 

We are amazed. 

I read this quote on facebook this week and it's particularly meaningful to me right now:

THE PATIENCE OF FAITH

"Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says - "I cannot stand anymore." God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. Though He slay me, yet will I wait for Him.'" ~ Oswald Chambers

I have been pondering the thought of when we all get to Heaven and our sight is made perfect how calming that will be.  There will be no question of  "why."  We won't have to be irritated, only understanding.  We won't need to manipulate anything or anyone or worry or wish - we can REST.  We are called to do that now - but it's hard because our sight is not perfected yet.  We have the assurance that the ONE in whom we trust can see the end but we have to TRUST.  And there's a reason for this too.  I'm sure of it.  For me, I'm growing.  That's what the picture on our blog is all about - holding out our heart.  Here.  Just take it.  Sometimes I look like the girl with my hands on my hips and a frown on my face...and my little bit of effort is accepted by Jesus - He takes what I give and makes more.  In my better moments, both arms are outstretched and I'm willingly giving...and I'm better for that attitude. 
Here. 
Take it. 
Giving my all. 
   

Why?

Do you know where I should be?  In bed.  But I am here at the computer listening to the thunder, reading blogs...blogs about children in the far off country that we will travel to soon. 

I have been preparing school for next year - we homeschool and I need to have a school plan for our two oldest kids to follow when we're gone...no, they will not do it on their own - we are not THAT homeschool family with the independently entrepreneurial (I can't even spell that word) children who graduate at 12 all while growing our own food and building our own house...my parents will keep them and will keep school going in our absence.

I'm not one of those people to prepare for the very worst.  When I was pregnant I REFUSED to watch TLC's Baby Story...I find myself doing the same thing with this adoption.  There are documentaries, blogs, facebook groups...many sources of information that I could read to prepare myself for what we will see when we travel to the orphanage in this far off country.  But, being an optimist who pretends to practice realism - I don't want to look.  I wonder things like "what does our little boy do all day?" 

I had an interesting question asked of me this week - here is my well-thought-out answer that I couldn't think to give at the moment:
  
             "Why" - the lady at the nail salon asks why would we adopt when we 1) have three children and 2) could have more of our "own" -- and to her I said "we love children."  But, it is so much deeper than that.  Yes, I love children but it isn't love that drives us to spend our savings, leave our beloved children, travel to a scary place and open ourselves up to love a child who will likely hurt us emotionally.  It has to be more than love.  It isn't duty.  I don't need to adopt to prove myself.  I don't need  that jewel in my crown.  It is so much deeper than this.  It is a calling.  A compelling feeling.  A deep understanding of where I would be without a family, without my Father God.  It is placing myself mentally and emotionally into that dirty crib, never washed, never held, poorly fed and ignored - that is the deep, the connection.  That is the "why."

We have decided what we are going to do to raise money for this adotion and we are hoping to get some help from you...will you help us?  Here is our idea:  a silent auction/dessert party
                                                  When:  middle of July
                                                  Where: at our church
                                                  Who: You are all invited
                                                  What do we need:  if you have a gift or service or item that could be
                                                                                included in a silent auction, would you donate it to us?
                                                                            We will list the available items on this blog and then on
                                                                                 that night, you can come and enjoy amazing dessert
                                                                              bid on the items.

Our adoption is going to cost at least $25,000.  It's dependant on our time in country and travel expenses mostly.  It's an expensive process and for this country, the turn around is fast - which is great for us! but means that we have to raise the money in a shorter amount of time. 
So, our main fundraiser will be the silent auction.  We are requesting a matching grant to assist with that from Lifesong and there's always the option of people donating at Reece's Rainbows - there's a button on the left side of the page to direct you to that site.
If the silent auction item interests you, message me here or message me on facebook.  We are really excited to get this started!  July will be here before we know it and we are tentatively planning to travel in August or September.