Easter fun!!!

Ok, I'm a little late getting these up, and it'll probably be a few more days until I get actual Easter pictures up, but I wanted to share some of our egg-dying fun. Aunt Kimmie and Geoff came up with four dozen eggs and all kinds of fun stuff to decorate with and the kids had a blast! I think my floor and the kids had more dye on them than the eggs, but we all had a wonderful time. Thanks Aunt Kimmie and Geoff and Grandma!

It's Official! We are number...

Our dossier is done and accepted, now the looooong wait begins. I'm not known for my patience, but one thing that adoption has reinforced for me is that it really is all in God's hands and it is in His perfect timing that all things happen. So, in the meantime, we will focus on and enjoy the time we have just as our family is formed now. I can't wait to have another little girl snuggling up to us in the morning, but I trust God that His plan is already in place and my job is to pray and wait.

Homestudy done! Next step....

Waiting list! Oh, waiting to be on the waiting list is tough...and the waiting to wait has just begun. Our agency should have our homestudy now and will hopefully approve it soon and then I'll send in all of our documents and find out where we are on the waiting list. Lord, give me patience...and can I have it RIGHT NOW?!!

My little man is 5!!!!

It seems like just yesterday I was seeing pictures of my sweet youngest son for the first time...

And here he is March 19th on his 5th birthday. What a big boy!

We had his birthday party at the Children's Museum that he LOVES and he invited a bunch of his buddies. We had a blast! First we filled the kids full of sugar...

Lightening McQueen...of course!!

Then, we set them loose to run like wild animals all through the museum.

5 things (of so many) that I love about my 5 year old boy:

1)You are always so sweet...running up to give me kisses on my back, hands, legs, cheek, at all times of the day.

2) The way your HUGE eyes and dimples light up when you are smiling and being mischeivious.

3) How you love and hug on your brother and sister and are always willing to share whatever you have with them.

4) Your infectious giggle...it's hard not to laugh with you...even when I'm supposed to be disciplining you.

5)The way you always ask me to pray for whoever may be in trouble or hurt when you hear a siren.

My J, you are the sweetest and cutest little stinker, ever! I love you with all my heart and I pray that God continues to bless you your entire life. I know He has blessed me with allowing me to be your mother.

On a side note...birthdays always make me so sad for my childrens' birth mothers. Erika, I pray for you daily, and I pray you have peace. There are not adequate words to thank you for this amazing little boy that you brought into this world and that I am priveleged to call my son. God bless you always.

Orientation Call : )

T and I had our "orientation" call with our agency Tuesday night. This is our fourth adoption with this agency, but times have changed and so has alot of the paperwork/contracts, etc. from the agency. It's totally necessary and always good to be informed and able to ask lots of questions. We are all for doing it all "by the book" and I certainly am all for adoption agencies really making sure that parents are informed and ready for what adoption and the process entails. I do have to share though, how funny it was to us, that when our "orientation" packet came in the mail, there was a one-sheet highlighting one of the families that had adopted through our agency as a sort-of "intro" piece....and it was US!!! Ha ha. Totally unexpected. We got a good chuckle and a warm feeling from that.

And, yes, our bed is unmade...I'm not exactly a domestic diva when it comes to that stuff : )

So, anyway, we have signed contracts and will soon begin even more paperchasing. I just can't wait to see pictures of our future daughter...but that may take a while. In the meantime, we are loving life with the kids and just so grateful for this opportunity. I am also "stealing" a stolen post from my fellow adoption buddy that shows in a humorous way how this all goes...enjoy!

Here's a thumbnail sketch:

1 Fill out questionnaire.

2 Send check.

3 Fill out big questionnaire.

4 Send another check.

5 Get interviewed.

6 Get fingerprinted twice.

7 Write check.

8 Apply for Visa.

9 Write big check.

10 Get more fingerprints.

11 Get copies of every official certified thing ever written about you or files on your behalf.

12 Get your friends to write nice things about you.

13 Get them to write more and different nice things about you to put into the file.

14 Wait forever for the INS to figure out you aren't a terrorist training camp for toddlers.

15 Send another check with your completed file you've copied 9 times because you want to be sure.

16 Send everything to the agency and hope that this is NOT the one package they lose today.

17 Wait.

18 Wait some more.

19 Cruise the boards to find out who's getting referrals.

20 Worry that maybe you picked the wrong agency. (not a worry at all for us!)

21 Wait some more.

22 Get Referral!

23 Send last check.

24 Wait

25 Wait.

26 Check prices for airline tickets.

27 Get shots.

28 Check Passports.

29 Check on Visas for Ethiopia.

30 Wait.

31 Get a court date!

32 Worry you won't pass court.

33 Blame everyone and everything for anyone not passing court.

34 Panic.

35 Pass Court (or not, skip back to 32).

36 Panic some more.

37 Finish the kid's room. (which in our case is two rooms because we are switching out L's room with J2's room)

38 Buy more toys.

39 Panic some more.

40 Wait.

41 Get second round of shots.

42 Wonder why there are 6 pages of things you MUST pack for a 10 day trip.

43 Wonder if ANYONE ever packed that much.

44 Wonder how anyone did and STILL brought things over to donate to the program (feel guilty you couldn't bring more).

45 Meet your child.

46 Joy, mixed with panic because all of the your fears and doubts and everything else are staring you down and sizing you up.

47 More bureaucracy.

48 Travel back to the USA with a child that thinks he's just been kidnapped.

49 Kick yourself for not test installing the car seat before you left.

50 Home. Sleep. Panic.

51 Read your child his first bedtime story (that he still can't understand because he doesn't speak English).

52 Realize that it was all worth it.

Simple

Why Yes, we are insane!!!!

Yep, here we go again...T and I are paperchasing for our fourth child! We are going to adopt another Ethiopian princess, hopefully between the ages of 12 and 24 months. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! You would think after doing this three times I would be an old pro, but I am completely overwhelmed with all the paperwork and stuff still to do. There is much more to do since the Hague treaty was radified in the U.S., but just like before, we'll get through it and our family will be so blessed! We are currently working on our homestudy documents because that can be the most time-consuming part of the process. We will also begin our quest for the almight I-171H...the government's blessing on our adoption and allowing us to bring our child home....which means we have to be fingerprinted twice (again). We will be prodded in any state we have lived in to assure that we are not child abusers (not a bad thing, I think), and have to prove about 3,459 times that we are who we say we are...crazy, huh?

Today, T and I spent my lunch hour downtown at the lovely smelling Sherriff's office in the basement of the city/county building trying to get a criminal background check done. For those of you wondering, neither of us was arrested : ) The woman behind the window though should definitely be cuffed for rudeness. Man, I can't believe how rude this lady was to us and how bitchy (sorry, but that's the most fitting word) she got when we asked for our docs to be notarized. You would think that we asked her to saw off her arm and hand it through the window! Well, I'm proud to say that I stayed calm and sicklingly sweet to her and finally got the requested documents (after 2 hours and 60 dollars).

And, as my wonderful husband reminded me...there are alot of bumps in this road, but the ride is so well worth it! Thanks to all of you who are praying for us and to all the awesome friends we have made in the adoption community. We are blessed beyond belief and so honored to parent these children. I can't wait to have even more chaos in the casa!!!!

Praying for Abby

Please read this...it is amazing. This family is in the midst of every family's worst nightmare...their precious daughter is battling a rare and horrible form of Leukemia, yet their faith is never shaken, not even one iota. I've been following their story...along with thousands of people around the world, and I hope that you will not only read Brent's post that I have copied here, but please pray for them and let them pray for you too. (yes, they really want to). Hug your children tight and focus on your joys, but please read this...and you would also be blessed to start reading their blog www.riggsfamilyblog.com



Saturday, February 7, 2009

New Every Morning For Abby, Us & You
I was at the hospital with Michelle and Abby until about 5.30am this morning, then came home for a little while so SpideyLandis and the other kids wouldn't wake up parentless.
Pic: Abby usually talks MeeMaw into making cookies when we are at her house. MeeMaw makes the best cookies, and someone has to learn to carry on the tradition.
The nurses were in and out all night every few minutes. If you've never enjoyed that experience, it is a little maddening getting woke up over and over and over and over all night long. I am a light sleeper, and wake up frequently anyway but Michelle is a sound sleeper, and it is hard on her. She stays at the hospital every single night that Abby is there, so she doesn't get alot of sleep. I run back and forth between the hospital and the house. That's the pattern we've settled into since Abby got sick.
This morning, Abby is about the same. Her little tummy is so swollen, she looks like she is going to explode. The infection area on her stomach around her feeding tube covers about the area of a dollar bill... red, blistered, inflamed. Just touching Abby's feeding tube sends her into a tailspin. The sores have not begun to improve yet and she can barely tolerate even wearing a soft diaper or panties. Going to the bathroom is torture.
Michelle is really tired but patiently tends to every need Abby has... taking her to potty, changing her clothes and bedding, feeding her, putting medicine and cremes on her, monitoring her I.V.'s, getting her drinks, keeping her distracted... watching the same video over and over 50 fifty times because that is what Abby wants to watch. (when Abby is done with chemo, I'm burning "Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast")
Michelle is the epitome of a mother willing to give up every comfort, all her time and ignore her own needs... to take care of her child. For those who hold the opinion that "adopted" kids are "not as much your child" as biological kids... well, I don't have to make any comments about that. Everyone who has ever adopted knows how absurd that is.
New Every Morning
How do we do this? How do we keep going? How can we be joyful, thankful, content and happy living the "life of cancer" month after month? People ask this on a daily basis.
Answer: the same way YOU can keep going. The same way YOU can be joyful, thankful, content and happy day after day no matter what life throws at you.
The same way that guy I just saw on TV keeps going every day. He fell asleep driving, hit a truck head-on, destroyed his spleen and liver, broke all his ribs and had to have his leg cut off. When they cut him open to operate after the wreck, they found out he had liver cancer too. How's that for a "bad deal" in life?
How do you keep going? How do you keep going with joy, hope and thankfulness? The answer is the same whether you're a parent of a child with Leukemia, a guy with one leg and cancer, a cheated-on spouse, an unfairly fired employee, or just someone dealing with the typical life struggles that conspire to rob us of joy and contentment.
The answer is the same for the couple about to lose their house to foreclosure, or the parents who are finding out how hard parenting really is. The answer is the same for healthy, active folks who don't feel loved or at peace... or the older couple with seemingly-never-ending health problems.
The answer is the same for Americans who take for granted unparalleled personal freedom and an unprecedented level of affluent lifestyle, or the multitudes of people across the globe who are hungry, poor, cold, imprisoned for their faith or beliefs, persecuted and largely ignored by the world. The answer is the same...
The answer to "how do you keep going?" and "how do you have joy and hope?" is the same for every single person in ANY situation, and here it is, my favorite passage, Lamentations 3: 20-25:
I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
Notice that the Bible does not ignore the "negative" realities of life, or pretend that it should never be talked about or acknowledged. King David, the only person ever labeled "a man after God's own heart" penned dozens of Psalms full of lament, struggle and pouring his heart out about life's hardships. David would not be very popular in much of our modern church or culture. But you know what friends... the honest admission and lament of heartache in the Psalms has spoken deeply to and soothed the heart of legions of hurting souls throughout history.
Acknowledging Is Not the Same As Being Consumed
Acknowledging the hard realities of the human experience is not the same as being consumed by them, or having a "negative" outlook. We are to be positive people who also see the blessings (positive) that come when we depend on God during the "negative". We remember (accept, acknowledge) there are frequent times in life when our "soul is downcast" but that the proper response is:
"... I will call to mind and therefore have hope"... what?
I will call to mind that God's great love is NEVER consumed; it never ends; there is always more
I will call to mind that God's compassions NEVER fail; His compassions always WIN; in other words, if we avail ourselves of God's compassion, it is ALWAYS enough to overcome our sorrows no matter what they are
I will call to mind that God's love and compassion is NEW every morning...
Why does God emphasize "every morning"? Does His compassion wear out by the end of the day and then overnight God gets back in gear and puts out a fresh batch when the sun comes up?
"New every morning" is a point of reference for us. We all live day by day. The sun rises on every person, every day, in every situation. It is a guidepost, a marker, a timestamp that we can all relate to, count on and understand.
So God uses that inescapable reality to give us a common ground that leaves none of us being able to say "I didn't understand, I wasn't aware..." We all understand that the sun rises every day. We all understand that morning comes each day no matter WHAT WE ARE STRUGGLING WITH.
Every morning, for every person, God's love, compassion and mercies are "new" and available. Not "new" in the sense that they got "old" or "worn" the day before but "new" in the sense they are waiting for us, without fail, with the dawn of each new day. They are "new" in that they are totally sufficient for whatever that day holds for us, even when our "soul is downcast"... in fact, I would say ESPECIALLY when our soul is downcast.
When is God's compassion sweetest? When life is great or hard? When does God's mercy seem most real? On the mountain top, or in the valley? When is His love feel the greatest? When we already feel loved by others, or when we feel lonely and abandoned by the world? Mercy, love and compassion are particularly precious when we feel "downcast".
I Will Call To Mind And Say To Myself
God's mercy, love and compassion is there no matter what we do, even if we ignore it. But God calls us to action if we want to benefit from it. We have to get our mind right. We have to deliberately focus on this Truth. We have to "call to mind" the Word of God and tell ourselves:
"God is enough. God is my hope. I will wait on God."
Wait on God? The meaning here is that we will look to God, focus on God, depend on God, keep our eyes on God. It doesn't mean He will delay His love ("wait"); it is the picture of us putting our full attention on God. The Lord God is GOOD to those who seek Him. Isn't that a marvelous truth? Do you truly believe it? If yes, are you daily seeking Him?
I like to summarize things for easy recall, so let me wrap up with this...
Are you downcast? Is life hard? How can you be joyful, hopeful, content and loved despite any hardship?
Focus your mind on God and tell yourself the Truth
God's great love means your troubles will not consume you
God's compassion NEVER fails us
God's love and mercy is waiting for you every morning, every day, every time
The Lord is ENOUGH for ANYTHING you are going through
God is good to everyone who puts their hope in Him
God is good to everyone who seeks Him
Because of all these things you can say...
"Therefore I have hope".
If you have hope, then you can keep going. No matter how hard life is, no matter what dark valley your journey has you in, you can keep going because you have hope.
That is my answer to "how do you keep going?" and it can be your answer too.
Are you encouraged by this message? Do you know someone today who is struggling and could use some hope? Do you know anyone who needs mercy, compassion and love? You have an answer for them now.
Tell your friends, Put this post on your blog. Send it out to your email list Copy and paste the whole thing. I don't care about getting credit for the writing. I care about helping people.
We'll post an update about Abby later today. We have been reminded of God's compassion every day because of YOU. Your notes, comments and prayers are the manifestation of God's love.
What are you hurting about today? How can we be a blessing to you?