Orphan Care is Warfare

Chad is on an airplane back to the States right now. I've missed him so much and I'm so ready for him to be home. At the same time, I wish he could have stayed with our children there. He said today was very hard on our little girl. It sounds like she kind of shut down and shut him out. She's been through so much. It's probably the only way she knows how to deal with it. They bonded so much while he was there. He also bonded a lot with our little guy. He said he would hold him for hours and hours and when he'd have to give him to someone he would cry for him. Chad is so good at just being with the kids and spending time with them. I get busy and have a hard time not being preoccupied. I'm glad he got to go and just be there for them. I cannot wait until it's my turn! I seem to have a knot in my stomach and an aching heart. Praying for God to comfort us and them. To draw us all closer to Him through this and to prepare us for being together. I know it's going to be a big change for everyone and we will have a lot of learning and adjusting to do.

While reading Orphanology last night, it talked about how orphan care IS spiritual warfare. Taking care of orphans is part of the Great Commission and Satan will attack when we are trying to do what God has called us to do. He is a thief, liar, murderer and deceiver. I've seen that in several circumstances during this process. So...it says, "that means that adoption and orphan care requires serious prayer, a reliance on God's power, and a steadfast faith in the promises of God". Oh I have a long way to go. This process is definitely bringing out my weaknesses and my ugly side. Just thankful for God's grace!

In other news....we had a hail storm here this week and Ethan lost his tooth! I was glad to not be in my car during this hailstorm. Unfortunately, it hit about 90 seconds after my sisters had left my house. They had to turn around and come back and were pretty shaken up. But...everyone was ok.

Jemima

Jemima is my favorite of our 5 ducks. She's a beautiful silver/gray color. She can't quack....she tries, but all that that comes out is a pathetic squeak. This morning, all of the ducks came up to the kitchen window as usual. Well, Jemima wasn't with them. I immediately assumed she must have been killed by a dog like our other duck. These ducks never separate! They always stay right together. They stayed at the window for a minute and then went to the pond which I thought was weird because after a dog has been around they usually stay on the porch for a couple of days. Well, they came back and then went to the pond again and again. Finally, I knew something was up and looked out at the pond. Sure enough, I saw Jemima swimming in circles in the pond and shaking her head around. I ran down there and had to fish her out. She had a huge fishing lure caught on the underside of her beak and then the other end was under her wing. She had also cut up her feet pretty bad trying to get it out. SHe was pitiful. Our wonderful neighbors came down and clipped the ends off of the hooks so we could get it out. She seems to be ok and the others were all worn out. They all went to sleep as soon as we sat her on the ground!

My heart is breaking...

Chad has 3 more days left with our children. Then, he will have to tell them good-bye for now and come home. I've listened and watched our little girl with him. She is in love with him. The way they talk and interact....it's like they've always been together. It's so sweet and amazing. But my heart is breaking. She has a daddy for the first time in her life and he's going to leave her....hoping that she can trust and believe that we'll be back to get her. She already doesn't even want to think about it. It just seems too much for little children to bear. I know it is! She's already been through so much.

Through this, I also know, that God is sovereign, her defender, her comforter, and her FATHER. I'm praying that God helps us all to know this deep in our hearts as we cling to Him. Also, that he would help C to know this and to know Him deeply.

My beautiful daughter!

I wish that I could share pictures on here right now! Chad doesn't have a way to send me pics and video, so I'll have to wait until he gets home.

Just wanted to update on how it's going. After 4 CRAZY days in airports, Chad finally made it to Africa. It was insane and pretty disappointing, but, we know that God is in control. There must have been a reason and we tried to seek God about what we needed to learn from this. That's not to say that I wasn't an emotional basketcase...but, it was definitely a growing experience.

Chad's having an awesome time. Miss C is already in love with her daddy. She gets jealous of the other kids when they go to the orphanage. She doesn't want him having anything to do with the other kids.

I do believe that Chad is smitten as well. Ever since we first started getting pictures of her, she would look so different in the pictures depending on the angle the picture was taken from. Sometimes we weren't even sure if it was her. Well, this morning (3am here), this was what Chad said....."You know how she looks so different in different pictures? Well...she has this beautiful look about her that I've never seen in any of the pictures. She's just beautiful."

Chad asked her if she could count to 8 and then helped her count. He told her that's how many days he would be there and then he would have to leave and then mommy would come bring her home. She said, "you can't leave!". He tried to explain further...she said..."but you're my daddy!". I know it's going to be so heart wrenching for both of them. Please pray for her precious little heart to be able to bare this!

We got to video chat with them this morning. There wasn't much talking because there was a huge delay, but, it was precious watching her rub Chad's head and jump up and down on his lap, listen to her giggle as she was tickled, etc. I asked, "whose daddy is that?". She yelled, "ME!".

Baby brother is almost walking. I think it would be so cool if Chad could be there for his first steps!

I cannot wait to meet my precious children!!!!

He's on his way!

Well, I had intended to take a picture of Chad walking to his gate, looking back at us, waving good-bye, etc. It was gonna be so sweet. Well, things didn't exactly go as planned...and that's ok. We got to the airport, all psyched up, only to find out that his flight from Knoxville was cancelled. He would have to come back the next day and his trip would now take 24 hours. We were disappointed, because his time in Africa would be cut a couple of days short. So, the airline let us change the day he comes back and he will now be in Africa for 10 days! I was so happy for him, but, freaking out for us! He's never been gone for this long...close to 2 weeks. So...we get to the airport today to find out that his flight was delayed, which may cause him to miss his flight in Frankfurt! All I know right now is that he got out of Knoxville. We were so tired , hungry and stressed that we said our good byes at the front of the airport without any pictures. I'm hoping he'll be able to email and let me know where he ends up! It's a strange feeling to have him so far away. It's also so strange to have 2 children whom I love so much, but I've never met, so far away! I've had a roller coaster of emotions lately! Another thing I cry about often (not sure why) is a name change.

We've decided what we're going to name our little boy. It's after a beautiful adoption story in the Bible. We were looking up adoption stories in the Bible with the boys one night. As soon as Chad turned to this one, we looked at each other and just knew that was going to be his name. In the weeks afterward, I kind of went back and forth. But, one day in the car, tears started to stream down my face and I realized that their story was so similar. This man had a mother that loved him so much that she let him go in order to save his life. He also had an older sister that went with him to help take care of him. We've been calling him by that name for several days and it's so sweet.

We're hoping that Chad will be able to ichat with us and the kids once he is there. It will be so exciting to "meet" them finally! I can't wait to be able to share more details of his trip and more information about our kids!

He's on his way

Summer

I usually dread summer. I'm not a fan of the heat! But, we had such a long cold winter that I was ready for it. I'm actually enjoying it. Our house is surrounded by honeysuckles and other little flowers that smell so good. We haven't turned our air conditioning on, and I really can't believe it! I like to keep my house around 60 degrees in the summer! But, we're fortunate to have a lot of trees shading our house and we keep fans going, so it really hasn't been bad. Hang drying my clothes isn't bad either. I find that I don't have as many piles of laundry everywhere as when I use the dryer. We are glad to be done with school! We still have some astronomy left, but, we're really relaxed about it and just having fun with it. We are having a lot of fun with the chickens. Another homeschool family gave us two laying hens...Lacy and Josephina. They are both beautiful. Josephina was egg bound and we think she's going to be okay now, but can't be 100% certain. Other than that, they have done great! We've gotten 1 or 2 eggs most days. It's been great for the boys. It's also fun as a family. We spend a lot of time outside together...working on the garden, the chickens, ducks, etc. We've also spent a lot of time outside cutting down trees and burning brush. It's a lot of work, but, I think it's been good for all of us. I'm glad that we stay busy doing things like this, rather than in front of a tv. We're learning a lot and doing things together.

The projects we're working on now are a floating house for the ducks and rain barrels!

Tiger Cub

Ethan has had a blast in Tiger Cubs this year. He's made some good buddies and learned a lot. Tuesday was their last pack meeting for the year. They got awards and played some games. It was a fun night. It's strange realizing that he finished his first year of cub scouts when it seemed like he would never be old enough to join. They grow so fast!

Mars or Bust!

Luke has been talking about wanting a jet pack for probably 6 months. It's so cute. He says that when he gets a jet pack he's going to fly straight up and then turn it off so he can land on the clouds. Then he will bounce on them. He'll just randomly say (with a sad look on his face), "I wish I had a jet pack". Or..."for my next birthday I want a jet pack". It's so cute. He is so full of imagination that it blows my mind. He seriously never stops. Every stick turns into a gun, every automatic door opens once he ninja kicks it, the shampoo and washcloth turn into some kind of battle that makes his showers take WAY too long. I love it! He's never bored. Well, I got the idea that we could make him a jet pack out of oatmeal boxes. He was so excited! But...he can't reach the on/off buttons, and apparently that's a HUGE problem. So we still have some tweaking to do. Once we get it finished, he says he's going to go to Mars.

Remaining Funds

Well....we are at a point now where we are just waiting. We are waiting for a court date. Chad will be in Africa next Tuesday. Hopefully, sometime soon we'll have some sort of idea when our court date could be. After that, we just wait for the kids to get all of their paperwork, visas, passports, etc. In the meantime, we are trying to raise the rest of our money! We would love to be able to take the boys with us to pick up the kids. I want them to know where their brother and sister came from and I really want them to have that bonding time with them over there before they come home. But, God knows what is best and if it's His plan, He'll provide. So, our goal for the rest of our fundraising is $10,000. That includes our remaining adoption fees and all of the rest of our airfare. It also includes passports, immunizations, visas, etc. for all of us.

We are so thankful for all of the support we've gotten so far. We're trusting God and praying about what He wants US to do to raise the rest of this money.

The Big Race

The boys had a great time today at the race. They raised over $300!!!! I'm so proud of them. It was really exciting to watch them approach the finish line. This was the first race for both of them. THey really enjoyed it and feel great that they are helping bring their brother and sister home. Thanks to everyone who pledged money for them!!!!

Juice Plus Fundraiser

My sweet friend Cheris is giving us 10% of all of her sales this month! Plus, she will give us a dollar for every person who does a 15 minute web walk with her on the phone!

Please CHECK OUT HER SITE HERE!!

They have some wonderful products for kids and adults!

Happy Birthday Little B!!!

Today is our little guy's birthday! He is one year old! I hate that we are missing it! Sometimes it's hard to wait on God's timing. It's hard to understand why our kids can't join our family NOW. Why is there all of this waiting? What's the point? I get impatient and I just want to hold my kids! I want them to meet their brothers that already love them so much. I daydream about the day we are all together.

I started reading Orphanology recently and one line stuck out to me. "...in this process you will learn things about the heart of God that you might not otherwise know" (Russ Moore). I'm trying to remember that and learn what I can from this process. I want God to have His way in my heart.

So today, we pray for our little guy and take a moment to see how God wants us to respond.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Is. 55:9

Kids Race

We are gearing up for the big race this Saturday!!! The boys are so excited!!! They get so excited over every pledge they receive. So far, they've already brought in over $140! That doesn't include the "pledge per step" they've received. If you would like to donate just click on "chip in" on the sidebar. I think this is so special for them to be able to help bring their brother and sister home!

Humbled

Today we had a great day at church with friends. Then, we headed down to Water Angels. It was a great service. It was awesome watching God work. I was talking to a lady that is so sweet. She has such an awesome testimony of being delivered from drugs , alcohol, and prostitution. She's working hard, but, getting paid minimum wage. God has really worked to restore so much in her life and things are getting better and better. As we talked she said that she felt like she was supposed to give us a tv to sell. She said she saved and saved for this flatscreen t.v. but realized that it's not important and she's never been so sure of anything as she was about giving it to us. So she walked us over to her house and loaded it up. It's so humbling and I pray God blesses her richly!

I wonder if I would have done the same....

It's been awesome looking through more pictures of our kids. A family from our church is in Africa now and they took the time to hold our little girl and read the letters we wrote to her. So sweet!!!

Humbled

Today we had a great day at church with friends. Then, we headed down to Water Angels. It was a great service. It was awesome watching God work. I was talking to a lady that is so sweet. She has such an awesome testimony of being delivered from drugs , alcohol, and prostitution. She's working hard, but, getting paid minimum wage. God has really worked to restore so much in her life and things are getting better and better. As we talked she said that she felt like she was supposed to give us a tv to sell. She said she saved and saved for this flatscreen t.v. but realized that it's not important and she's never been so sure of anything as she was about giving it to us.

I wonder if I would have done the same....

It's been awesome looking through more pictures of our kids. A family from our church is in Africa now and they took the time to hold our little girl and read the letters we wrote to her. So sweet!!!

Faithful!

God is so faithful! It seems I keep freaking out about money, start acting ugly, trying to figure it out on my own, realize I need to trust Him after I get to my lowest point, and then He provides!

WILL I EVER LEARN??? In my last post I shared how God was showing me He had this under control. Two precious boys and their parents showed up with a large donation. After that, we were so blessed on Thursday to get a call that there were some seats available at Hope in the Dark. It's an incredible fundraising event for Show Hope and Blood:Water Mission. We were so excited and blessed. On the way home I got a call that my mom had sold her motorcycle!!! I was so shocked. I had prepared myself that it probably wasn't going to sell and that we would get the money another way. I just couldn't quit crying. I don't deserve this! I don't deserve these two precious kids. But, He is still faithful! NOW.....we're on to raising the travel money. I'm going to cling to Him and trust that He's got this!

Mercies in Disguise

Last night I had a photo shoot with a family I've been taking pictures of for a couple of years. They are sweet family with two precious boys. I've loved watching these two boys grow up and it's been an honor to capture sweet moments in their lives.

Last night I was blown away. As the boys got out of the car, they were each holding a little bucket. One had a picture of our little girl on it and the other had a picture of our baby boy. The buckets were filled with money these little boys had worked hard for. The oldest little guy is four. He told me all of the reasons he felt it was important to save this money. It was touching that he had such a real view of the situation our kids are in.

A two-year old and a four-year old gave us over $75!!! This was such an inspiration to our boys...they couldn't believe it as we counted it! Then....when the family paid for their session, they overpaid by quite a bit! I was moved to tears by this family several times last night. When I got in the car and looked at their check I just started crying. A beautiful song came on the radio, and I know God was speaking to me.

Honestly, it's been a rough week or so for us. We've just had a lot going on....and, as usual, I haven't handled everything the way I should have. One thing was that we did a yard sale (for the 3rd time) and only made a little bit of money. It was really disappointing. But, I felt God speaking to me that He doesn't provide for everyone the same way. Also, that I CANNOT make it happen the way I want it to. No matter how much I try, I can't bring in the money for this adoption. It's hard because I don't want to just ask for handouts....I want to earn the money. Last night I felt like God showed me something. The money for this adoption is already provided. God's just giving it to us in His timing...not mine. He's already taken care of it all. I have to do my part and be willing to obey Him, but, I've got to learn to let go and let Him have His way.

I'm so thankful for God's people...they are so generous! He's so generous! My heart is so full and I just long to meet my kids so bad! I know He's growing me through this. I can't wait to see what He has in store.

***Online Auction***

I earned some free merchandise with the Thirty One Fundraiser that we did and I'm going to auction a couple of things off!

Just email me for an auction ID # and then you can enter your bid and ID# in the comments section. Bidding starts immediately and will end on Sunday night at 10pm.

If the item needs to be shipped, there will be a $5.00 shipping fee.

Bidding Starts at $5.00

First is the XXL Tote.

Interior hanging pocket. Exterior Patch Pocket. Made of durable canvas.

Approx. 16.75"Hx23.5"Wx11"D

$60 Value

(It's the large khaki bag in the picture)

Online Auction Item #2

Fitted Skirt Purse

Brown Purse with Floral Fanfare print. New skirts can be purchased to change the look.

Interior cell phone pocket, zipper pocket, magnetic snap closure.

$42 Value