Example

Today I have been blow away...again! First, this morning at piano lessons, our sweet piano teacher told us that she didn't want us to pay for lessons as her contribution to our adoption. She is only 16 years old! She is truly living out 1 Timothy 4:12....setting an example to the believers. Later today, at our homeschool co-op, a fellow adoptive mom handed me a $100 bill! Our God is awesome and He loves these kids more than I do!

One Step Closer

Today I have been blown away again by God's faithfulness and the generosity of his people! Through this process so far, God has taught me a lot, but, I still struggle with discouragement and anxiety about the financial part of this adoption. This morning I read Ps 125:1 "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be moved...". I want to be like that. I want to stand strong in my faith and in my trust in God when tough things come my way. I don't want to be shaken by things that are really no big deal for God. I want to keep my eyes on HIM instead of the circumstances. I'm SO thankful for His grace! I got a text today from someone that really doesn't know me very well. She asked me to meet her in Knoxville. When I met her, she handed me a check for our adoption. I was completely blown away by the amount. We've been trying to raise the money to file our I-600a and this check made up the difference that we needed! I've fought back tears all day! I'm so humbled by this family, so grateful to God, so excited that we are going to be one step closer to our babies!!!

Spring Mini Sessions

Spring Mini Sessions!

$75 for a 30 minute session and 10-15 images on cd.

March 18th and 19th

at my home in Maryville

We will have baby chicks and ducks and will be taking the pictures at a barn!

Saturday is already filling up. Please let me know asap if you are interested!

All proceeds go to our adoption!

I600

God has been so faithful and the generosity of friends, family, and complete strangers has totally blown us away! We just wired our first big chunk of money over to Ghana last week. It felt great and was such a testimony of God's provision. Now we are onto our next few big financial steps in this process. We really need to file our I600 as soon as we can. This is something that is filed with our government that allows us to bring orphans into this country. The reason it needs to be done soon, is that it can take a while to be processed. It's $895 to file this. Please pray with us for this money to come in.

We still have t shirts available if you or anyone you know might be interested!

Thanks so much!

Brave Little Bear

We are not exactly sure yet what we are going to do as far as our kids' names go. We know that we'll keep most of their names but maybe add a middle name or something like that. I looked up the meaning of their names and "Little B's" name means Brave as a bear! I thought that was so cute and somehow it seems to fit. I've been dreaming about the kids. I know it's weird, but, it almost seems as if I've already held them. So many days I find myself crying just because I miss them so much. I CANNOT wait to meet them and hold them. Hopefully, it won't be too long now!

I just had to share a picture...even though it won't show his face. :o)

Spring is on the way!

It has been such a harsh winter here. We have been so ready for the sun to come out and for it to be warm again. Yesterday was gorgeous! We were outside for hours. The boys got covered in mud, which is one of their favorite things to do, and just ran like crazy through the woods. Chad also put up this tire swing and they absolutely love it!

Chad was working on burning stuff where our garden is going to be. We have a lot of work to do to get it ready for a garden. Every time I look at it I think of our sweet neighbors who bushhogged and plowed it up for us!

Sweet pea was attacking Ethan the whole time he was on the swing. She looks like she is being vicious but really she was being gentle. She is still such a puppy!

Then Ethan got out his bb gun and had some fun.

Time to wash all the mud off!

A journey of FAITH

I know that is what this adoption will be. It's not going to be time when all $15000 comes to us at once. We are going to have to learn to trust Him step by step. I'm actually getting excited about that! At first....I was so stressed...couldn't sleep or think about anything else. I have a long way to go, but, I'm learning that this is how He is glorified.

We had our yard sale this weekend and we've been selling stuff on ebay and craigslist. T-shirt sales have been going good. People have been extremely generous and we've received several checks that were totally unexpected. I've been really touched by one family giving us $100. I know that this is a HUGE sacrifice for them. They struggle to make it but chose to give sacrificially. We're learning so many lessons as a family and we're so inspired as we watch how He uses people.

So....at this point...we have about $2796 due for homestudy, fingerprinting, and our first amount due to send to Ghana. Guess how much we have.....rougly $2800!!! I haven't been able to count to the cent because I'm sick and we have ALOT of quarters and pennies. (Ethan and Luke are on a mission to collect every cent they find and add it to their jar)

God is so good! We're coming up on some much bigger financial hurdles very quickly. Please pray for God to provide and for us to put our trust in Him completely. I'm always tempted to get my eyes on the need instead of focusing on Him.

We're so grateful to everyone who has given....money, items for our yard sale, and their time!!!

Philippians 4:19 My God will supply ALL your needs!

Science Camp

Today I got the privilege of helping a friend with a science camp she does for homeschoolers. It was awesome because Ethan got to participate! It was so good! She is awesome at making everything so fun. For everything they learned, they did something hands-on.

They did everything from eating a brain....

"yum"

To recreating the digestive system. They started with a pb&J sandwich and put it through all of the steps it goes through in our bodies....

Through the "intestines"....

And the end result.....poop. :o)

They made fake blood....

Then....they got to examine organs from a pig. It was fun to watch Ethan. I didn't think he would do it. He almost passed out when he got blood drawn last year. He gets queasy just hearing about blood and stuff. But, he did awesome! He loved it!

What a great experience!!! We are so blessed!

More Progress

Yesterday we headed over to Knoxville and I renewed my passport. It feels good to get that done. We will get the boys' passports as soon as we raise more money!

Then...we came home for our last home study interview. Debbie was so sweet. She let the boys give her a tour of the house. She just asked them questions as they went. It was funny to listen in on their conversations. When she asked if they ever fight and stuff they answered, "No". Chad and I cracked up laughing! Ethan did get nervous at the end because everyone was looking at him and she was asking him questions about how he felt about the adoption. My boys get so easily embarrassed and nervous. They have these silly voices and faces that they immediately revert to. I don't know if that's something all kids do or if it's just my kids???

Basically....that was it! I can't believe how easy it was! I'm really excited that things are moving along so quickly.

God is really working on me in some areas. I'm really having to learn to trust Him. I fight all day to keep my eyes on Him instead of the circumstances around me. Today, I finally feel a peace. I can feel that I'm letting go and giving it over to Him.

This morning I read this devotional:

I am with you and for you. You face nothing alone - nothing! When you feel anxious, know that you are focusing on the visible world and leaving Me out of the picture. The remedy is simple: Fix your eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. Verbalize your trust in Me, the Living One who sees you always. I will get you safely through this day and all your days. But you can find Me only in the present. Each day is a precious gift from My Father. How ridiculous to grasp for future gifts when today's is set before you! Receive today's gift gratefully, unwrapping it tenderly and delving into its depths. As you savor this gift, you find Me.

One Less

A few people shared this on their blogs and I just had to share! Please listen.