Bake sale fundraiser success!

If you were to stop by our bake sale this weekend, you might have seen this proud brother and sister pair...

If you happened to come for the short while we had Baby Eva with us, you might have seen this...

This bake sale began in the hearts of several of the families in our homeschool coop.  At first, it was going to be a small affair...a way to get the kids involved in something.  Well, let me tell you, I think that there may have been a chuckle from God on that one.  This "little" stand started on Friday morning at 9am with 53 dozen cookies (we dont believe in shorting anyone on cookies around here!) and continued for 2 days... With a profit of over $1,000.00!! The mothers in our coop organized everything for us! There were teams of people serving every 2 hours. The kids were involved and engaged- they held signs to advertise and yelled on the street corners as well as serving lemonade.  The business that we set up in front of was so gracious with the use of their water, facilities and chairs- we were grateful!  If you're in Newton, shop at Faith And Life -- they demonstrated much love to us throughout the fundraiser.  

A huge demonstration to our kids was the excitement that other kids had about their new brother.  That others could come alongside our family and give so selflessly was a wonderful example.

We had people stop by and talk- I was able to share our previous adoption stories and what led us to do it again.  That was my favorite- the discussions I was able to have. Two people who stopped by had personal ties to the country where we are going and that was incredible! I asked many questions and listened as their love for this country come through in their stories. 

My thoughts from this weekend have been the immense blessing that we have to be surrounded by people who are not only familiar and in favor of adoption but whom have embraced this concept.  They don't applaud from the sidelines "hoping" it will all work out but they are willing to come alongside, with a strong, personal understanding that what God has put together is perfect.

So, on to the next task... Eric and I are going to get fingerprinted tomorrow and that will be the final step before our approval on the US side.  I am beginning to work on the July fundraiser feverishly! It's going to be so much fun! I hope you can come!! We will need to have some more items donated to our silent auction... So far, we have salon products and gift certificate, Scentsy products, Longaberger baskets, Creative memories items, Rusted Chain jewelry, handmade jewelry, a fun barn tent, Mani/Pedi gift certificate, handmade pottery and a quilt...doesn't that list sound fun so far?  Do you think there's anything else you can add for us? Any skill or item you could donate to help us raise some money?  We would appreciate it so much! 

Thank you so much to those who stopped at our booth and donated, and to those who thought of us and prayed- we are amazed at what God is doing to provide for us right now!

I'm excited to be posting again. 
So much has happened in the last month! 
We sent our dossier to our faraway land - a little earlier than we were expecting.  My parents were blessed with "time on their hands" and volunteered to take our dossier to be apostilled in Topeka.  This was wonderful because then we didn't have to relinquish all of our most important papers to the mail system. 
When they returned with all the documents, our facilitator suggested that we overnight them to another family traveling that weekend to this faraway land.  Can I tell you that I was really anxious about this step.  This is really real. To send all of the paperwork.  That's the final step that is in our "control." Now we are preparing to settle in and wait...and wait...and wait.
So, our documents are there.  Being reviewed by our facilitation team on the country side and then on to that government. 
Reece's Rainbows has such a great system in place.  The team in the US has seen all of our documents and we've been able to make quick changes that will speed the process along on the other country's side.  They have such an efficient method.  Their goal being to quickly and safely get orphans to their families.

We have recently heard that the process may be longer than it has been - this country has become known as a "fast" country to adopt from...however, as the spiritual war continues for the hearts and lives of orphans, a new little "hiccup" may cause dire complications for this countries most needy...for us, it means that possibly we won't travel as soon as we thought.  But we don't really know.  We will wait.

I just got a facebook update on a child that I haven't been able to forget.  This child had been adopted and died within hours of arriving home with his forever family.  Some may think - "why even bother if they're that sick."  Others may wonder if the "trauma" of travel was "good for this one."  I have rolled this very topic over in my head many times - ever since I worked with medically fragile and terminally ill babies several years ago.  Why?  And the answer is that Father God has made it so.  He sees purpose in each little life.  And He sees the deepest heart-needs of the dying child.  He knew that for that little child who died upon arriving home, he needed to be held in the arms of a forever love.  Possibly, through the support raising of this family, others will be adopted - awareness raised.  His life was not lived or lost in vain. 
This is not an isolated case.  It's not pretty either.

Within our family, we just celebrated a really good Father's Day.  We had 28 people over to our house for BBQ.  It was really fun!  Our kids wanted to create their own sprinkler park so we pulled out the beach ball sprinkler, slip and slide and in-ground sprinkler system and had fun!  Eventually, the kids got tired of running and landing on the slip and slide so they got a Little Tykes slide out and slid down that, giving just the right amount of momentum to get a really good ride.  Ingenious, what a little laziness will create.  :)

Since we now have evenings free of paperwork and corrections, we have been working on getting our two oldest kids rooms painted and decorated in the basement.  Up until now they have both shared a room upstairs but Isaiah assures us he's too old for that and doesn't want anything "girlish" in his space.  Annie is more reserved in her excitement - that's typical of her personality - but she's chosen pink and purple for the colors and it's beautiful.  We will have our new little boy in the room across the hall from us as we get to know him better and he learns what it means to have a mom and dad available to meet your needs and calm your fears.  That's a new concept to an orphan and has to be learned like everything else.   It has taken Isaiah and Annie several years to feel that it's ok not to handle things like illness and fear on their own.  New Brother's independence will be that much more established. 

Our adoption support with Reece's has jumped a considerable amount recently - thank you to whomever responded to our need.  Our next big bunch of money to transfer across the ocean is 8500 to cover country fees such as lodging and transportation when we are in this country. 

Our homeschool support group has been baking and planning for a lemonade stand and bake sale to raise money for our adoption.  We will be at Main Street Mania this Friday and Saturday 9am-3pm each day.  Come and check it out!  It will be set up in front of Faith and Life Bookstore - they have been so generous with the use of their facility.  I'm so excited about this! 

There continues to be many unknowns.  More than I'm typically comfortable with.  I recently purchased a verse picture that has the verse from Psalm 16:5-6 ... "Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."  I feel that this is God's promise to me right now.  He has assigned me my "task" and has made the boundary lines pleasant.  I don't know what we will encounter but I know this promise and it's what I have to hold onto.

Well, there's our little night owl (Eva) howling at my side now...it's 11:42pm...so I will be done for now but will try my best to update you after this lemonade and bake sale stand this weekend.  Stop by if you can!

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.

 



    

A Song in My Heart

When we first began praying about adopting again...when we found our little boy with the big brown eyes and could not forget him - I heard this song over and over again.  The lyrics are amazing!

Here they are:

You hear me when I call
You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night
It can not hide the Light
Whom Shall I Fear

You Crush the enemy
Underneath my feet
You are my Sword and Shield
Though troubles linger still
Whom Shall I Fear

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side
The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side

My strength is in Your Name
For You alone can save
You will deliver me
Yours is the victory
Whom shall I fear
Whom Shall I Fear

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side
The One who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in your hand
I'm holding on to your promises
You are faithful
You ar Faithful

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in Your hand
I am holding on to Your promises
You are faithful
You are Faithful
You are Faithful

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side (x2)

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side
The One who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side

The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side

They're by Chris Tomlin -

I love the "God Defender" picture coupled with the assurance that He is my Friend.  He is so big and yet willing to meet me...be my Friend. 

There's this one and another song that I can't remember right now that continue to reassure me of God's promise of safety...He didn't promise I would be comfortable...but I will be safe.  He didn't promise me it would be easy...but He will be there.  He didn't promise me that I could see a purpose in the moment, but that everything He plans is for my good. 

 

April

I'm finding that to narrow your thoughts to fit in a blog is difficult.  You have no idea how lucky you are as I have typed this entry many times...and you would have had to wade through SO much extraneous information...
Here's a condensed glimpse...
Our April is always busy!  Isaiah and Eva share the very same birthday - it's so neat!  Our oldest and youngest both born on the same day - 6 years apart. 
Very different circumstances - Isaiah's being born meant struggle - the angels of Heaven were sent to surround him in a unique way as he fought to breathe, never ate independently until 12 months, was poked and prodded and labeled, hospitalized repeatedly and given up on by all human standards.  His smile is a miracle - his life is blessed. 
Eva -- no less blessed - she came into this world knowing that she was wanted...I was there and she was more than a little upset about the whole process - she held onto my finger so tightly, nearly causing it to lose feeling.  She had a "princess" mentality even then.  Her coming into our family was anticipated by all -- celebrated - rejoiced over immediately.
When you think  of children who will be born tonight...pray for the ones who are not wanted.  Pray that they will experience, as we believe Isaiah experienced, a complete peace that is God-given.  Jesus cries with these babies, He hurts for them, He loves them and He holds them close so that they are not alone.  In their brokenness, they were created for a purpose.
I always end up thinking along these lines in April - Isaiah loves sharing his birthday, by the way - that's one of the questions we are often asked.  And they do SHARE it...in every way.  Some have wondered if we have separate parties for them.  No, if God had intended us to do that, He would have had them born on different days.  I'm sure there's a neat reason behind this connection.  For Annie, April is a lesson in patience -- and us constantly reassuring her that even though it isn't her birthday she is not forgotten. 
In addition to all the birthday preparation, we were preparing for our home study.  That meant lots of cleaning and organizing.  Our home study visit went well.  If you're unfamiliar with the process, a home study is mostly characteriozed by transparency.  Eric and I both answered 56 autobiographical questions such as: how do we resolve conflict, our discipline approach, our financial situation, our friends, family, histories...the Social Worker knows many things about us! 
Tonight, Eric is finalizing a list of what needs to be completed for our dossier.  The sooner we get it in the better.  Our son is waiting on us.  That thought alone propels us into action.  We have a little boy waiting on his family to come and get him and take him home.
We are looking at August-September as our possible travel months if things keep going as smoothly as they are so far.  That's exciting!  I keep imagining this time next year and another little boy running around - such nice thoughts.
Here are some specific ways you can pray for us:
For our little boy waiting....pray that God will surround Him with safety.  I have known some real moments of anxiety over his safety.  We don't know if he's been moved to the adult mental institution but that would be a bad thing when you're 5.  The typical moving age from the baby house is 4...we pray he has been overlooked thus far.  Also for him, pray that God is preparing his heart to receive us.  When you're an orphan with no hope for the future, it's hard to all of a sudden accept that change into your life gracefully.  No matter how bad your "normal" is - some children cling to it as it is known. 
For us, our family has experienced spiritual attacks since we began this process - do you know what Satan hates even more than us raising our biological children to know and love God?  It's bringing orphans into the mix....if you think about it, Satan has got orphans right where he wants them, desparate and without hope, unwanted and broken.  When Christian families seek to change that, he fights.  We are praying for God's powerful protection on our family. 
On a sweet ending note, I got a message from a friend of mine that her daughter is selling strawberry plants to raise money for our adoption.  Isn't that neat?  Thank you, Ella! 

The first entry

Here is my first ever blog post. Since we have decided to adopt again, there may be some people reading this who don't know us very well...it's likely that you may be reading this thinking you know me too well...bear with the introduction.  Eric and I have been married for going on 9 years...I had to think about that for a minute...we have experienced many things in those short years and sometimes it seems like it must be longer... I don't say that in any way but positively...I married my best friend...these experiences we've had we're/are God-planned...I'm just glad He gave me someone like Eric to journey through them with...that may be the one of the most grammatically incorrect sentences ever. Oh well.
So, we have adopted twice--our older children -Isaiah and Annie-  began their lives in foster care....their stories, they are their own...they are amazing...they are living testimonies of God's individual care of children-living examples that Father God will go to great lengths to rescue just one little lamb.  They are just 7 months apart and act like twins. We homeschool them and love that. It works well for our family.  We began he adoption process without much knowledge; just an understanding that first Isaiah and then Annie needed our family- that they were designed to be ours.  Since then, we have learned much about attachment, attachment disorders and all the other things that come along with adoption.  Isaiah came into or home when e was 15 months old and Annie came a year after when she was 2.
Our little baby Eva was born to us nearly 2 years ago. She and Isaiah share the very same birthday- exactly 6 years apart.  Many people have asked us if we adopted because we didn't think we could have children biologically. Nope, that was not our reason. For us, we simply saw children in need.  Baby Eva...she very much enjoys her role as the "baby" in our home. She's beautiful and strong-willed.  Like the other two, she fits well into our family and we don't know what we'd do without her.
She makes the most amazing cat sound and loves to tell you about cows. She will be 2 on Thursday so aha getting some extra practice in asserting her own ideas...just so she's ready for her birthday.
So, we are adopting again. This time from a far away land.  We saw this little boy on Reece's rainbows and couldn't stop thinking about him.  It's amazing how quickly you can feel the beginnings of attachment to a child you have never met. I have his country on my phone so I can check the weather, I know what time it is for him there. I worry about him and wonder about what he is doing to fill his time; is he warm?; well fed?; healthy?  I'm afraid that the answer to most of those questions is not favorable and so I want him to be here. I picture what our family will be like with another boy...it's a good picture.
We are looking at doing a fireworks stand this summer to raise money to help with the expenses.  If you think you can help us with that would you let us know?  We might need a little help.
We watched the final 4 game tonight....by "watch," I mean we DVR it, pause to get food and drink and change diapers, pause to remind the kids how to quietly play or watch the game PLEASE!!!! And then fast forward through all the commercials so we can make the most of our evening...it's hard to watch anything with three kids! Oh well, we got the idea...my alma mater lost.
Ok, I'm getting the idea of the blog...Eric designed it, didn't he do a good job? I will keep you updated on our adoption and if anything else exciting happens to us!