Progress

We are so excited!!  It seems like we are SO close to bringing our kiddos home.   So many people ask when they'll be here, and it's so hard to explain because there are so many little steps along the way.   Like, just to get their visas from the US Embassy, we have to wait on an email saying our I-600 has been approved, then, wait on an email saying our visa packet can be picked up.  Next, we wait on an email saying we have a exit interview appointment and then we'll have a date for our visas to actually be printed.   The time in between each of those things seems like FOREVER and it's really unpredictable how long it will take.   My mom is in country so she's actually gone and tried to pick up our packet without THE email.  They wouldn't even let her in the embassy without it.   RIght now things are moving very quickly and it's likely our kids could be home in the next few weeks.   Our visa exit interview is January 31st!!!!    On that day, we should get a date that our visas will be printed (that is when you can bring them home) and it's been taking anywhere from a few days to a couple of months!   RIght now it's about 1-2 weeks out.  

Chad is going to go on this trip.   He's so excited to go back.  Ethan is really wanting to go as well.  He's been saving up his money for so long.  For almost a year he has not spent his allowance on anything.  It goes straight to his savings for a plane ticket.   When I ask him why he wants to go he says he wants to read his Bible to the kids.  He will randomly thinks about things he could do with "the kids".   It's really sweet.  The other day we were in Walmart and he asked if we could go look around the toy section.  I told him I was not going to buy any toys and asked why he wanted to.   He said, "Well, sometimes I get tempted to spend my money on some toys, I'm not going to, I just get tempted to sometimes."   I told him we could go look and he could spend some of his money if he wanted to, but, he decided against it.    He knows the trip is fast approaching and I talked with him about he doesn't have enough money yet.   He said, "Well, maybe God wants me to do something else with that money".     His attitude has just really blown me away.   I probably would have thrown a fit and said something like, "that's not fair!"....well, at least I would have thought it.     My heart just wants to find a way so bad for him to go.   Chad and I are praying about it.   We just about have our money for the pick up trip.   We're praying if it's God's will that He will make a way.  If it's not, I pray He'll show Ethan what he should do with the money he's saved and that's been given to him.  

The other part of the story that touches my heart is that Luke has also put every dime he earns in Ethan's jar or in a jar that's for food for the orphans.   He also has not spent his money on himself.  This does cause problems sometimes though.   We've tried to use Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Jr.  that uses commission and fines.   I don't like to use it for character or a lot of behavior issues.  I feel like that doesn't get to the heart of the matter and I don't want my kids to "be good" to earn money.   Anyways....Luke is famous for taking VERY long showers.  I gave him a time limit and told him for every minute after that he would be fined so that he could help pay the water bill.    He very sincerely said, "Mom, but that's for food for the orphans!".  I couldn't help but laugh!   I told him he better hurry up and get out then! :)  

The other morning the boys got up before me and scrubbed the toilet, sink, cleaned up the living room, kitchen, dusted the furniture....I just stood there wondering what was going on.   I said, "wow!!!   Why did you do all this???".   I expected to hear that it was because of how much they loved me, but, they just said emphatically, "We need more money!".     I cracked up.  But, then, I thought about what that money was for...not them. I wanted to cry.   I can learn a lot from my boys!